The administration says the new
budget plan is a responsible way to balance next year’s budget – it includes more cuts
than the Legislature proposed and it raises fewer taxes.
Governor Jim Douglas says he won’t have to call lawmakers back to the Statehouse for a special session if
Democratic leaders agree to some additional budget cuts in the coming weeks.
With federal
stimulus money filling what otherwise would be huge budget holes, Vermont
lawmakers are moving to wrap up work on the general fund, transportation and
capital construction budgets for the fiscal year beginning July 1.
Democratic leaders plan to have both the
House and the Senate vote on their budget package tomorrow. If no changes are made to the plan, the governor has
made it clear that he will veto the bill.
Legislative leaders say they can’t make a deal with the Douglas administration on tax and spending plans. So
they’re crafting their own proposal that makes additional budget cuts and
raises new revenues.
House Speaker Shap Smith says lawmakers will have to
accept some difficult program cuts in order to reach a compromise budget
agreement with the Douglas Administration.
The budget, raw milk legislation and a possible loss of Federal stimulus dollars made headlines in the last few days. Here are some of the voices from this week’s news.