Huebsch wants to reboot negotiations
Assembly Speaker Mike Huebsch said following last night's rejection of the revised budget bill that it's "back to the drawing board" on a budget compromise, and he said he'd like to continue to negotiate with Gov. Doyle.
Huebsch, R-West Salem, said he'd like Democrats to reconsider the proposal Republicans put on the bargaining table prior to the govenor's call for a special session.
"We had about a $600 million increase in spending, but it funded a lot of the areas the governor wanted - schools, corrections, the university, financial aid. Those are the areas I believe we were able to fund without the huge tax increases," he said. "That's where I'm hoping we'll be able to start again soon."
Though he refused to call it a bottom line, Huebsch said he would first like to see the Senate pass the separate school funding bill AB 506.
"If they want to change the date on that from Oct. 15 to later, fine. I'll go with that. But take up that bill," he said.
A tax on hospitals proposed by Doyle will not pass through the Assembly in any form, Huebsch said. But he said there may be a solution.
"We don't need to tax hospitals to provide that (MA reimbursement) money," Huebsch said. "We can simply take dollars that are available to us - even through a cigarette tax, if you wish, and direct that to the hospitals. The federal government will match that money as well."
Listen to the Huebsch interview here.
