State now bearing cost of poor tax policy

This from the Herald-Leader:

With interest rates at historic lows, this is an opportune time for universities to tackle a backlog of maintenance and building needs.

Except Kentucky cannot afford to issue bonds to protect taxpayers' investments in the state's campuses. Kentucky cannot afford to take advantage of any opportunities and is barely carrying out some of its basic obligations to protect the public.

Gov. Steve Beshear described the budget that he proposed last week as "inadequate," which is an understatement. Instead of investing for the future, Kentucky will be making more cuts.

As the economy picks up, it hurts to think about how much better positioned the state would be to capitalize on the upturn if a succession of governors and legislatures had not ducked tax reform.

Twenty years ago, the late Gov. Wallace Wilkinson called for broadening the tax base by taxing services. Numerous studies have highlighted exemptions and loopholes that should be closed. It still hasn't happened.

At the beginning of his second and last term, Beshear is launching a tax reform effort that could have proposals ready for a special legislative session late this year.

If this budget doesn't sell Kentuckians on tax reform, nothing will...

Kentucky to Wave Bye Bye to $175 Million

This from H-L:

Jobless funds, bourbon tasting

on special session agenda

Charter Schools Not on Special Session Call

Gov. Steve Beshear wants the legislature to tackle a measure that would help shore up the state's bankrupt unemployment insurance trust fund when lawmakers return to Frankfort Monday for a special legislative session.

Beshear issued the "call," or the agenda, for the special session on Thursday...

House Speaker Greg Stumbo, D-Prestonsburg, and Senate President David Williams, R-Burkesville, have said they believe there is enough support in both chambers to pass Beshear's $17.1 billion two-year compromise budget that was proposed after House and Senate leaders failed to pass a budget by the end of the legislative session...

A measure that would allow charter schools in Kentucky is not on the agenda. Education leaders had pushed for the legislation so the state would be eligible for millions of federal education dollars. The Republican-controlled Senate has supported charter schools in the past but the Democratic-controlled House has resisted the move...

Ky. colleges likely to see up to 6% tuition increases

"Without a budget, we would need to close our campuses.
The likelihood of this impact is real and substantial."

-- Robert King

This from the Herald-Leader:

The Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education on Friday approved guidelines for tuition hikes for 2010-11 of 6 percent for the University of Kentucky and University of Louisville, 5 percent for comprehensive universities and 4 percent for community and technical colleges. Last year's increase was staggered at 3 percent to 5 percent.

Some of the state's public university presidents and council members questioned why the in-state undergraduate tuition increases shouldn't be more than 6 percent. Even if each school adopts the maximum tuition increase allowed, all will be substantially in the red, according to the presidents.

And if the state doesn't adopt a budget soon, said council president Robert L. King, the universities will have to shut down temporarily. The common perception is that universities can run on tuition revenue in a budget pinch, but using tuition requires a budget appropriation, which requires that the state have a budget, King said.

After a 60-day legislative session that ended last week, Kentucky doesn't have a budget...

UK President Lee T. Todd Jr. told the council that he called Beshear on Thursday to tell Beshear he was going to ask for a 7 percent ceiling.

Even with a 6 percent increase, CPE figures show UK will have a deficit of nearly $7.6 million for operations. Eastern Kentucky University would have a deficit of $3.8 million with a 5 percent increase; Kentucky State University, $6.2 million after a 5 percent increase; and Morehead State University, $3.8 million after a 5 percent increase...

Frankfort disgrace

This from the Courier-Journal:

Before the General Assembly adjourned Thursday, the House and Senate were brimming with lawmakers. Yesterday, the chambers were empty. The reduction in brainpower and political courage was nil.

In a disgraceful failure, the legislature was unable to reach compromise and pass a two-year state budget. That's the most important job the legislature has, and it had 60 working days in which to do it. Now Gov. Steve Beshear must call lawmakers back to Frankfort for a special session to pass a budget. That will cost $60,000 a day. If a budget isn't enacted by June 1, it could prevent the state from saving tens of millions of dollars by refinancing bonds in June.

