Acrimony Of Regular Session Spills Over Into Special Session Of Legislature

It didn’t take long for the disagreements that marked the regular legislative session to surface during the special session now underway at the State Capitol. The House Budget Committee has heard testimony on the four budget bills vetoed by Governor Bob Holden. Democrat Yvonne Wilson of Kansas City questioned Budget Committee Chairman Carl Bearden about his decision to begin taking testimony on the bills rather than hear a presentation from the Holden Administration that claims the state’s financial standing has deteriorated greatly even in the two weeks the Legislature has been away from the Capitol. The Chairman didn’t reply. He had told another Democrat earlier that the Committee could discuss the discrepancy in numbers between the Holden Administration and legislative leaders, but that he doubted whether Democrats and Republicans would reach an agreement on them. The Holden Administration now says the budget approved by lawmakers in the regular session is more than $500-Million out of balance, a figure Bearden hotly disputes.