Jeff Longbine, State Senator, expects the state income to be $456 million below last year.

State income tax reductions will be one cause of that situation that will face the Legislature when they convene in January.

Longbine says he anticipates the state will lose the school finance lawsuit, which would mean another $450 million could have to be found to support public schools. Meaning the state is looking at nearly a billion dollar short fall.

That money will need to be made up somewhere but Longbine said his intentions are not to pass that shortfall down to the counties, cities or school districts,”We will try to do everything we can to avoid that, but the reality of it is with the current income tax reductions that we’ve got and the declining revenue the states going to have to do less services.”

He went on to say that cutting services puts pressure on local governing bodies to decide whether to pick up those services or allow them to cease. “Often times political pressure put on counties to take care of the local citizens will require them to pick up all or part of the services which will be an increase on the local level.”

He added it would be his preference to revisit the income tax reduction plan enacted a year ago.

Longbine spoke Tuesday night during the USD 475 Legislative Dinner.