Sunday Budget Conference Cancelled

By: Associated Press | NBC4i.com
Published: June 28, 2009

COLUMBUS, Ohio--
Lawmakers scrambling to reach a budget
deal canceled a meeting planned for Sunday, reflecting a continuing
stalemate over the issue of slot machine gambling and casting
serious doubt on their ability to meet a July 1 deadline.
The meeting was rescheduled for Monday, leaving almost no time
for lawmakers to reach a deal that could be voted on and signed by
the governor. The possibility of lawmakers having to pass a
temporary budget to fund government at reduced levels for at least
a few days looms heavily.
The dispute over Democratic Gov. Ted Strickland's gambling
proposal has overshadowed all other negotiations on the roughly $54
billion spending plan, which must be trimmed by $3.2 billion to
account for an expected drop in revenue.
With the Senate's refusal to touch the gambling proposal,
Strickland will have to decide whether to move ahead with it on his
own. If he does not, lawmakers will likely have to turn to erasing
the budget deficit solely with cuts - all sides have said a tax
increase would harm the economy further.
Strickland said it's up to the Senate, now that it has rejected
his proposal, to come up with an alternative way to cut the $933
million from the budget. In his plan, Strickland also proposed $2.4
billion in cuts.
Advocates for state services from libraries to food banks have
already cried out over the cuts they would receive from
Strickland's proposal. Libraries faced a nearly 50 percent
reduction in state support while food banks would see $8.5 million
a year under the governor's proposal, the same funding they were
receiving before the severe recession greatly increased demand for
food aid.

Sunday Budget Conference Cancelled

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