© 2024 WUKY
background_fid.jpg
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

State Lawmakers Ironing Out Differences in Budget Plans

By Tony McVeigh

FRANKFORT, Ky. -- – Negotiations on Kentucky's next biennial budget got underway Wednesday night in Frankfort. House and Senate conferees spent nearly three hours behind closed doors, poring over documents outlining the differences in the spending plans passed by each chamber. Senate President David Williams says the talks are off to a productive start.

"I saw a lot of head nodding on both sides of the table about some things we did, and some acceptance of the fact that some of these changes that we made were just because we didn't understand the position of the other side. So, I thought we made a lot of progress."

The conferees are trying to find common ground on a new $17.5-billion biennial spending plan for the Commonwealth. They must work quickly because only six days remain in the 2010 session.