The Economic Outlook and Revenue Assessment Committee has started its meeting. The task: Set a revenue forecast on which the Legislature can base its budgeting for the coming year. Each member of the joint committee has turned in his or her forecast, as is customary. For the current year, fiscal year 2011, the committee median estimate is for 3.3 percent growth, as compared to the governor's forecast of 4.2 percent. For the coming year, fiscal year 2012, the committee's median estimate is for 3.5 percent growth. State economists are forecasting 6.9 percent tax revenue growth in fiscal 2012, but Gov. Butch Otter has set his budget recommendation based on just 3 percent to be prudent.

That means if the committee were to adopt its median estimate, it'd be at $2,340.1 million for 2011, and $2,422.5 million for 2012 - both of which are below the governor's recommendations of $2,359.2 million for 2011 and $2,430 million for 2012. That's a difference of $19.1 million for the current year, 2011, and $7.5 million for 2012. Since 1999, the joint revenue committee's estimate has matched the governor's Division of Financial Management revenue forecast every year but the last two. In both of the last two years, the committee has set its projection lower than the governor's.