A service of Salisbury University and University of Maryland Eastern Shore
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Budget Writing Stalls in Delaware

Official photo

DOVER, Del. (AP) - Democratic House and Senate leaders have told the legislature's budget-writing committee to halt its work amid concerns about spending cuts the panel has approved.

House Speaker Pete Schwartzkopf and Senate president David McBride instructed the Democratic co-chairs of the Joint Finance Committee on Wednesday to cancel a Thursday work session to allow legislative leaders from both parties to continue discussions on raising additional revenue to balance the upcoming budget.

The move came one day after the committee agreed upon about $30 million in cuts affecting a broad spectrum of agencies and programs, with roughly half of the cuts involving education.

Democratic lawmakers indicated that they do not want to unduly alarm the public with further cuts if there is a chance they can agree with GOP lawmakers on tax hikes.

Don Rush is the News Director at Delmarva Public Media. An award-winning journalist, Don reports major local issues of the day, from sea level rise, to urban development, to the changing demographics of Delmarva.