Republican chairman of the Ways and Means Committee, and a crucial author during drafting of the 2013-15 budget, Senator Andy Hill is enthusiastic about the forthcoming economic boosts predicted by the Economic and Revenue Forecast Council – of which he is an integral member.
“Hopefully this will break the logjam,” Hill said of the new projections calculated by the council. Approximately $400 million is expected to enter the budget “thanks to a strong real estate market, continued job growth and expected boosts in legal marijuana sales”, with $100 million entering during the current budget cycle and $300 million projected to enter during the 2015-17 cycle.
Democratic Representative Ross Hunter, another member of the council, has taken the opposite view in claiming “we have a lot of work to do”. However, the Democrats are still attempting to suck as much money from taxpayers as possible by claiming we are in a budget deficit – and refusing to budge on their stance.
“The House and Senate each passed an operating budget that would cover many of the state’s programs and salaries, as well as the state’s portion of public school educations and public colleges. But the two budgets are more than $1 billion different”. Democrats have been trying to manipulate the budget and raise taxes so they can use taxpayers’ money to pay off their special interest groups.
“Our job is even easier than it was in January. At some point you have to say, ‘Holy cow! We’ve got a lot of money’,” Sen. Hill said of the additions to the budget. David Schumacher, director of the Office of Financial Management, had an agreeable claim – in saying the additional revenue should make budget negotiations easier.
However, until the Democrats stop abusing their power and using taxpayers’ money to groom future political prospects among other misdeeds, such as lining the pockets of their special interest groups, it seems as though the negotiations may continue until the last day of session.
Photo courtesy of BetaNews
Leave a Reply