Lee uncertain about Casada’s call for more House control on budget
Gov.-elect Bill Lee speaks at a press conference at the state Capitol in Nashville on Nov. 7, 2018. (Erik Schelzig, Tennessee Journal)
Republican Gov.-elect Bill Lee says he’s not certain how the House will become more assertive in the state budgeting process. Glen Casada, who won the GOP nomination for House speaker, announced earlier this week that he will seek to give the chamber a bigger role in developing the state’s annual spending plan.
“I have no idea that that is going to happen,” Lee told reporters at a Nashville food bank on Wednesday. “What I do know is we’re going to be working together and we’ve already started that process. I believe we can work together as the executive branch and legislative branch to advance the common good for Tennesseans.”
The Tennessean reports Lee and Casada played phone tag after Casada won the speaker nomination on Tuesday, but finally connected on Wednesday.
“My hope and my belief is that we have an opportunity to actually not work in separate veins, but on the same page,” Lee said.
Meanwhile, Lee said he’s working on assembling his staff and Cabinet. The first announcements are expected next week.
7 Responses to Lee uncertain about Casada’s call for more House control on budget
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Why do you all always us that unattractive picture of Gov-elect Lee?
I agree, I’ve got some better ones if they need them.
Why not have the state to stop taking federal money and thus federal controls?
Perhaps legislative concerns about being more involved in the budget would gain some weight if legislators would quit debating and passing the budget with little time and effort in the last days of the legislative session. Try focusing on budgetary matters as a priority before naming bridges after political hacks, emblazoning “In God We Trust” in new locations, enacting resolutions congratulating the first, second and third place winners in the County Green Bean Casserole Contest, etc. After all, isn’t passing a budget their sole Constitutional obligation?
You are correct, Cannoneer2, that is their primary required duty under the Constitution.
Legislature should be the ones dealing with the budget, then the Executive carries it out
Diitto to Mr. Cannoneer2, the legislature should not spend the first 90% of every session concentrating on trivial, irrelevant, non-substantive nonsense and then failing to resolve difficulty budgetary (and policy) issues and passing either nothing or whatever is lying on the table. And the governor had better watch out or Casada is going to be running everything, which would be a most unfortunate development.