Brandon Jones’ take on budget stalemate
Regular Session v. Special Session
At the urging of hundreds of teachers, hospital workers, and public employees who were roaming throughout the Capitol on Wednesday, the House tried three times to extend the Regular Session. The resolution would have allowed conferees to continue the negotiation process and avoid another costly special session. As many of you will remember from last year, special sessions cost substantially more per day than regular sessions. These types of resolutions require a 2/3rds vote for passage. A bipartisan group of 72 Republicans and Democrats voted to extend the Regular Session and against a Special Session but fell short of victory by 4 votes.
I voted against the Special Session for 4 simple reasons: 1) The same people who are in disagreement now will still have to reach an agreement in a Special Session; 2) There is nothing about a Special Session that compels legislators to agree (in fact, last year, quite the opposite happened); 3) In a budget year like this one, we should take the cheapest route to a solution; and 4) The Governor has repeatedly failed to include the Wind Pool increase in his budget figures.
Jim Craig’s World
6/4/9
Magnolia Tribune
