House GOP Budget Plan Moves Forward
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Besides getting 250 million dollars from the Poarch Creek Indians, House Republicans plan to raise about 200 million in taxes and right-sizing government.
About 6 of the measures made it through the committee, including the cigarette tax and a car rental tax.
Democratic Representative John Knight was keeping close tabs of the numbers, and he says they don’t add up.
“The bills that came out of committee today would raise approximately 127 million dollars. Just to be even funded we need about 250 million. To be able to increase services, take care of increase in programs and things of that nature it’s probably in the neighborhood of 500 million,” said Rep. Knight.
Knight and fellow democrats really took issue with a bill to furlough state employees two days out of the year.
He says it’s unfair and unreasonable.
“I’m in favor or raising the revenue but I’m not in favor of raising revenue on the backs of state employees and consumer taxes to try to raise the revenue to bail the general fund budget out,” said Knight.
One of the smaller items would raise an estimated one million dollars by consolidating the Alabama Historical Commission into the Department of Archives.
Representative Mike Holmes is carrying the bill, and he says this plan is a start.
“We know it’s not enough. It’s a million dollars. To me a million dollars is a lot of money but when you’re talking about 270, 300 million dollar gap here, we’re just trying to look at everything we can here,” said Holmes.