Yes, this has happened before. The 2002 and 2004 sessions failed to pass budgets, too, and new fiscal years began under executive spending plans — the first by Gov. Paul Patton, the second by Gov. Ernie Fletcher. But since then, the Kentucky Supreme Court has ruled that a governor lacks the power even to make emergency appropriations, so a severe curtailment of state services would likely take place July 1 if no budget was in place.

It's all as unnecessary as it is grotesque.

Senate President David Williams and his lieutenants may be right that accepting the House leadership's offer of a one-year continuation budget would have run the risk of heaping particularly draconian cuts into the second year of an eventual biennial budget.

But the Senate decision followed its refusal to accept House measures to raise about $275 million through a business tax adjustment and accelerated collection of the state sales tax. Mr. Williams and crew called those steps tax increases — a finding that raises the politics of reflexively opposing all tax hikes to the level of an obsession — and made clear that even deep cuts in areas such as education and Medicaid would be preferable. How that kind of thinking best serves the long-term needs of the people of Kentucky — as opposed, say, to the short-range interests of the Republican Party — remains a mystery.

Of course, there was a better plan all along — Gov. Beshear's initial proposal to raise about $780 million through expanded gambling. But Sen. Williams — deaf to the pleas of some in his own GOP caucus and to leaders of the horse industry, many of whom are Republicans — wouldn't hear of it, and the House declined to take action without assurances that the Senate would also vote on the measure.

So there you have it. There's no budget, no blueprint for making needed cuts, no means to raise new revenue, no relief for the state's beleaguered horse industry.

But legislators can now get down to doing the one thing that really matters to them — running for re-election.

Wimped Out

This from H-L:

Legislative session ends without a state budget

After bickering for more than three months, lawmakers ended the 2010 General Assembly on Thursday without an executive branch budget.

A "disgusted" Gov. Steve Beshear called the legislature's inaction an "abject failure" and said he will call lawmakers back to Frankfort in May to close a roughly $1.5 billion gap between existing revenue and expected expenses during the next two years.

Beshear, his tie loosened and shirt sleeves rolled up, blamed the budget debacle on lawmakers who "decided to put their egos and their personal priorities above the needs of Kentucky families — families that are struggling to pay their bills and hold on to their jobs in the worst recession of our lifetime."

After rejecting the governor's budget proposal, which would have raised more than $700 million by allowing electronic slot machines at racetracks, leading lawmakers crowed that "writing their own budget would be their 'defining moment,'" Beshear said.

"Well, it was. A moment of abject failure," he said.

This from KSBA:

Wimped Out

Hopkins County Schools Superintendent James Lee Stevens is disappointed the Senate adjourned Thursday without approving a budget.

Lack of a state budget means the district can’t prepare its own spending plan, he said.

“Basically, usually the second board meeting in May, we present our draft budget to the board,” Stevens said. “In all probability, we will not present one. I can’t present one on ghost numbers.”

He also said the district can’t prepare a budget based on current numbers, because the state keeps cutting funding.

“This has really thrown a curve,’ Stevens said.

The lack of passage will have a wider impact because of additional legislation that had been attached to the budget bill, such as whether school will be in session for 185 or 187 days next year.

Without a decision on the number of instructional days, employees who work on 187-day contracts must be notified by May 15 if they may be paid less next year.

“Since they wimped out and left town without a budget, all that does is cause pain and heartache,” Stevens said. “It just causes a tremendous amount of burden and
uncertainty to my employees.”

This from the Paducah Sun (subscription):

Sen. Bob Leeper, chairman of the Senate budget committee, said efforts to reach an agreement should resume in a couple of weeks.

“Hopefully, everyone will go home, take a deep breath and listen to their constituents about what they expect us to do,” Leeper, I-Paducah, said soon after the Senate adjourned. “The governor will work with the leadership of the House and Senate. If they can reach a compromise for a reasonable budget, he’ll call us back for a special
session.”

Chances for a budget deal Thursday faded when Senate President David Williams declared that a so-called continuation budget House Speaker Greg Stumbo proposed failed to garner Senate support.

“It is the most important job that the General Assembly has, and the General Assembly has failed to pass a budget,” Williams told reporters.

An angry Stumbo later said Kentuckians had every right to be disappointed that Gov. Steve Beshear will have to call lawmakers back into a special session. Stumbo called it a needless expense.

