State Representive Myron Dossett, who serves on the Appropriations and Revenue Committee, believes a budget bill will surface in the House this week.
Appearing on this week’s Legislative Update program, Dossett says it may come Wednesday.
He says the House will likely receive the pension reform bill from the Senate about the same time it is ready for the Senate to receive the budget.
In other business, Representative Lynn Bechler hopes legislation to reform the adoption and foster care systems for children in state custody will pass this session. He points to social workers who often have caseloads that are more than double what’s recommended by national standards.
Senator Whitney Westerfield is not confident recommendations made by the Criminal Justice Policy Assessment Council that he serves on will be implemented by the General Assembly this session. He says there’s a combination of political apprehension, justice reform fatigue and fear of the unknown.
The Council is chaired by Justice Secretary John Tilley, who formerly represented Christian and Trigg County in the House.