State revenues rose 6.4 percent in May, slightly narrowing the gap of a potential year-end shortfall that could imperil scheduled raises for state employees, college faculty, and teachers in December.
However, the improved performance, based largely on a big drop in income tax refunds, still leaves Virginia lagging behind projected revenue growth for the fiscal year that ends June 30. Through the end of May, revenues had grown 1.9 percent for the year, or 1.3 percentage points behind the projection on which the budget is based.
“We’ve got to make up more than $220 million by the end of the month to make our forecast,” House Appropriations Chairman S. Chris Jones, R-Suffolk, said Monday.
