And Now McCoy Responds…

Billy McCoy and House Democrats sent out a press release today in response to Haley Barbour’s threat to make across the board cuts. It read:

“Speaker Billy McCoy Wednesday said if budgets are gutted as proposed by the Governor and passed by the Senate ‘blood will be on their hands’ because the House has presented an alternative that preserves vital services without furloughing teachers and employees while preventing the threat of releasing convicts from prison or casting mental patients from state facilities.”

Here is the text of the bill that the House passed yesterday.

The bill, HB 392, now heads to the Senate. The Clarion-Ledger spoke with Sen. Gary Tollison (D-Oxford) who said he doesn’t expect a compromise by week’s end. I’d say that is a safe bet.