By Stu Johnson, Kentucky Public RadioIt appears there’s been a breakdown of budget negotiations in Frankfort.House and Senate conferees broke up after just three hours of discussion. Negotiators have worked for a week to reach a budget compromise. As he was exiting, Senate Minority Floor Leader Ed Worley said another meeting had not been scheduled. A couple of hours later, Brian Wilkerson, who's an aide to House Speaker Greg Stumbo, said an agreement is still possible but it may not come in time for the full legislature to pass it this week."We’re still hopeful that negotiations can continue soon and we’re still open to having a budget we believe before April 15th. We have that time between now and until April 15th. If it’s not veto proof we still think it’s still very important to have a budget in place before we leave on April 15th," he said.If the House and Senate don’t approve the $17 billion budget by Friday, there will be no time left on the legislative calendar to override any budget vetoes issued by the Governor.
Rick Howlett was midday host and the host of LPM's weekly talk show, "In Conversation." He was with LPM from 2001-2023 and held many different titles, including Morning Edition host, Assignment Editor and Interim News Director. He died in August 2023. Read a remembrance of Rick here.
