State revenues rose during November

oosted by a tax amnesty program, state revenues increased by $16 million in November, but are still lagging 1.6 percent below last year's level, according to Secretary of Administration and Finance Kevin Sullivan.

     The unexpected infusion of funds will allow Acting Gov. Jane Swift to reduce the amount of cuts she will make before leaving office in January. However, Swift is still expected to announce a $99 million cut in state spending this week.

      Sullivan said the Swift administration wants to have balanced budget in place when Governor-elect Mitt Romney takes office on Jan. 2.

      As part of that effort, Swift is still pushing several measures, including a new early retirement incentive program, reducing payouts on state lottery winnings and introducing a tiered system for state employee contributions to their health insurance plans. The three initiatives would save the state about $42 million, according to Sullivan. All three measures require legislative approval.

      Originally projected to bring in about $43 million, the tax amnesty program generated at least $55 million by the Dec. 2 deadline. Department of Revenue officials say the program may raise as much as $70 million.

      Budget analysts still project that the state could fall $2 billion short in the next year. Revenues are not expected to increase substantially until the April income tax filing deadline, when a $1.2 billion tax increase will go into effect.