Democrats and conservative representatives banded together to overwhelmingly defeat the $11.9 billion budget proposal put forward by Republican House leaders.
It failed in a 224–134 vote, dealing a blow to Speaker Shawn Jasper that reveals lingering fractures within the GOP.
The budget proposal would have sent $50 million to towns and cities for property tax relief, launched a new welfare-to-work pilot program and provided no money for full-day kindergarten. Democrats said it spent too little on education and mental health services, while conservatives complained the budget spent far too much, though they offered few areas for cuts. Sixty-six Republicans joined with most House Democrats to defeat the budget, in what one GOP representative called an “intra-party squabble.”
The New Media Militia 