Governor says budget numbers back his prediction

HELENA — Gov. Brian Schweitzer said Wednesday that the latest revenue figures show his budget projections were right all along and that Republican lawmakers deflated the figure to justify steeper cuts.

A Republican leader countered that the GOP didn't want to spend more even if it had believed more money would be coming in.

Last week, legislative fiscal analysts reported state tax collections for the year are about $70 million higher than predicted.

All through the legislative session that ended in April, Schweitzer sparred with GOP leaders and legislative staffers over a revenue predicti...