A month before lawmakers head into a legislative session to hammer out another state budget, the governor’s office announced tax collections continue to plummet.

Numbers out Wednesday from Gov. Sonny Perdue’s office show revenue collections dropped more than 16 percent in November, compared to November of last year.

That means Georgia took in nearly $1.2 billion.

After months of recession, Georgia officials are expecting a massive budget shortfall when state lawmakers return to the Capitol in January

Gov. Perdue has already slashed state spending and furloughed state employees and teachers.

But November’s numbers are better than October’s revenue collections.

Last month, the state drew about $49 million less from taxes.

Gov. Perdue's office says the recession had not yet taken hold last November, and that explains why the drop announced on Wednesday is so steep.

For the fiscal year that began in July, tax collections are down 15.4 percent

Tags: Governor Sonny Perdue, Bert Brantley, tax collections