Vermont’s state auditor is offering to try to broker a deal in the Statehouse deadlock over the state budget.
Tom Salmon has offered to mediate the dispute between Republican Governor Jim Douglas and the Democrat-controlled Legislature. The two parties are at odds over the $4.5 billion budget for 2010 that lawmakers passed earlier this month.
Salmon says he’s willing to step in as a third-party mediator if the two sides will agree to it.
Douglas has called a June 2 special session of the Legislature. And he says he’s open to Salmon’s offer. But House Speaker Shap Smith and Senate President Pro Tem Peter Shumlin say they first want Douglas’ budget proposal presented as a bill that lawmakers can consider.