“We don’t want to come back,” Stumbo told reporters. “I think it’s a waste of taxpayers’ money to have to come back, and the very simple action of a continuation budget would have prevented us from coming back and would have saved that money.”

Leeper, who was involved in the behind-the-scenes negotiations, doubts the $65,000-a-day special session will start before the May 18 primary elections.

JCPS to Cancel seven tuition-based Preschools

This from Toni Konz at C-J:

Saying it’s losing too much money, Jefferson County Public Schools will close seven of its 14 tuition-based pre-school sites this fall, leaving hundreds of middle-class families with fewer pre-kindergarten options for their children.

Officials decided to end tuition-based preschool at Chancey, Jeffersontown, Middletown, Smyrna, Wellington and Zachary Taylor elementary schools, as well as at Waggener High School, because of declining enrollment and insufficient revenue from tuition, said Harriet Thomas, director of early childhood for the district.

“Understandably, parents and staff have been disappointed to learn that these units will be closed in 2010-11,” Thomas said. “It was a very difficult decision for us to make, but it is one we feel is necessary to meet fiscal expectations.”

The district lost $283,644 last year on the program, and enrollment fell from 482 last year to 303 this year, in part, Thomas said, because the tuition went up to help cover costs....

BS from GS

...but no mention of what Kentucky really needs to help avoid this annual drama. Barring a political miracle - legislative leaders who actually want to solve long-standing revenue problems - Kentucky will still not have what it needs; a new tax code.

This from Speaker Stumbo in C-J:

Stumbo explains stance on 'rainy day' funds

As Gov. Steve Beshear and the General Assembly prepare for the upcoming legislative session, it is becoming increasingly clear that the state's two-year budget will be the most challenging Kentucky has faced since the Great Depression.

Federal stimulus dollars have helped significantly, but unless Congress provides additional funds, the stimulus dollars will run out by the budget's second year. Barring an economic miracle, there will be considerable budget gaps and no painless way to fill them.

We must also consider skyrocketing health insurance and retirement costs, increases in a Medicaid program that already covers a fifth of our population and the growing needs of our schools and universities. Each of these areas must be adequately funded if we hope to move forward as a state.

It was with this in mind that I discussed the possibility of using a portion of the surplus funds that are kept by our elementary and secondary schools for unplanned expenses and “rainy days.”

I want to make it clear that I do not believe these funds can be used for any programs or expenses outside of the school's district. In fact, as attorney general, I filed litigation to protect education dollars.

The surplus funds are a mixture of local and state dollars prudently set aside by the school districts for future needs and expenses. It would be patently unfair to “rob Peter to pay Paul,” but it may be time for Peter and Paul to help themselves more during these rainiest of days.

I believe all options need to be considered as we begin writing the state's budget in the next several months. If this is an unprecedented suggestion, it is because we are in unprecedented times.

In our current budget, kindergarten through high school accounts for more than 40 percent of our state tax dollars; when you add postsecondary schools, the figure for education jumps to 58 percent. Critical health and family services and the judicial and justice systems push the total over 90 percent.

Because so much of the state's budget goes to these areas, they are the ones most affected by cuts that have topped more than $1.5billion during the last two years. Additional cuts are expected to exceed a billion dollars in the upcoming two-year budget. Federal stimulus dollars have helped us balance our current budget, but these are one-time funds and not a permanent revenue source.

I have no doubt that we will find a way to live within our means, but it will not be easy. My goal is to continue protecting, if not increasing, school funding. Reducing money for education would have negative effects lasting for generations. School surplus funds may or may not be part of that equation, but if they can be a bridge to better days, it is an idea that at least deserves to be discussed.

EKU Board Extends Whitlock's Contract

This from the Herald-Leader:

Eastern Kentucky University's Board of Regents has approved a $218 million operating budget for the coming school year and voted to extend President Doug Whitlock's contract by two years.

Whitlock, who is finishing his second year as president, is now under contract through July 31, 2013.

The budget, which increased 2.4 percent over last year, includes $70 million in restricted funds from government grants and contracts, for a total of $288 million. The budget, which does not include raises for faculty and staff, reflects reduced funding from state government during the current fiscal year and anticipates further reductions in the coming year....

