May 30, 2018
The changes to the budget for State Fiscal Year 2018-2019 were posted to the General Assembly website during the Memorial Day weekend. At press time, the conference committee version of the Appropriations Act of 2018 is working its way through both the House and Senate. The vehicle that the legislature chose for the budget was an existing bill, S. 99, which had already passed the House and Senate and was in conference committee. By choosing a bill that had already been through the required legislative process in both houses, the General Assembly is able to forego the usual vetting process. In fact, the understanding is that amendments will not be allowed and the budget that was posted is essentially the budget that will be finalized. This is a big indicator that legislators are anxious to end this session quickly, presumably in order to get back to their communities to campaign.