Panel approves $6.1B budget
The Legislature's appropriations committee late last night endorsed a $6.1 billion two-year state budget.
The budget, approved by a unanimous vote, proposes tax cuts and major reforms to welfare and the state retirement system, according to the Portland Press Herald. The committee restored cuts to the Fund for a Healthy Maine and prescription drug coverage for the elderly, according to news station WMTW. Maine Public Broadcasting, which faced $4 million in cuts in the budget proposed by Gov. Paul LePage, is slated to lose just $200,000 in state funding under the panel's plan, which calls for a report to lawmakers in January to determine whether federal funds are available to MPBN, the paper reported.
The budget now heads to the full Legislature, where it will require a two-thirds majority vote in both the House and Senate for approval.
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