State budget forecast to be released

The state’s economic forecasting board is meeting to review how far tax collections have fallen behind estimates in the midst of a national recession.
   
The Board of Economic Advisors meets Wednesday afternoon.
   
In November, it told the state’s financial oversight board that revenues are about $140 million or nearly 2 percent short of the most recently reduced estimates. The Budget and Control Board is scheduled to discuss that shortfall Thursday.
   
But slower-than-expected post-Thanksgiving sales and unemployment at a 25-year high may have made the numbers worse and could force deeper across-the-board cuts.