Sen. Kevin Ranker issued a statement last week after the Senate’s passage of the 2016 supplemental operating budget.

“Traditional bipartisan negotiations on the budget were suspended last week, when the tally was still in the red, so final cuts were decided without Democrats in the room,” said Ranker. “While the budget my Republican colleagues passed today does many things I agree with and helped shape before bipartisan negotiations broke down, it fails to address critical needs in several areas.”

Ranker went on to address each topic specifically. He pointed out the low pensions for retired firefighters, police officers and teachers, saying “that’s no way to thank them for a lifetime of public service.”

Mental health was one of his points, stating that the budget reduced the budget for mental health by $14.3 million.

Ranker also addressed the issue facing the Senate regarding the constitutional requirement for the state to fund general education.

“Without action on the looming levy cliff, school districts across our state stand to lose over $460 million in local funds. They need assurance that we will delay the levy cliff so that they can plan their budgets this fall,” said Ranker. “Without the amendment we tried to add to the budget, these districts have no assurance they will receive these critical funds. Also, while we are being fined $100,000 a day for failing to adequately fund our schools, this budget does nothing to take additional steps to address the largest outstanding aspects of the McCleary ruling to fully fund education.”

Finally, he addressed the lack of funding for prevention of unintended pregnancies.

Ranker concluded by saying, “when negotiations resume to settle on a final budget, I will work tirelessly to address these urgent, critical needs.”