Tuesday Wrap: Budget battle brewing

House members are still recovering from their marathon budget session that ran from Thursday afternoon into early Friday morning. They already are being blasted by conservative groups – Americans for Prosperity was at the legislature on Tuesday – for too much spending in their $22.1 billion proposed budget. The Senate will likely start piling on its own criticism this week.

Senate appropriations subcommittees are expected to start looking at portions of that chamber's spending plan this week, and leaders have said they plan to limit any increased spending to about 3 percent – half of the increase in the House budget. Raises for teachers and state employees comprise a large chunk of the House's spending increase, and the Senate could scale some of that back.