Kentucky House Speaker Greg Stumbo is raising the possibility of ending the current General Assembly session without a state budget.
Conferees from both chambers and both political parties met in public session Monday. Afterwards, Stumbo said the two parties are philosophically ‘light years’ apart.
Senate Majority Floor Leader Damon Thayer is not ready to say that agreement is unattainable.
"There's a long time between now and midnight on April 12, so I'm not going to make a prediction like that, but for now, we are definitely at a standstill," Thayer remarked.
If they cannot agree on a compromise budget, Stumbo says the governor could only spend money for public protection, education, and federally mandated items.
The governor would also have to call lawmakers into a special session before the end of June to try to adopt a state budget.