April 1, 2008
Lawmakers plug budget hole
To fill a $190 million gap, Maine's Legislature last night approved a supplemental budget, which Governor John Baldacci quickly signed into law.
The budget is essentially the plan that won approval in the House last week, although it does not include an amendment to increase the hospital tax to offset mental health services cuts. Severe cuts originally proposed for the Office of Program Evaluation and Government Accountability also were scaled back after Republican opposition, and Democrats agreed to consider restoring full funding to the office in a later bill, the Kennebec Journal reported.
The House and Senate approved the supplemental plan before midnight, fending off a temporary curtailment Baldacci would have implemented today had a budget not been passed. The $6.3 billion two-year budget will go into effect on June 30, the last day of this fiscal year.
The budget is essentially the plan that won approval in the House last week, although it does not include an amendment to increase the hospital tax to offset mental health services cuts. Severe cuts originally proposed for the Office of Program Evaluation and Government Accountability also were scaled back after Republican opposition, and Democrats agreed to consider restoring full funding to the office in a later bill, the Kennebec Journal reported.
The House and Senate approved the supplemental plan before midnight, fending off a temporary curtailment Baldacci would have implemented today had a budget not been passed. The $6.3 billion two-year budget will go into effect on June 30, the last day of this fiscal year.
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