State Legislators Locked In Budget Battle

State lawmakers are still in a tiff when it comes to passing a budget.

They are required to pass a budget, but negotiations have turned sour in recent weeks.

This back and forth on the budget has caused a rift in this legislative session, but the disagreement is really over each chamber’s budget process.

“This has been the wildest budget process I have been a part of in 12 years,” said State Rep. Jon Echols (R). “I have never seen one body unilaterally shut down state government while we’re trying to do the people's business.”

With billions of state dollars in limbo, each state chamber is working through their budget process the best way they see fit, but their processes are pretty different.

The state senate has posted their numbers publicly, now saying they won't hear house budget bills until the house follows suit.

The house criticizes that move, saying important legislation is getting lost in the process, including a bill to give a pay raise to sheriffs in the state.

The state House handed over their numbers to Senate leadership but just says they're not ready to release anything to the public.

“We made it very clear we laid out even at the end of last year that we were going to change our budget process,” said Senate Pro Tem Greg Treat. “It shouldn't be a surprise to them we haven't changed anything.”

While it’s questionable at the moment, lawmakers in both chambers say they will come to an agreement on this budget, no matter how long it takes.