Lilly Ann Brown –
Governor Comfort Markwei and her cabinet have been developing this year’s budget, but some of our delegates disagree with the direction they are taking. Senator Phoenix Caruthers and Representative Garner Cherry shared some bold dissent on Markwei’s budget, elaborating on its shortcomings and how to address them.
After a brief introduction, our delegates explained their basic concerns about Markwei’s budget. Senator Caruthers feels that “this year’s budget is just spread too thin” and he wants to see “more money going towards education and prison reform, with specific acknowledgment to where that money goes within those programs.” Representative Cherry shares those sentiments, Cherry boldly stated, “we have bills passing with incoherent fiscal lines.” They went even further, asking “how will the budget be of any value if the bills passing are nonsensical, with such quotes as “this bill will be of minimal cost to the state.”
Caruthers’ claim was interesting to me; in this year’s State of the State address I felt that Markwei endorsed a large number of bills focusing on education and prison reform, but Sen. Caruthers feels those areas are lacking in the budget. When asked, Caruthers elaborated on his claim, stating that this year’s budget places inordinate focus on the administrative side of education, and that “the money Markwei wants to put into education would not be going to the classroom.” Caruthers feels the funding is being directed towards administration and wide reform, but not the classroom. He even went so far as to say that administrative staff is “pretty unnecessary,” and that funding should not go anywhere but the classroom itself.
Cherry was more concerned with the vague nature of the budget, elaborating that passing bills that do not state explicitly where money will go, who will have the license to use the money, and what department that money is going to, give the Governor’s Cabinet too much power. Cherry stated, “when writing a piece of legislature you must be specific, especially when it concerns money.” Cherry went further, “the budget may lay out a specific amount to be spent on any given bill, but if the bill didn’t explicitly state how much the bill would cost then the Governor has essentially taken action that was not voted on or approved. That’s not fair, and it certainly isn’t justice.”
Senator Caruthers and Rep. Cherry agree that the bills being passed are far too vague and that the budget is allocating funds in a way that is not democratic or equitable. Cherry closed with the following statement: “bills are being passed based on the quality of the idea, not the text, but this gives the Govcap and Governer Markwei too much power with the budget.”
Later, after the Lobbyist Luncheon where both Caruthers, Cherry, and myself were present, I received an anonymous tip that the Lobbyists and delegates in the Senate are attempting to mobilize enough people to overturn Governors Markwei’s budget tonight. This, and the recent action surrounding the veto and subsequent overturning, is solid evidence of some strong disagreement with Gov. Markwei’s administration. We should all watch closely at the obvious, and more hidden, actions by some of our strong delegates this year.
Department of Public Information 