By Alabama Public Radio
Montgomery, AL – Lawmakers are still debating the General Fund budget and the taxes that would balance it. The House Government Finance and Appropriations Committee did not address two bills Thursday. They are key ingredients of a compromise reached between legislators and Governor Bob Riley. One would raise the severance tax on natural gas production off the Gulf Coast. The other would postpone by three days the final payday for state employees during the next fiscal year. Committee chairman John Knight says the budget agreement is in danger of failing, and he says it could force legislators to hold a special session.