As you know we are still under a continuing resolution as Congress has moved slowly with this year's Appropriations.  As of today none of the 13 appropriations bills have been sent to the President for signature.  Many have passed both houses but have not been conference yet to complete the work on the bills.

It looks like the Democrats are planning a strategy to send up to 3 different bills to the President attaching different ones together to make it tough for the President to veto.  You continue to hear over the past two weeks jabs by both the Democrat Congress at the President and the President at Congress regarding the status of the appropriations process.

Both sides seem to be posturing to prepare the public to accept their side of the story depending on what is finally sent to the President for consideration. 

Of course the Congress has different priorities then the Administration on many of the domestic programs and Congress will push those programs during the appropriations process. 

I don't see them coming to the point of shutting down the government as they did in the past but I do expect them to have bills sent to the President that he will veto and then pass one that he will accept or we will continue to run on a continuing resolution.

For us that is not good as it keeps the increases we would see in the FY 08 Safetea-Lu authorization not go into effect until we get the bill passed as well as the final list of earmarks that will be in the final bill.

Congress had indicated they were going to try and finish this year by November 16^th but last week the House Majority Leader indicated they would be in about a month longer ending sometime mid December.

As the bill continues to move I will continue to keep you updated.

From the Statehouse:

October revenues up

Kansas tax-only revenues for October were up $21.8 million above estimates, pushing the total tax-only revenues for the fiscal year to $70 million more than expected.

The revenue receipts were released this afternoon by the Department of Revenue.

It was individual income tax receipts which contributed more than half the windfall, with $202.9 million received, against estimates of $192 million, a $10.9 million windfall which outperformed estimates by 5.7%. Individual income taxes in October were $16.2 million, or 8.7% above last year's same-month take.

Corporate income taxes were also over the estimate of $22 million, to $25.25 million, or $3.2 million or 14.8% above the estimate.

Sales taxes continue to lag, at $143.7 million, about $1.3 million below estimates of $145 million for the month. 

A relatively warm month for outdoor smoking, we figure, boosted cigarette taxes to $11.3 million, $1.8 million above the $9.5 million estimate.

For the July 1-Halloween fiscal-year-to-date, the nearly $70 million windfall was fueled largely by individual income taxes, up $53.7 million over estimates of $790 million, yielding $843.7 million in individual income taxes. Y-T-D receipts of individual income taxes are $77 million, or 10% above receipts for the same time period in 2006.

Corporate income taxes so far this fiscal year are 19.8% above estimates, some $21.1 million over the estimate of $107 million to settle at $128.1 million. Corporate taxes are down about $7 million from the same time period in 2006.

Y-T-D sales taxes at $570 million are about $13 million below estimates, and are $33.4 million or 5.5% below the same time period last year.

Here's the quick-and-easy recap:

• October: Revenues, $439.5 million, estimate was $417.7 million, up $21.8 million or 5.2% above estimates. Last year's October revenues were $422.6 million, some $16.9 million less than this year's October.
• Fiscal-Year-to-Date: Revenues $1.787 billion, estimate was $1.717 billion, up $70 million or 4.1% above estimates. Last year's figures for the same time period were $1.747 billion in receipts, $39.3 million or 2.3% below this year's receipts to date.

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Impact? More is always better for state revenues, individual and corporate income tax receipts are surprisingly strong, but sales tax remains soft and represents main-street commerce.

Next week, the state's Consensus Revenue Estimating Group will meet to forecast revenues for the remainder of this fiscal year and for Fiscal Year 2009, which starts July 1, 2008. The Consensus numbers are the ones from which the governor bases her budget for the coming fiscal year.

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