Cecil Brown – “Apparently he (Barbour) wants to take a cleaver to the budget”
Lawmakers say the Republican governor has given key House members a list of the programs he wants to cut by nearly 10 percent, including most of K-12 public education, universities and community colleges.
Barbour spokesman Dan Turner said the information was in “working papers shared with lawmakers,” and he said the governor wouldn’t make the figures public.
House Education Committee Chairman Cecil Brown, D-Jackson, acknowledged cuts are unavoidable because the state’s revenue collection for the current budget year is projected to be $347 million below estimates. But Brown said Barbour wants to cut more than needed.
“Apparently he wants to take a cleaver to the budget,” Brown said Friday.
AP
1/15/10