BUDGET DEADLINE TODAY

Pending any unforeseen miracle, it is safe to say that the budget will not be done today. Stay tuned to PLS for complete coverage of the budget and negotiations between the governor and four legislative caucuses as all sides try to grapple with the $3.2 billion + revenue shortfall.

LATE-NIGHT BUDGET MEETING YIELDS SMALL COMPROMISES, CALLED ‘PRODUCTIVE’

Legislative leaders described a roughly four-hour meeting among themselves and the governor Monday night as a productive process that gave each side a chance to identify priorities and chances for compromise among half the state budget’s 800 line-item expenditures, which negotiators scrutinized line by line. The talks, held at the chief executive’s mansion a day before the budget’s statutory June 30 deadline, were part one of a two-night negotiation designed less to reach compromise on large issues – such as education or broad-based tax increase – and more to scrutinize every dollar of spending in spending. The second part is scheduled to take place Tuesday, although its time and place are still undetermined. Senate Majority Leader Dominic Pileggi (R-Delaware), speaking to reporters afterward, said the negotiations lacked a “large-scale breakthrough” but called

Continue reading Eye Opener – June 30, 2009