2 state funds have $52 million surplus

State government bosses got some good news Wednesday: The state is running a $52 million surplus in its main two funds.

Lawmakers convene Monday for the annual 45-day general session, and will be looking to tweak this year's budget as well as adopt an $8 billion spending plan for fiscal 2004-2005, which starts July 1.

The state Tax Commission in its monthly TC23 report said state tax revenues in the General Fund and Uniform School Fund are $52 million above current spending levels.

While the fiscal year ends June 30 — and that's a long way off to count one's chickens before they are hatched — historically, if the state is running a healthy surplus when the Legislature meets, lawmakers take some of those extra dollars and spend them on one-time items, like building new state buildings or roads, or buying new textbooks.

And increased tax revenues now point to better economic times for fiscal 2004-2005. Earlier this week, Senate President Al Mansell, R-Sandy, said it's hoped that when new revenue projections for 2004-2005 arrive in mid-February legislators will have more money to budget next year for public schools, higher education and other important state needs.