Legislative leaders today announced that lawmakers have agreed to continue bipartisan budget negotiations beyond this week to allow more time for a vote on a complete fiscal year 2019 budget bill.
Senate President Pro Tempore Martin M. Looney, Senate Republican President Pro Tempore Len Fasano, Speaker of the House Joe Aresimowicz, and House Republican Leader Themis Klarides released the following statement:
“Last year, Democrats and Republicans worked together to adopt a truly bipartisan budget. As the leaders of our respective caucuses, we are committed to continuing that bipartisan approach. All four caucuses have agreed to continue bipartisan work on the state budget beyond the scheduled JF Appropriations Committee deadline. We recognize that multiple weather related closings caused a backup of committee meetings and interfered with the continuity of budget negotiations. All four caucuses have been continuously working on budget proposals and we are all in agreement to continue our efforts to work toward a bipartisan solution. Therefore, for procedural reasons, each caucus has agreed to support placeholder budget bills which will be voted out of the Finance Committee tomorrow. These bills, Senate Bill 533 and House Bill 5588, will then be referred out of the Senate and House to the Appropriations Committee by April 20, 2018 for a budget vote. This will give the Appropriations Committee needed time to hold a vote on a complete fiscal year 2019 budget.”