Beshear calls for KERA & Early Childhood Task Forces

Beshear urges shared unity,

purpose to resolve budget crisis

FRANKFORT, Ky. – In the wake of massive, statewide recovery efforts from the devastation of last week’s winter storm, Governor Steve Beshear [Wednesday] called for unity and a sense of shared purpose in tackling the state’s $456 million budget shortfall in his second State of the Commonwealth address.

To combat that shortfall, Gov. Beshear urged support for a plan that includes a significant increase in the tax on tobacco products as well as another $150 million in additional spending cuts. The governor pointed out that Kentucky’s tax on cigarettes is currently the fourth lowest in the nation, while the state also ranks first in the number of smoking related deaths each year, which adds hundreds of millions of dollars in health-care costs.

“There comes a point—if we slash too deep and without regard to the devastating impacts of those reductions—when we jeopardize state government’s ability to expand our intellect and capacity to reach out to the needy,” said Gov. Beshear. “This is why my proposal, even while cutting spending further, clearly articulates priorities for investment.”

Since taking office, Beshear has already reduced spending by more than $430 million dollars, shrinking the state workforce by 2,000 employees and using cost-effectiveness and efficiency efforts to reduce day-to-day spending within the Executive Branch.

Additionally, the Governor introduced several initiatives ... including:

Education: bringing together leaders from both the public and private sector, along with key legislators, to review the Kentucky Education Reform Act. The governor also announced his intention to announce a task force on early childhood education next week.

...“We cannot control the global economy, we cannot choose the economic conditions in which we serve, but we can define the manner in which we lead,” said Gov. Beshear. “We can’t pick the moment, but we can help to shape and define it. Our state motto says it succinctly: ‘United we stand, divided we fall.’”

SOURCE: Governor's press release

Drip, drip, drip

This from the Courier-Journal:

The thaw that matters most has occurred in Frankfort, where Senate President David Williams now agrees that state government needs more revenue.

This is a welcome development, because Mr. Williams controls the legislative agenda. His support will be crucial if the General Assembly is to do its job, which is funding the programs and services that Kentuckians need and financing the educational system our future demands.

It is clear, beyond the ability of anti-tax zealots to dispute, that the state budget problem is real. Mr. Williams continues to talk about the need for cutting, and he's right that an honest effort to find operating efficiencies and justifiable reductions is always wise. But it's not possible for lawmakers to responsibly cut -- or tax -- their way out of this dilemma.

The tension is between (1) cutting mercilessly and raising only enough new revenue to balance the books, or, (2) persuading Kentuckians to accept a little extra sacrifice, to position the state for real progress when economic recovery eventually comes.

What's needed is a courageous and forward-thinking choice...

Williams says state needs new revenue

This from C-J:

Senator says cuts in budget also likely

FRANKFORT, Ky. -- Key legislators said yesterday for the first time that new revenue almost certainly will be needed to balance the state budget in the face of a $459 million deficit this fiscal year.

Senate President David Williams, R-Burkesville, said the Senate is looking at the possibility of raising taxes on tobacco products and alcoholic beverages, but he declined to specify the amount of new revenue that might be targeted.

"It appears to me, at this juncture, there will be a need for some revenue," Williams said, adding that lawmakers "want to make sure on tobacco and alcohol (that) we don't place ourselves at a disadvantage and hurt our retail operators."

Williams has said in the past that he would keep all options open in devising a plan to balance the budget. But his comments yesterday marked the first time he has said new revenue will be needed along with spending cuts.

Last year it was the Republican-controlled Senate that ignored proposals for higher cigarette taxes by the House and Gov. Steve Beshear, a Democrat....

Beshear's rift with GOP Senate could imperil revenue plan

This from Ryan Alessi at H-L:

Gov. Steve Beshear said Thursday he will move forward with plans to generate more state revenue, but those efforts would have to clear a solidly Republican state Senate with whom Beshear has an increasingly frigid relationship.

Atop Beshear's list of options to erase a projected $300 million budget shortfall is a potential increase in the state's 30-cent-a-pack tax on cigarettes. Beshear has suggested a special legislative session to address that or other measures, but any firm plan will come after Thanksgiving when key revenue projections have been released.

