Gov. Steve Beshear had presented an austere budget proposal to lawmakers in January. House lawmakers recommended several adjustments to that proposal, including cuts to the state judicial system's proposed budget just weeks after Supreme Court justices struck down a legislative redistricting plan as unconstitutional.

The House plan would cut about $32 million from the proposed judicial branch budget over the next two years.

Both Rand and House Speaker Greg Stumbo said the proposed budget adjustments had nothing to do with that Supreme Court decision.

Stumbo said the proposed changes would subject the judicial system to roughly the same level of cuts proposed for most other state agencies.

Beshear had declared "the day of reckoning has come" when he presented his budget proposal last month calling for 8.4 percent cuts to most agencies. Only education, public safety and a handful of other programs would be spared under his plan to close a $742 million shortfall.

State economists have predicted that Kentucky's economy will grow over the next two years, and that revenues will increase as a result. But political leaders don't believe the growth will occur fast enough to head off the spending cuts.

Beshear and lawmakers have steadfastly refused to consider tax increases to bolster revenue, saying that could further damage the state's still fragile economy.

Rand said House lawmakers proposed relatively few changes to Beshear's overall budget proposal.

"We nibbled around the edges a little bit," Rand said. "Our priorities were a little bit different than the governor's."

In a particularly notable modification, House lawmakers proposed nearly $4.3 million over the next two fiscal years to expand the state's prescription drug monitoring program, known as KASPER, to help combat what lawmakers have described as an epidemic of painkiller abuse in the state.

Stumbo, D-Prestonsburg, has championed an expansion of KASPER, which he sees as an important tool in curbing the prescription drug abuse that's blamed for nearly 1,000 overdose deaths a year in the state. The proposal also recommends putting the attorney general's office in charge of KASPER, which now is overseen by a social service agency.

House lawmakers also proposed an additional $5 million a year for the "Meals on Wheels" program that provides hot meals to needy senior citizens. They also proposed an additional $250,000 to the Kentucky Division of Water to hire additional personnel to review applications for mine permits in an effort to get more people working in the coal industry.

David Smith, president of the Kentucky Association of State Employees, sharply criticized House lawmakers for the proposal to use cost-of-living adjustments for retired government employees to balance the budget.

"This is beyond ridiculous," Smith said. "There are other ways to save money."

The House budget, once approved, will go to the Senate where it will likely undergo further modifications.

"It's a tough budget, and there are lots of things we'd like to be able to do," said Rep. Sannie Overly, D-Paris. "Unfortunately, the revenue simply is not there to do more in this budget cycle."