Riley: proration may be necessary in General Fund

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) - Gov. Bob Riley says he will decide within the next two weeks whether he should declare proration and cause across-the-board cuts in the state General Fund budget.

The General Fund budget gunds Medicaid, prisons, state troopers and other non-education services.

The director of the Legislative Fiscal Office, Joyce Bigbee, told lawmakers this week that she expects 7.6 percent across-the-board cuts this year in the General Fund.

Riley told the Montgomery Advertiser Thursday that he believes Bigbee’s estimate is “fairly accurate.“

The chairmen of the legislative committees that help write the General Fund budget have said Riley will need to declare proration in the General Fund budget because of a projected $120 million shortfall in the budget for the current fiscal year.