Republican Plan Would Cut Lawmakers Pay

Republican state lawmakers are taking aim at their colleagues' wallets with a bill that would guarantee a truly balanced budget.

They want to amend the state constitution to require the Auditor General to review the budget once it's passed to determine if it's balanced. If it isn't, lawmakers would have ten days to fix it, and in the meantime, their pay as well as the pay of statewide elected officials would be withheld and all non-essential government services would be halted.

The plan faces a difficult road; amending the constitution requires a three-fifths majority vote in each house and then a three-fifths majority vote by the public.