Kentucky's budget picture has improved, but the state still faces a budget shortfall.

The question now how will the state deal with it?

Tuesday, a committee of economists known as the Consensus Forecasting Group, predicted that Kentucky's general fund will take in $15.5 billion during the current fiscal year, which ends June 30th of 2026.

That's down from the 15.7 billion from the last fiscal year.

But it's an improvement from the consensus forecasting group's prediction three months ago.

The governor talked about the improved numbers during his news conference Thursday by budget.

Director John Hicks reported that general fund receipts rose 9.2% in November compared to last year.

This increase followed two monthly declines.

So is good and much needed news.

Total revenues for November were up to over 1.3 million, and an increase of 115.6 million from 2024.

Yes, we are going to have a budget shortfall, there's no question, but it does look like it might be somewhat smaller now based on this really good November that we had.

The governor is expected to announce a plan to deal with the budget shortfall during his news conference tomorrow.

You'll hear his comments tomorrow night on Kentucky Edition.

Meanwhile, State Senate Budget Chairman Chris McDaniel said the forecast quote appears far less severe than what the governor projected in September and quote.

He added, the new data suggest a more measured and realistic picture of Kentucky's fiscal position.