The state’s fiscal future will be in the spotlight this week as the Legislature begins preparations to address the state’s fiscal 2019 budget.

“That’s going to be the big thing now,” state Sen. Briggs Hopson III said. “We’re looking at revenue estimates starting this coming week, and we’ll start putting the budgets together based on those revenue estimates.”

Hopson said legislators should have a better idea of the state’s financial picture for the coming fiscal year Tuesday or Wednesday, when the revenue estimating committee releases its projections for fiscal 2019, “And if there’s any adjustment to be made to this year’s fiscal picture.”

But District 55 Rep. Oscar Denton doesn’t expect the state’s revenue picture to be too bright.

“Given what the leadership has done in giving tax breaks, and taking money out of the system, I think we’re going to see the same thing we’ve been seeing,” he said. “My position is we need new money, and we haven’t addressed that issue on trying to get new money such as through a lottery or some kind of a tax; a gas tax. I think we’re just spinning our wheels, personally.”

District 54 Rep. Kevin Ford said two of the big budget questions involve the transportation bill and funding Medicaid. Both issues, he said, are in conference committees.

The House last week amended the BRIDGE Act, Building Roads, Improving Development, Growing the Economy, the bill proposed by Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves that would raise $1.1 billion for transportation improvements for Mississippi.

The amendments provided additional funding for specific infrastructure projects throughout the state, utilizes use tax revenue and designates $200 million worth of revenue bonds for the purpose of providing money for the Strategic Infrastructure Investment Fund.

Under the House amendment, the state Department of Revenue would allocate 15 percent of the total use tax revenue collected during the previous fiscal year to cities, based on sales tax distribution. That money would be dedicated to repairs, maintenance and reconstruction of municipal roads, streets and bridges.

One-third of the use tax would be allocated to counties, based on the number of rural roads in the county and the county’s rural population.

Ford expects the budget discussions to begin this week and extend into the following week.

“You don’t ever know until you see the final budget come out,” he said.

“And they will be going to a conference committee.”