Beebe holds off on whether to restore funding cuts

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Gov. Mike Beebe said Monday he's holding off on saying whether the state can restore any of $107 million cut from the budget because of uncertainty over the national economy.

Beebe had previously said he would review over the weekend whether the state could afford reviewing any of those cuts and was expected to announce his decision before budget hearings start Tuesday. Beebe said he's waiting another day or two to decide.

"I was prepared...but in light of what's going on today with the national numbers I think it's prudent to continue to be a little cautious," Beebe told The Associated Press.

Arkansas' revenues have continued to come in above last year's figures and above forecast, despite grim economic news nationally. State fiscal officials announced last week that year-to-date net available revenues total $1.2 billion, a $64 million increase over last year and a $63.2 million gain over the state's forecast. The Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration said that Arkansas' net available revenues in September were $481.4 million, up $28.4 million from last year and $24.4 million above forecast.

"Actually, as far as Arkansas was concerned, we're still where we were," Beebe said. "But as I've told you time and again, I err on the side of being conservative and in light of what's happening nationally we want to see if that's going to stay and analyze the potential effect on the state."

In April, state finance officials cut $107 million from state agencies' budgets for the current fiscal year. But the governor said Friday he would review over the weekend whether the state could restore money cut from some agencies given the surge in revenue. More specifically, he said, he might restore some funding to Medicaid, cut by $58 million in May.

The Joint Budget Committee hearings begin Tuesday and are scheduled through Nov. 19 in preparation for the regular session that begins in January. The committee will consider budget requests from the various state agencies for the fiscal years beginning July 1, 2009, and July 1, 2010.