Second Special Session Called, Will Lawmakers Pass a Budget this Time?
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In exactly one week, lawmakers will reconvene for a third time to try to pass a general fund budget. Try is the key word…because lawmakers failed to pass a budget in the first two sessions. So, what are the expectations this time around?
Lawmakers will be tasked with filling a 200 million dollar general fund shortfall. But will lawmakers pass a budget? And what happens if they don’t? The start of the next fiscal year is October 1st. Lawmakers must have a budget in place by then. If not…
“The state closes down.”
Political Analyst Steve Flowers believes lawmakers will pass a budget but says it will likely resemble the first budget passed, which made deep cuts to state agencies.
“What you’re looking at is, I think, a bare bones budget. I think they’re going to pass something similar to what they did in the regular session.”
While the first special session never saw a budget pass, the budget lawmakers passed in the regular session slashed millions to mental health, law enforcement, and Medicaid. Governor Bentley vetoed it. Senate Minority Leader Quinton Ross says making cuts to state agencies is not ideal.
“I’m hopeful that we don’t have to cut any agencies but of course, all minds are going to have to back off of, I know a lot of my colleagues took no tax pledges.”
Ross believes gaming could fill the shortfall and says the expansion of Medicaid would also help the state’s financial crisis.
“First of all, there’s one clear way that the governor can get us out of this crisis…we wouldn’t even be here. And that’s to expand Medicaid. With the stroke of a pen, he can expand Medicaid and accept the federal dollars.”
Bentley has voiced his strong opposition to expanding Medicaid, so lawmakers will have to find money elsewhere.
“We’ll see what happens,” Flowers said. “You got to have a budget or the state can’t operate by law.”
Senator Ross says he believes lawmakers are in fact ready to pass a budget this time. He says they were expecting a session to be called around this time, unlike a few months ago, when the governor caught everyone off guard.
The session begins at 5pm next Tuesday. Stay with Alabama News Network for the latest.
