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Reported by: Blake Wood / WCIA 3 & MyCFN News Tuesday, Sep 23, 2008 @09:23pm CDT SPRINGFIELD - State lawmakers try to send more money to state parks and drug treatment centers. Tuesday the senate agreed to spend 220-million dollars to replace the money cut by the governor. The governor’s office says he wants to take a close look at where the money is coming from to make sure it doesn’t cost the state more down the road. Republicans say there's more than 25-million dollars in pork projects still left in the budget. They say that's where the money should come from to keep programs funded and parks open, but democrats disagree with what they call pork. While no one wants to see sites close and drug funding cut lawmakers say nothing will get done until they see eye to eye. “It doesn't work, so lets get together limp along and come back next year and do the right thing by solving the problems,” said (R) minority leader Sen. Frank Watson. “The governors actually made it more difficult for smaller communities so we need to make sure we restore that funding to keep the parks open,” said (D) Rep. Bob Flider of Mt. Zion. The governor’s office says he’ll take his time and won’t rush to sign the bill. Meanwhile, state parks and historic sites are scheduled to close in November. Lawmakers don’t expect to return to the capitol until that time. If the governor makes any changes it could make the process even longer. The state is also having a hard time making new money. The department of revenue says we could end up 200-million dollars short this year. They say that’s because of the bad economy with the state bringing in less from income and sales taxes. |