"At that point, I need to put together a proposed plan, and then I want to take that plan out to the people of this state to get some feedback. I want to discuss it with legislators to get their feedback," he said Thursday. "So realistically, we're looking at after Christmas or after the first of the year to be in a position to take any kind of
official action."

But Republican Senate President David Williams has repeatedly balked at the idea of raising any taxes, including on cigarettes.

Emboldening his stance are the results of Tuesday's election, in which Republicans turned back Beshear and the Democrats' bids to take over three GOP-controlled Senate seats...

...Williams said, he's not convinced that the state's financial problems are dire enough to require tax increases...

Calls for a Special Session

The Kentucky Chamber of Commerce, Kentucky League of Cities and the Prichard Committee for Academic Excellence is urging Gov. Steve Beshear to call a special legislative session within 30 days to overhaul the state's retirement programs.

This from PolWatchers.

A shameful end

This from C-J:

The Governor and every Kentucky legislator, mayor, public school teacher and government employee knows how critical solving the pension problem is. The
current system is unsustainable and has a $26.6 billion unfunded liability.

Taxpayers will have to pay that debt -- which increases by hundreds of millions
each year.

No issue was more important. All parties said a solution would be found. Then a little before midnight on the last night, the House balked. Ironically, the proposal it rejected was almost exactly what it had wanted. The Senate had given in on the last two contentious issues, including its determination to divert some retirement money to a 401(k)-type plan.

The Senate did, however, want to keep the possibility of these "defined contribution" plans open for the future, but, sadly, that wasn't acceptable to some interest groups friendly with the Democratic-controlled House. Brent McKim of the Jefferson County Teachers Association, for example, calls that provision "a Trojan horse." Never mind that 401(k)s are a reality for most private sector employees.

So the hope for solving this problem died. Last year, the House also killed a pension bill. Others can share some blame for this year's failure. The Governor didn't push the pension bill effectively. Senate President David Williams, in a casual remark weeks ago, led House members to believe they need not seriously negotiate, because the Senate's fallback position would be to accept the House plan. Finally, the legislature's dysfunctional way of doing business hurt, too:

Members save too many big decisions for the last minute, leaving little time even to read last-minute versions of far-reaching proposals.

Still, the House deserves the most blame. In the aftermath of this debacle, Sen. Williams said, "It may be that with the current makeup of the House, we can't do pension reform."

That's a sobering thought. Taxpayers have every right to expect better.

And more from Mark Hebert.

Blame Game in Frankfort

House Speaker Pro-Tem Larry Clark called it the worst final day of a session he's seen during his more than 20 years in Frankfort. Clark says he's "embarrassed to be a part of a leadership" and embarrassed to be a part of what happened last night in Frankfort...

David Williams blamed the KEA and JCTA for killing the pension bill, saying the teachers' lobbyists scared enough house members about details of the agreement reached between House and Senate leaders...

Daily Independent gets it Half Right

Interesting commentary in the Daily Independent about the necessity of leading when one can still make a difference. Too bad it's only semi-accurate.

I can't defend Governor Beshear on this one.

I thought I heard in his his State of the Commonwealth speech the beginnings of an outline for a new tax structure based first on efficiency, and second on opening the state to new sources of revenue from the growing services sector. But, I was wrong. It was just language.

Then I thought the governor must have taken the oft-repeated advice former governors give to new governors to "just pick one or two things" and stick to them. He chose a (failed) casino gambling effort, as he said he would, and as a result, arrived too late to the dance. But, maybe I'm just making excuses.

What I can't understand, however, is why Education Commissioner Jon Draud being lumped in with Beshear on this issue?

Draud - even as a northern Kentucky Republican representative to the House - said early and often that Kentucky's schools were underfunded. His former legislative colleagues understood very well his support for so-called "sin taxes" which he repeatedly called a no-brainer. When the first spat broke out this term over raising revenues, Draud stuck to his guns and asked the legislature to quit playing politics with funding for Kentucky's school children. They didn't.

I know Draud has that big R on his chest, but his record on school funding is clear, consistent and unequivocal.

Let's not misidentify the real enemies of public schooling in Kentucky. There is a world of difference between the position of Draud and say, Senate President David Williams.

