By Tony McVeigh
Frankfort, KY – House and Senate negotiations on a one-year, continuation budget remain active, but Senate budget chairman Bob Leeper says the proposal is a long shot.
"You know, we were willing to look at it and see, but there's enough problems with that I'm not optimistic you're going to get - and I'm not sure you can get the House chamber to pass it. It's part of understanding what it actually did. I mean, it's a thought, it's an idea and I understand where they're coming from, but once you see the actual impact, I would be curious if they could even pass this through the House."
The House and Senate crafted their own budget proposals after rejecting Gov. Beshear's budget based on casino gambling. Disagreement over one billion dollars in bonded capital projects sought by the House led to an eventual collapse of budget negotiations.
Choosing see the glass half full, Beshear remains confident the House and Senate can resolve their differences.
"They can pass a budget by midnight tonight, and I continue to urge them very strongly to do so. As I have said repeatedly, the people of this state expect them to do their jobs by midnight tonight and the main job they've got to do is passing a budget. They're close to doing it and I urge them to get the job done."