The historic rainy day fund is about to get even larger thanks to the positive impact of our Republican reforms. The Legislative Fiscal Bureau (LFB) released the preliminary 2018-19 general fund tax collections. According to the Department of Revenue, collections are up 7.4 percent over the previous year. That means the state is taking in $75.5 million more. It's good to see that our state economy continues to grow and that our pro-growth initiatives are paying off for the state. Keep in mind, the GOP has cut taxes by more than $8 billion over the last eight years.

Under state law, half of any surplus goes to the rainy day fund or as it's officially called, the Budget Stabilization Fund. The LFB says that deposit brings the fund total to $649.1 million, plus "whatever interest accrues to the fund." Being good stewards of taxpayer dollars is part of our job as legislators and I'm pleased that we can continue to save for a rainy day.