Breaking the Stalemate: A Proposal for a Consensus Revenue Forecasting Process

The size of the state budget deficit has been the subject of dispute between the Governor and state legislature. This brief proposes a formal mechanism to forge consensus on the state revenue forecast, which helps establish the baseline for the state budget. If the executive and legislative branches fail to reach consensus after a comprehensive, public process of revenue forecasting, then a respected non-partisan agency should be authorized to issue the official revenue forecast for both branches.