Lawmakers Reach Agreement On Budget

{Frankfort, Kentucky}...Under a bare-bones budget proposal that legislative leaders have agreed to present to their colleagues for floor votes Friday, more than 30,000 government workers will go without pay raises and some 200,000 retirees won't get cost-of-living increases in their monthly pension checks. Three days of intense talks ended early Thursday morning when legislative leaders exited a conference room with a tentative deal on the two-year, $19 billion spending plan that still needs approval from the full House and Senate. Negotiators were set to tackle the state's road budget, a $3.5 billion construction plan that will likely involve another round of marathon negotiations. Lawmakers also are pushing to pass Governor Steve Beshear's tax amnesty plan that he believes could collect a badly needed $55 million over the next two years. It would be the state's first offer of tax amnesty in a decade and would forgive some penalties if people come forward and pay their taxes.