It’s all hands on deck in Augusta as lawmakers get ready to tackle a lopsided state budget.
Two days of budget hearings begin today. The Legislature cancelled all its sessions so lawmakers could focus on 14 committee hearings. This morning kicked off with an 8:30 a.m. meeting of the Appropriations Committee to hear public comments on Gov. John Baldacci’s proposal to balance the state’s $190 million budget gap.
Baldacci’s proposal to balance the budget includes spending cuts for education and health care, as well as trimming more than 70 state positions, according to the Associated Press.