Lawmakers Debate Budget Cuts

State lawmakers are still struggling with the best way to slash nearly half-a-billion-dollars from next year's budget. The 468-million dollars in cuts proposed by Governor Phil Bredesen include the elimination of two-thousand state employees through a voluntary buyout plan. Remaining state employees will see their health insurance costs go up and won't get pay raises. Some have suggested using the state's Rainy Day Fund to avoid cuts. Comptroller John Morgan says that's a bad idea. He says the state needs to match recurring expenditures with recurring revenues and not spend its savings. Lawmakers are constitutionally bound to pass a budget before they can adjourn for the year. Right now it's unclear when that will happen.