This from the Ashland Daily Independent:

Belated criticism

Like governor, Draud waited too long

to comment on budget

It is too bad that Kentucky Education Commissioner Jon Draud waited until after the General Assembly had approved the biennium budget to complain about a lack of adequate funding for elementary and secondary schools. If he had been more free with his opinions while the budget was being debated, perhaps the former Republican House member could have convinced his former colleagues to be more open toward increasing funding for schools by at least imposing the modest 25-cent-per-pack increase in the cigarette tax supported by the House-approved budget.

But now that it is too late to change the budget, Draud says Kentucky needs additional revenue — a.k.a. a tax hike — to handle its financial woes. “

This is not so much about financial support as it is about a philosophy that children are important and that their education should be our primary concern,” said Draud, the former superintendent of the tiny Ludlow Independent School District.

According to a review by the Council for Better Education, the budget would cut funding for grades kindergarten through high school by $2 million in the next fiscal year. It would provide $86 million more in the following fiscal year, according to the group’s report.

Draud said a number of programs would be affected, including extended school services, professional development for teachers and school safety.

The approved budget “requires hard decisions by our public school administrators and this agency,” Draud said. “Which children will get the help they need? How are teachers going to get additional training? What happens to the momentum that many schools are experiencing on the road to proficiency and what about those schools that are struggling?”

Why did Draud wait until now to publicly ask such questions? The commissioner of education should be a leader who boldly advocates for the good of the children of this state. Yet one reason the new budget is so lean is the adamant opposition of Republicans in the Senate to any increase in taxes. As a former Republican legislator, Draud could have had some influence with those senators even though he never served in the Senate.

We find it disheartening that Gov. Steve Beshear, Draud and other leaders waited until it was too late to complain about a budget that they knew was inadequate. The time to lead is when you can still make a difference.

S S Kentucky

This from C-J

Budget not worthy of name

This from the Herald-Leader:

Legislators' mulishness makes veto pointless

Kentucky lawmakers enacted a budget that doesn't just deserve to be vetoed. It gets down on its knees and begs to be vetoed.

A budget that essentially tells Kentuckians that cheap cigarettes are more valuable than affordable tuition and that we should cheer when the cost of going to college rises by less than a double-digit percent.

A budget that doesn't stop at debilitating environmental protection, mental health and the rest of state government. A budget that also grabs the professional dues of nurses, doctors, pharmacists and real-estate agents, thereby compromising their ability to police their own ranks.

A budget that, adjusted for inflation, costs public schools $l70 million a year, by one estimate.
A budget that punishes Lexington's public defenders for practicing public-service law and that will leave many poor people essentially without legal representation.

A budget that is shakily balanced on questionable assumptions and one-time revenue sources.

A budget that was so bad the House was ready to reject it until rural lawmakers got to bust a pinata raining $150 million down on local sports teams and sheriffs departments...

Bad Budget Brings Blame

Still sitting in the Wet'lanta rains, but here's a little run down of the budget fallout and who gets paid.

In a leadership vacuum - leadership will emerge. The question is, What kind of leadership can Kentucky expect from the unholy alliance of Senate President David Williams and Rep. Greg Stumbo? For Dems, it must appear that they need a black knight to battle the Reps black knight.

This from the Courier-Journal:

A deal between Senate President David Williams and Rep. Greg Stumbo likely saved the state budget from failure in the House, lawmakers said yesterday.

Stumbo, D-Prestonsburg, is not part of the House leadership and was not a member of the conference committee that worked out differences between the House and Senate.

But on Tuesday, without the prior knowledge of House Democratic leaders, he brokered an arrangement with Williams to authorize dozens of local water and sewer projects around the state.

And this from C-J:

...The Democrats have a governor who won in a landslide but seems to have little or no influence over the General Assembly. They have a House leadership that was the antithesis of the word as it mishandled the Governor's main initiative. They have a House budget committee chairman, Harry Moberly of Richmond, who voted against the budget that he spent marathon days negotiating.

