Lawmakers have rolled out a bill that would give Gov. Beverly Perdue more authority to reduce spending throughout state government to free up extra cash to help close an expected budget gap next year of more than $3.5 billion. The three Senate Appropriations Committee co-chairmen filed a bill Monday that would authorize Perdue to reduce operating fund expenditures for the remainder of the fiscal year, with a goal of saving at least $400 million. Perdue already has ordered state savings in her Cabinet-level agencies but she lacks power to go further in agencies that operate beyond her direct control because there isn’t an official budget emergency. The cost savings could provide extra cash for the fiscal year starting July 1.(THE ASSOCIATED PRESS, 1/31/11).
