Kansas revenue forecasters unveiled a dark outlook on Thursday, massively increasing the projected size of the budget shortfall and further complicating the road ahead for Gov. Sam Brownback and the Legislature.

Just two days after the election, state budget director Shawn Sullivan and legislative research staff outlined a forecast setting the shortfall at more than $345 million in the current fiscal year — a 5.5 percent drop in revenue from the previous estimate.

Brownback doesn’t plan to outline budget cuts before the Legislature meets in January, Sullivan said.

Revenue estimates have fallen short each month of the fiscal year so far, and even before the release of the new forecast, the shortfall had stood at more than $70 million. For the next fiscal year beginning in July, estimators decreased the amount of revenue expected by more than $582 million.

The bleak fiscal picture emerged days after Democrats made gains in the House and Senate. The Legislature, with more Democrats and moderate Republicans, will have to make difficult decisions about the budget when lawmakers return in January.

Sullivan said Brownback will present a budget bill to the Legislature when it convenes. The budget director called the situation "challenging" and painted a picture of an underperforming economy.

"The governor will present a budget solution to the Legislature in January and he will not be announcing allotments. He looks forward to working with the Legislature to develop a budget solution," Sullivan said.

Democratic lawmakers seethed with anger at the governor.

Sen. Laura Kelly, a Topeka Democrat on the Senate’s budget committee, said the governor’s decision to delay for two months the implementation of a plan to reduce expenditures by state government was irresponsible and done for political reasons.

"I think it’s chicken and I think it’s payback," Kelly said. "He lost a lot of allies and he wants to put these votes on the incoming Legislature."

Senate Minority Leader Anthony Hensley, D-Topeka, said it was difficult to believe Republican legislators who he said were responsible for the budget were re-elected.

"If I were to give Sam Brownback any advice, I would suggest the best he could do for the people of Kansas is to accept a job in the Trump administration," Hensley said.

Sullivan indicated Kansas is suffering from problems in its agricultural sector. Deflation also is hitting products the state charges sales tax on, he said. As prices decrease, so does the amount of sales tax revenue.

The state is now expected to bring in $5.98 billion in the current fiscal year. That represents a drop of 1.5 percent from receipts during the previous fiscal year.

The estimators project the next fiscal year’s receipts to amount to $5.536 billion, a drop of 7.4 percent from the newly-revised current year estimate. The amount of total taxes is estimated to increase by 1.4 percent in the next fiscal year, then drop by 1.3 percent, estimators said.

"No, I did not think it would be that enormous," Sen. Vicki Schmidt, R-Topeka, said. "That means, well, that means the budget committees will be very busy on day one."

Lawmakers will receive a fresh forecast in April. Even if the Legislature wrestles down the $345 million shortfall, the April forecast could widen the gap further if projections are once more decreased.

Hensley said issuing the revenue forecast after the election did a disservice to voters. Sullivan said the revenue forecast had never been issued beforehand, though legislative research director Raney Gilliland said a forecast had been issued on Election Day before.

Administration and legislative research officials, along with university economists, determine the estimate. Following regular revenue misses, Brownback ordered a review of the estimating process. The inspection resulted in a greater use of analytics in the forecast produced Thursday.

"I looked at a lot more data this time than I had in the past," Sullivan said, adding he viewed additional data on sales tax receipts and performed more analysis. "I think that helped me hone in on more targeted numbers and categories."

But Sullivan said estimators also had more "knowns" going into this forecast — no large tax policy adjustments had been made.

Brownback’s signature 2012 tax policy remains at the heart of struggles over state finances. Gilliland said a combination of factors, including the national economy and tax policy, played into the forecast.

The governor hasn’t ruled tax changes in or out. The budget shortfall has Kansas in a bind during the current fiscal year because tax changes wouldn’t go into effect soon enough to generate additional revenue.

A number of lawmakers just elected have called for the repeal or alteration of tax breaks for business owners, particularly owners of limited liability companies. Those changed could generate upwards of $200 million in future years.

Brownback hasn’t said whether he would sign or veto a bill that altered that component of tax policy. Sullivan said the administration will start developing a budget proposal in late November or early December.

"I can’t speak at this point what will be part of that proposal," Sullivan said.