Officials from the legislative budget said that the miscalculation was discovered in April, after the Legislature approved the Fiscal Year 2017 budget. The state’s budget will be cut by $56.8million, or 0.96 percent of its $5.8 billion general funds budget. Only four of its 99 general fund departments and agencies are affected. The Mississippi Adequate Education Program, Institutes of Higher Learning Financial Aid and the Military department are all exempted from the cuts. Bryant stated in a release that the governor has the statutory responsibility of balancing Mississippi’s budget. “I will uphold this duty.” Treasurer Lynn Fitch has been critical about Lt. Gov. Lynn Fitch since April when the error was made public. Tate Reeves, as well as other legislative leaders, stated that she expected credit agencies take notice of the mistake. Moody’s Investor Service pointed out the error when it downgraded Mississippi’s credit outlook last month. Fitch stated that he was concerned about the state’s budget. This is just one of the many budget problems state officials have dealt with in this calendar year. Bryant was forced to withdraw $45.2 million from the state’s Rainy Day Fund twice during the last fiscal year. Mississippi law allows Bryant to withdraw $50 million from the Rainy Day Fund per fiscal year. An additional $65 million was required to balance the budget at fiscal’s end. Bryant had to call a special session of the legislature in June because he was facing lower than expected revenue numbers last fiscal year. This ended June 30. Bryant needed to ask for authority to raid the Rainy Day reserves funds for the third time. This fiscal year, the low revenue trend is continuing. Mississippi’s July revenue was $11.5 million. This is 3.9 percent less than July 2015. “In accordance to Gov. “In accordance with Gov. Mississippi and other states are facing challenges due to slower than expected collections of sales taxes, and other revenue. We will continue to monitor monthly receipts, and spend for any additional actions as the fiscal year progresses. Bryant stated that Mississippi and other states are facing challenges due to the slow collection of sales taxes and other revenues. To support this work, you can make a regular donation to the Spring Member Drive today. This will allow us to continue important work such as this story. Our reporters give a human face to policy’s impact on everyday Mississippians by listening more closely and understanding their communities. To ensure that our work is aligned with the priorities and needs of Mississippians, we are listening to you. Click the button below to let us know what you think. Republish this Story