G-O-P legislators are a bit red-faced about some paperwork which asked for a double-digit increase in the Legislature’s budget for next year. They say it was a mistake, and the Legislature’s budget next year won’t increase at all. The Governor says legislators should cut their own budget more, but Senate President Mary Kramer, a republican from West Des Moines, says the Legislature’s 25-million dollar budget is small compared to the rest of state government.The Legislature’s budget this year has been reduced about two percent. Kramer says that’s misleading, since the legislature took on a program formerly run by the courts. Even with that adjustment, the Legislature’s budget would have been reduced by four percent, while the rest of state government is encountering larger reductions.
