Legislators tackle budget deficit

The Legislature gave first-round approval this past week to a $10.8 billion biennial budget for fiscal years 2025-2026 and 2026-2027. It consisted of five bills advanced to the floor by the Appropriations Committee. Going into debate, senators faced a nearly $262 million projected budget deficit over the next two years due to federal rate changes for Medicaid and a late report by the Economic Forecasting Advisory Board. In developing the budget proposal, the Appropriations Committee had used February’s numbers from the Forecasting Board. That projection was much more favorable than what the bo...