Okay, now we know. Yes, the governor has vetoed the budget.
So on Monday, will the General Assembly override her veto, like they did on last year’s budget, along party lines in the Senate and with a bi-partisan vote in the House?
The vote on this year’s budget was 30-15 along party lines in the Senate and 71-45 with bi-partisan support in the House.
A veto override requires 2/3 of the members present and voting. With Republicans holding 31 of the 50 seats in the Senate, an override vote is a pretty sure thing, But in the House, Republicans hold 68 of the 120 seats, 4 short of a straight party vote. On past votes, they have been able to get some democrats’ votes.
But will they this time? Both Bill Owens (who lost his fight to tax sweepstakes machines this week) and Dewey Hill have said maybe they will, maybe they won’t. Maybe they’ll take a walk.
Will the state just not have a budget if the General Assembly can’t get the votes for an override? Not a problem – we have a budget in place that was part of the two year budget passed last year. Or a bare bones alternative offered by the Senate this week.
Don’t like teacher and state employee’s raises? Not in favor of paying the Medicaid shortfall? Think putting money in the rainy day fund is short sighted? Don’t want to restore $158M to education and invest $47M in education reform? That and a whole lot more fiscal responsibility is in the budget the governor just vetoed.
Will the General Assembly override that veto? Or will the governor’s veto stick and we just go with the 2012-13 budget that passed last year? Last year’s budget spent $242M less than the one she just vetoed. Hey, that might not be a bad option, after all.
