The Mississippi Legislature has sent a second budget reconciliation compromise to Gov. Haley Barbour, this time restoring $82 million of the cuts the governor has made this fiscal year. Barbour vetoed a previous attempt to reconcile $79 million, saying the proposal took too much from the state's savings and restored too little to the Department of Corrections.

In the most recent bill, lawmakers again tapped into an assortment of state reserve funds to return $37.1 million to K-12 education, $16 million to corrections and $4 million to the university system, reports The Commercial Appeal.

"The Senate adopted it unanimously, and hopefully this will close the books on 2010 and we can focus our full attention on 2011," Sen. Doug Davis, R-Hernando, vice chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, told the Memphis paper.

Whether Barbour will sign the bill is not certain.

The state Senate also approved legislation yesterday to cut school sessions from 180 to 175 days, and furlough teachers and other school employees for up to five days to adjust to the drop in state revenue.

Previous Comments

ID

156519

Comment

The Legislators just have to spend more of what we don't have, they can't seem to help themselves. They need a 12 step program or something.

Author

WMartin

Date

2010-03-04T11:53:04-06:00