AUSTIN (July 19, 2012)--The Texas comptroller's office says it now expects the state to collect at least $5 billion in unanticipated revenue during the present two-year budget cycle.

The revelation by Comptroller Susan Combs came as the state was seeking $9.8 billion in short-term loans.

Combs said sales tax collections are running about $1.5 billion ahead of projections.

Earlier she reported that the state had a $1.6 billion cash balance.

Fiscal analyst Eva DeLuna Castro of the Austin-based nonprofit, nonpartisan Center for Public Policy Priorities said even the $5 billion is a conservative figure.

She said history suggests that state revenue could swell with a rise in personal income in the state.