From The Daily Dispatch:

Republican lawmakers voted Tuesday to make an end-run around the budget and shift around some money to fund public and private school vouchers for some students.

On an 8-3 vote, the Joint Legislative Budget Committee directed state School Superintendent Tom Horne to divert $5 million from the funds given to his agency to provide state aid to public schools. The Republican-controlled panel said he should use the money instead to finance the voucher programs programs which were not funded in the $9.9 billion budget.

In fact, House Majority Leader Tom Boone, R-Peoria, told Horne he doesn’t even need permission of the committee or the entire Legislature.

But Horne isn’t going to do that, at least not yet. He said unilaterally doing what the committee directed would be illegal and could subject him to personal liability for misspending public money.

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