Two weeks ago, the House Ways and Means Committee released its budget proposal for Fiscal Year (FY) 2025. While the budget development process for the upcoming fiscal year will consume much of the attention in the coming weeks, the FY 2024 fiscal picture remains unclear and will require careful monitoring.
Over the first eight months of FY 2024, revenue collections have consistently fallen below expectations, and currently stand $4 million below collections from the year before. While the Healey administration took action early in the year to reduce revenue benchmarks and close a $1 billion revenue shortfall, there remains a high degree of uncertainty heading into the final quarter of the fiscal year. April is typically the largest month for state revenue collections and its performance compared to benchmark will have an outsize impact on the state’s financial position.