As reported by Megan Poinski for MarylandReporter, a new national report by the National Conference of State Legislators finds that Maryland’s revenues are ahead of projections for fiscal 2010 and that Maryland is one of the “more promising examples of economic recovery.”  However, she also reports that Maryland is still facing a budget gap due to federal stimulus funds running out.

Maryland’s revenues are running ahead of projections across the board for fiscal 2010, according to a report released this week by the National Conference of State Legislatures, looking at the budgets in all 50 states. Revenues from personal income tax, corporate income tax, and sales tax are all more than were estimated back when the 2010 budget was drawn up and debated, and the report touts this as a piece of good news.

The good news, however, is misleading. Warren Deschenaux, director of the Legislature’s Office of Policy Analysis, said that back when the FY 2010 budget was being considered, a 5% across-the-board decrease in revenues was projected.

“It looks like we only declined about 3%, so we’re ahead of the estimate,” Deschenaux said. “If you look at the year as a whole, we are still taking in less than the year before.”

The report also takes a look at each state’s projected budget gaps for the next several fiscal years. According to the report, Maryland is expected to have a $2.4 billion budget gap for fiscal 2011, which just started, $1.8 billion in 2012 and $1.6 billion in 2013. Deschenaux said most of the gap will be the result of federal stimulus funds running out.