BOISE - Idaho State University can rest assured that Gov. C.L. "Butch" Otter won't be mandating any more budget cuts for the current fiscal year.

But the fate of the university's budget can be still be influenced by the state Legislature.

That's what Sen. Diane Bilyeu, D-Pocatello, said Friday morning after meeting with her budget-writing panel, which reminded state entities, such as ISU, to continue holding on to the funds that they have already been told not to spend.

Bilyeu said the Joint Finance and Appropriations Committee, which writes the state's budget, also asked agencies to withhold their one-time funds.

JFAC made these requests after reading some lawmakers' forecasts on state revenue, Bilyeu said.

An economic outlook panel, which Bilyeu also serves on, projected on Thursday that the state would receive about $2.6 billion in tax revenue during the 2009 fiscal year, which ends June 30. That estimate is 11 percent below what state economists initially projected a year ago.

JFAC, which is expected to write the budget in February, can still budget for a higher or lower revenue projection.

"It was very expressively told to us that all this was is that we were accepting the report, and we can budget to a higher figure," Bilyeu said. "And we will develop our forecast to what we budget."

ISU, which has cut nearly $3 million since September, has covered most of its spending reductions with a one-time equipment fund that was initially budgeted for purchasing new computers.

Up until the legislative session convened on Monday, state agencies were mandated to make 4 percent spending cuts and hold another 2 percent in reserve.

However, the governor's office during the fall said the budget holdbacks were only temporary until the Legislature approved them.

ISU could cut another $1.4 million from its state-funded budget if lawmakers vote for another 2 percent holdback. And that's not counting any further holdbacks that could be made as a result of a poor economy.