Senators are considering making cuts to the $29 billion budget passed by the house in late March as revenue reports are coming in lower than projected.
The Senate Appropriations Committee met Tuesday to review the budget line by line. Senator Denny Hoskins proposed saving money by eliminating around 200 state full-time positions that haven’t been filled for over six months.
He gave one example where cutting nine positions would save about $300,000. Hoskins says this is about 20 percent of the total state positions that have been vacant for six months or more.
“When we look at our revenues coming in less than expected, we need to take a stand as a Senate,” sais Hoskins.
Some senators raised concerns with this idea, saying that a position might be unfilled but still important. One senator said they need to reach out to departments to make sure these positions aren’t vital.