House Rejects Senate Budget Proposal

{Frankfort, Kentucky}...Friday morning, the House rejected a budget proposal made by the Senate, opening the way for negotiators for the House and Senate to begin talks to resolve differences in a two-year, $19.5 billion state budget. Those talks aren't expected to begin until Monday. The Senate passed a budget proposal late Thursday that would cut spending in multiple ways, eliminating the lieutenant governor's housing allowance, taking away proposed scholarships for Appalachian college students, and scrapping cost-of-living increases in the monthly pension checks of some 200,000 government retirees. House Speaker Greg Stumbo said he sees no insurmountable issues.