House budget includes option to furlough state workers
Rep. Fred Nesler, D-Mayfield, and Rep. Charlie Siler, R-Williamsburg, were the only members of the committee who voted against the budget bill.
Several other committee members said they regretted the budget did not protect key services but felt they had to pass a budget to avoid a partial government shutdown come July 1.
Rep. Harry Moberly, D-Richmond, voted for the measure but bemoaned cuts to education. The bill would preserve the state's main funding formula for schools but would cut higher education by 1.4 percent in fiscal year 2011 and 2.4 percent the following year.
Other areas of education, such as the state's gifted and talented program, also will get less money.
"This is not a good budget," Moberly said. "It does not move us forward."
The budget proposal includes a 3.5 percent cut in the first year of the budget and a 4.5 percent cut in the second year for most state agencies. Agencies receiving less onerous cuts include higher education, Medicaid, the Department of Corrections and prosecutors and public defenders, among others.
