Bredesen Delivers Somber Budget Speech To Legislature

Governor Phil Bredesen says his revised, bare-bones budget is balanced without gimmicks in order that the state can live within its means. Revenue shortfalls forced Bredesen to slash an additional 468-million-dollars from an already lean spending plan. In a speech to the legislature, said he's proposing what he calls "honest cuts." That means matching recurring funds with recurring expenses and not using one-time money to pay for ongoing expenses. Bredesen says the state will also protect its major reserve funds. He says the state will need to tap into them if the national economic slowdown continues. Bredesen says he'll also resist calls to take the easy path and try to tax the state's way out of the shortfall. This means cutting funds for education improvements, reducing the state's workforce by two-thousand people and scaling back a proposed TennCare expansion.

Legislative leaders say they can work with the revised budget Governor Phil Bredesen has presented. It slashes an additional 468-million dollars in proposed spending through across-the-board cuts and state employee buyouts. Bredesen is still working out the details of the buyout package. House Speaker Jimmy Naifeh says members would like to know more about what's being offered. Bredesen has asked the legislature to approve 50-million-dollars in one-time money to pay for the buyout. Lieutenant Governor Ron Ramsey says he trusts Bredesen to do the right thing when it comes to cutting the state's workforce.

Read the entire text of Governor Bredesen’s speech:
http://www.tennesseeanytime.org/govfiles/051208-Address-Budget-Update.pd...