By JOHN HANNA AP Political Writer

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas officials issued a new fiscal forecast Thursday that’s slightly more optimistic about how much tax revenue the state should expect to collect over the next two years, creating a little more breathing room for expanding Medicaid or providing tax relief.

Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly immediately urged the Republican-controlled Legislature to be cautious. She vetoed a tax relief billchampioned by GOP leaders earlier this month, and some lawmakers want to try again.

Kelly also is pushing to expand the state’s Medicaid health coveragefor the needy to as many as 150,000 additional people. While the idea has bipartisan support, top Republicans have opposed the idea, arguing that it could prove too costly for the state.

The forecasters increased the official projections for tax revenues by less than 1% for the current budget year, the 2020 budget year that begins in July and the 2021 budget year. But the new numbers reflect a view from that group — legislative researchers, university economists and officials in Kelly’s administration — that the economy should remain solid in the short-term.

“What we’re seeing is true, good, solid growth — business growth, income growth. Those are real,” said Larry Campbell, the governor’s budget director and a member of the forecasting group. “We’re hoping that we’re stabilizing out.”