Tuesday, May 16, 2017
My Statement on the Proposed Senate Budget
"The Fiscal Year 2018 budget proposal released today by the Senate Committee on Ways and Means identifies and responds to some important spending priorities like partial funding of the recommendations of the Foundation Budget Review Commission for education and confronting the ongoing opiate epidemic.
This proposal comes in the context of serious issues with our state's revenue collections and an uncertain future for those collections in the current year and the one to follow. That’s why its ambitious spending needs to be carefully considered for sustainability.
In addition, the proposed budget relies on some significant tax changes that warrant careful thought and analysis before approval. We must be attentive to any potential negative impacts or unintended consequences of these changes, and we will carefully examine them.
This budget proposal puts us on a path to an important conversation about navigating through some serious fiscal challenges, and we all need to contribute to that discussion in the days ahead."
You can read the proposed $40.79 billion budget bill at this link -
Senate Ways and Means Fiscal 2018 state budget