FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — Kentucky’s mine inspectors would be required to spend less time examining coal mining operations under language inserted in the state Senate’s budget proposal. Mine-safety advocates say fewer inspections would raise the risks for miners every time they venture underground.

State law currently requires that each mine be inspected six times yearly by state regulators. That number would be pared to two required annual inspections under the Senate’s budget plan. The Republican-led Senate also voted this week for deeper spending cuts for the state’s mine safety and licensing office than the Democratic-run House approved in its budget version.