State lawmakers still have until October to pass a new state budget to avoid the shutdown possibility.
Under a 2019 law, the legislature was supposed to approve a new spending plan by July 1st. But that didn’t happen.
Republican House Speaker Matt Hall:
“If we had had legislation in place that took away the politicians’ pay if they missed their deadline on a budget, I would’ve got a deal done before July 1.”
Democratic Senate Majority Leader Winnie Brinks says there’s strong support for withholding lawmakers’ pay.
“Clearly the law that was passed in ’19 that does not have teeth was not effective this year.”
So far, neither side has actually brought forward a bill to dock pay as a consequence of not passing a budget.
