LINCOLN — Despite coming off a year of record tax revenue, Nebraska looks to be starting its current two-year budget period in the red, according to a report released Thursday.

The report from the Legislative Fiscal Office points to the state’s new property tax relief program, along with other tax cuts and a drop in federal coronavirus relief, as the reasons for a newly opened $101 million budget gap.

But a key state lawmaker expressed confidence about closing that gap without cutting the state’s $9.8 billion budget for the two-year period ending June 30, 2023.

“There’s a good betting chance” that revenue projections will improve when the numbers are reviewed again, said State Sen. John Stinner of Gering, the Appropriations Committee chairman. The state’s economic forecasting board will meet to update those projections in October.

“I will almost guarantee the forecasting board will take care of the deficit,” he said.

Legislative Fiscal Analyst Tom Bergquist sounded a similarly optimistic note in delivering the report to the Tax Rate Review Committee, a group that includes four top legislative leaders and State Tax Commissioner Tony Fulton. The group meets between legislative sessions to review the state’s fiscal status.

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