Idaho lawmakers may need to cut $555.2 million from agency spending requests or tap reserves to balance next fiscal year’s budget — if state revenue doesn’t rebound from lagging tax collections.

That’s according to a budget scenario presented to the Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee (JFAC) Tuesday. The Legislature’s budget-setting committee is meeting this week in Boise to hear updates on the revenue outlook and to preview agency budget proposals ahead of next year’s legislative session.

JFAC members already knew about a projected $49.3 million deficit at the end of the current fiscal year, caused by dawdling sales tax collections and recently enacted tax cuts. But on Tuesday, Keith Bybee, Budget and Policy Division manager for the Legislative Services Office, teased the potential i

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