BRADENTON, Fla. - The Alabama Legislature failed to reach agreement on a general fund budget for fiscal 2016, necessitating a second special session in Montgomery.
Lawmakers wrapped up other matters on Tuesday, after rejecting each other's versions of a budget the day before. Alabama's fiscal year starts Oct. 1.
Neither chamber was willing to increase revenues proposed by Gov. Robert Bentley, who vetoed a proposed budget from lawmakers in June saying that it cut too deeply into public services.
Bentley has insisted that the state's general fund requires an infusion of $250 million to $300 million in new revenue to adequately fund state government. He proposed a number of measures to increase taxes and remove certain deductions, all of which have been rejected so far.
The governor called a special session for mid-July, but lawmakers met one day and adjourned saying they needed additional time to develop their own spending plans.
While they resumed the session on Monday, House Speaker Mike Hubbard, R-Auburn, said the inability to reach agreement indicated that lawmakers "weren't ready to come back."
Bentley didn't immediately comment on the failed budget talks, and planned to address the state budget crisis at the Rotary Club in Birmingham on Wednesday.
Last week, Sen. Paul Sanford, R-Madison County, put up a fund-raising website at www.gofundme.com/sjnad935, seeking to raise $300 million for the state budget.
Sanford told prospective donors on the site that "the State of Alabama is experiencing tight financial times and needs your help but are finding that raising taxes are not wanted by the citizens of Alabama." He asked donors to pledge what they could afford and let the state know how the money should be spent.
The website had raised $598 from 38 donors by press time Tuesday.
Alabama has borrowed from other accounts and trust funds in recent years to close a similar deficit, using one-time sources of revenue that must be repaid, according to state law.
