Lawmakers Start Budget Talks, Instant Compromise Unlikely

Kentucky lawmakers will spend much of the last full week of the legislative session trying to hatch a compromise on budget bills.House and Senate leadership started talks this morning, breaking only for committee meetings and floor duties. They are expected to continue negotiations well into the night.So far, lawmakers have looked line by line at differences between the House and Senate budget plans. They're looking for changes one side or the other is willing to accept without debate.House Speaker Greg Stumbo says he doesn’t think a compromise can be reached by the end of today.“I don’t know if we can get it today or not, but I think we’re, we’re not that far apart,” Stumbo says.The biggest disagreements between the two chambers center on projects funded with coal severance tax money. Lawmakers have until late Wednesday to compromise if they want to pass a budget by Friday.