Senate Set to Pass Unchanged Budget Bills

Almost nothing is certain as this day begins at the state Capitol. Here’s what seems to be certain: the Senate will approve budget bills for higher education and for elementary and secondary education. After that, all cards seem to be wild. Governor Holden already has vetoed these bills once. We are four days away from the start of a new fiscal year. Holden, not wanting to give up whatever bargaining power he thinks he has, won’t say what he’ll do.Because of the way the state constitution is written, it’s not clear what happens to the rest of the budget if these two bills are vetoed. Assistant Attorney General Karen Mitchell says a lot of people could file suit for a lot of reasons. And she says there are other factors. One of which is the Governor’s claim that he changed his call for this special session last week so the legislature cannot legally send him these bills, but must instead send him spending packages good for only 90 days. The Senate will dump it all back in his lap later today.