Auditor says state budget problem is bigger than portrayed

State Auditor Richard Johnson warns legislators and the Governor aren’t acknowledging the full extent of the state’s fiscal problem. Rather than approving about 21-million dollars in spending in tomorrow’s “special session”, Johnson says legislators should make about 200-million more in budget cuts — on top of the 200-million Governor Vilsack’s already ordered.Johnson says September 11th has had a bigger economic impact than legislators and the Governor are willing to accept. And Johnson says the economic signs were there long before 9/11. He says it’s been evident since last January.If lawmakers don’t heed his advice, Johnson predicts they’ll have to come back for a December “special session” because things’ll get so bad, legislators won’t be able to wait ’til January when they convene in regular session.