Does the General Assembly ever cut its budget? On at least one recent occasion, yes.
The legislature’s spending for the fiscal year that ended June 30 (fiscal 2012) was cut by $3 million, according to information presented during a House Finance Committee meeting Wednesday. House spokesman Larry Berman offered this explanation:
The General Assembly has long been populated with public employees — police officers, firefighters, and teachers — so the Hatch Act complaint described by state Representative Jon Brien has no small significance.
Larry Berman, the spokesman for House Speaker Gordon Fox, says the House leadership believes Stephen Casey is on solid ground in rebutting Brien’s complaint.