By Associated Press
Montgomery AL – An Alabama House committee has approved a $1.9 billion General Fund budget that will cut spending for some state agencies by almost 11 percent.
In a time of slow growth for tax revenue, the budget restores funding for children's health insurance that was cut from the budget proposed by Gov. Bob Riley. The budget also restores funding for medicine for AIDS patients and for screenings and treatment for breast cancer.
The proposed budget for the fiscal year that begins Oct. 1 is a slight increase from the $1.85 billion spending plan for the current fiscal year.
The proposed budget would not cut funding for some social service agencies. Those include Medicaid, Mental Health, Human Resources, Public Health, Senior Services and Child Abuse and Prevention.