Spending stalemate grips Legislature

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Source: Durango Herald
DENVER – The machines in the cluttered basement print shop across the street from the Capitol should be humming right now, printing hundreds of copies of the 2-inch-thick state budget.

But the shop is quiet because there is no state budget.

The six lawmakers on the budget committee – three Republicans and three Democrats – cannot agree about whether to make additional cuts to public schools or to take money earmarked for local governments and businesses.

Republicans and Democrats agree about at least 95 percent of their $7 billion budget, but the disagreements about the last $200 million to $300 million are sharp enough that the Legislature has had to shift into low gear while a select group tries to hash out a deal.

The Democrats have all but agreed to Gov. John Hickenlooper’s plan for a historic cut to public schools, but they don’t want to make the cuts any bigger.

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http://durangoherald.com/article/20110326/NEWS01/703269949/-1/s