Budget agreement between House and Senate results in cuts of $242 million
The Legislature is nearing completion on the passage of a budget bill to further close what was a $1.1 billion shortfall in the current biennium. The House and Senate have reached agreement on the details of an early-action budget bill and are planning a vote for Friday.
In addition to making $242 million in cuts, the agreed-upon budget would make $125 million in fund transfers and leave a remaining shortfall of about $200 million, which the Legislature will resolve as they develop the budget for the upcoming 2011-13 biennium.
The final agreement spares none:
- Health care for some children on the Apple Health for Kids program will be restricted to those with incomes at or below 200% of the Federal Poverty Level (FPL), which is about $37,000 per year for a family of three. Families between 201% FPL and 300% FPL can still obtain coverage but must buy-in at full cost;
- Individuals who cannot work due to a disability will see their income assistance drop by an additional 21%. This is on top of a reduction of 20% that was enacted by the Legislature in December; and
- Funding for class-size reductions for students in Kindergarten through 4th grade is reduced by $25 million.
See the comparison charts below for more detail on the budget proposals and the final agreement.
Enactment of this budget bill would bring reductions for this biennium to a total of approximately $5.3 billion.
