State Budget (Updated July 18, 2007)

Update July 2007 - State Budget Update (PDF)

An agreement that will resolve the budget impasse has been announced and the Governor has rescinded the furloughs of state employees. All services that were impacted by the furloughs should be operating at their regular hours.

The details of the agreement must be placed in bill form, approved by the Senate and House and signed by the Governor before the budget is finally enacted. We have been advised that this process will take several days to complete.

Please be assured that I will carefully review each piece of legislation and make my decision on the merits of each bill. Details on a number of the proposals are unclear and those details may have a significant bearing on my vote.

During the budget impasse we have been working on a bi-partisan basis to enact two pieces of legislation. My bills to improve access to dental care (Senate Bill 455) and license assisted living residences (Senate Bill 704) have advanced with significant assistance from the Governor's office as well as Republican and Democratic members of the Legislature.

For the status of the budget bill (House Bill 1286), click here.