Kansas is preparing for a new fiscal forecast for state government that is expected to be more pessimistic in projecting the state’s tax collections than the current one.

State officials, legislative researchers and university economists were meeting Thursday to draft revised projections for tax collections through June 2017. They also planned to issue the first projections for the following two years.

Republican Gov. Sam Brownback, his staff and legislators use the numbers in budgeting. The current forecast was issued in April.

From July through October, tax collections have been $80 million less than projected for a shortfall of 4.2 percent.

The state already faces a projected shortfall of at least $70 million in its current, $15.5 billion annual budget. A more pessimistic forecast would make the gap larger.