Tuesday, June 30, 2009

Mississippi - Special session extends into second day

Special session extends into second day

Posted: June 29, 2009 10:57 PM

Updated: June 30, 2009 12:16 AM
Special session still being debated

By Roslyn Anderson

JACKSON, MS (WLBT) - Day two of the special session found lawmakers battling it out at the state capitol late into the evening.

Tuesday at midnight the fiscal year ends and a budget must be set.

The house and senate continued working well into the night Monday trying to come to an agreement on the state's nearly $6 billion dollar budget.

Monday morning Governor Haley Barbour added general fund bills to the special session.

"I believe we will have a budget for all of the general fund agencies. Most of the special agency bills passed last night. Whether or not we'll have a budget an a operational bill for medicaid by July 1st is a little bit more of a question, but we're certainly working toward it," said Barbour.

By early evening House Speaker Billy McCoy was hopeful that talks with the senate and governor's office were clearing the way for a final settlement on Medicaid.

House Medicaid committee members reported that they were finalizing details of an agreement.

"I think that before the night is over we'll have an agreement on Medicaid and the governor will add it to his call. Considering Medicaid's budget is close to a billion or into the billions of dollars, and we are less than $5 million dollars apart," said House Medicaid committee vice president Rep. Robert Johnson.

Medicaid officials said the agency's budget is $5 billion dollars.

Sixteen percent of which is paid for by the state.

The rest comes from federal funding.

Buddy Bynam, Governor Barbour's communications director, said late Monday that the governor had not yet added Medicaid to the call, but he said both the house and senate were proceeding with good faith.

Negotiations will continue Tuesday morning.

No comments:

Post a Comment