Democratic Senators may have failed to get a dummy bill out of the Finance Committee Thursday, but that may not stop them from attempting to pass a deficit mitigation plan Friday evening.
Sen. President Donald Williams has promised to get a deficit mitigation plan passed before the end of the month, but House Democrats have been hesitant to endorse it.
The infighting played out Wednesday and Thursday in the Finance Committee meeting. Click here to read our previous story.
Like Wednesday, Senators on the Finance Committee were unable to get a bill that had been through both the Appropriations and Finance Committee passed however, they contend they still have a bill to use for the deficit mitigation plan.
Sparse details of the plan include two more furlough days and elimination of longevity pay for all non-union employees; a reduction in the number of deputy commissioners; and no cuts to municipal aid.
The House Democrats say they agree with about 90 percent of the plan, but are still crunching the numbers.
Sen. Minority Leader John McKinney dismissed the attempt to run a deficit mitigation plan on a Friday evening as a “phantom” gesture. He said if Williams had the support of the House he could use the emergency certification process to get through a deficit mitigation plan, but he’s blocked from using that process because the House Democrats don’t like the plan.
“Anything we do in the Senate will be purely for show,” McKinney said. He said this deficit has been looming since October 2009.
A Senate session on Friday is still not carved in stone, but Senators said it was likely Thursday evening.
