After a three-day holiday, the General Assembly reconvened and began moving the first of the bills out of committee.  

Friday, January 19, marked the first legislative deadline as it is the last day individual legislators can file bill requests.  

Work behind the scenes continues on the size of the de-appropriation required for the current year (FY18).  The Governor’s budget proposes $19 million in cuts, while the House and Senate leadership would like to see deeper cuts.  Prior to session, the plan was to pass a quick de-appropriation bill then move on to policy work.  

Given the ongoing negotiations, the plan is now to move to water quality.  During the last session, there were two versions of the water quality legislation that the Senate and House could not reach compromise.