Moberly's vote was understandable. He was reacting to a post-negotiation arrangement of Williams and Stumbo, the two political chess players in a checkers legislature. They used coal-severance and tobacco-settlement revenue, both originally allocated for investment in economic development, to give House members the fix for the addiction they have developed -- money to take home and show off to get re-elected.

These budget scraps are called "projects," but that's not the right word for appropriations such as $25,000 each for offices of three elected officials in Breathitt County (no strings attached); and $15,000 for K-6 students' football equipment in Bell County. Youth sports are one of the most popular targets of such spending; $400,000 is going to high schools in Stumbo's Floyd County for "Academic and Athletic Program -- Athletic Teams -- Equipment and Educational Support." Such obfuscation abounds.

For the list, go to http://www.lrc.ky.gov/record/08RS/HB410/SCS1.doc.

Sadly, parents in these needy counties are more likely to remember such short-term
favors than the legislature's failure to keep Kentucky's schools on the upward course that is essential for the state's future. Perhaps that is because Beshear and other Democrats have made their arguments in Frankfort's echo chamber, not in the coalfields and county seats...

And this:

...precedent has been set that could make the House Democrats continue to be the little sister of Senate President Williams. Actually, this was the second time this was done by House Democrats. This has reaffirmed that there are House Democrats who will cut side deals with the Senate President and future budgets will likely feature projects being held out as carrots for cutting deals...

And this:

...Lawmakers and Gov. Steve Beshear had the opportunity to produce a responsible budget. It was their choice to settle for what has emerged. In an election year, the great majority of legislators were not interested in finding new revenue with which to move our state forward, despite the fact that Kentucky lags behind in so many ways...

This from the Herald-Leader:

Despite emerging with an agreement that was passed by both the House and Senate later in the week, many lawmakers came away from the unwieldy, secretive process of crafting the all-important state budget last week with one feeling: disgust.

"If I were practicing law, I'd say I was committing malpractice," Rep. Robin Webb recalls saying at 6 a.m. that morning when someone "stuck an amendment in my face" to sign.

"It was the equivalent of legislative malpractice to put yourself through that," said Webb, D-Grayson and the House's first vice chairman of the budget committee.

There is general agreement that the state's budgeting process is dysfunctional, if not undemocratic.

And this from H-L:

...[Beshear] will review a companion bill to the budget that includes a list of construction projects. That measure was the result of a deal brokered between House and Senate leaders late Tuesday and early Wednesday and served as an enticement for many rural House lawmakers to vote for the budget.

"I'm assuming that enough legislators got together and felt like they wanted to supplement the budget in that way, and it's going to be my job now to take it and review it and see what's in there and what should be done," Beshear said.

And from C-J:

There's responsibility to spread around, but you really have Senate President David Williams to thank for the smoking ruins that will be left behind by the 2008 General Assembly.

He can go home to Burkesville, stand in the doorway of the big house on the hill and sigh, "It's good to be king."

He loves the smell of his political enemies' defeat in the morning. Never mind that it comes at the expense of ordinary folks who need properly funded health programs, social services and educational opportunities.

Mr. Williams insists cuts are "not so bad." He thinks belt-tightening is a good thing, as long as the belt is around your neck.

He has obstructed at every turn, blocking even a pathetic little cigarette tax increase that was passed by the Democratic House and supported by the public. No matter. He doesn't have to explain himself. He's king -- King of Gridlock.

House budget chairman Harry Moberly, D-Richmond, had the courage to call Mr. Williams on his ruinous indifference to state revenue needs, whereupon he was denounced by the Senate president for "unprofessional" conduct. But in fact it's David Williams who flouts the professional responsibilities of legislative leadership. He doesn't lead. He throttles and thwarts....

What Stinks?

This from C-J:

Many House Democrats say

$19 billion plan is inadequate

FRANKFORT, Ky. -- Many House Democrats expressed disappointment -- and in some cases anger -- over the lean state budget produced yesterday by a conference committee after all-night negotiations.

"I think so little of it, this will be the first time in 28 years that I'm not going to vote for the budget," said Rep. Greg Stumbo, D-Prestonsburg. "It's a terrible document. It doesn't adequately fund education, doesn't adequately fund human services, it doesn't do anything for our infrastructure."

While support in the Senate seemed solid, Stumbo's concerns were echoed by many other House Democrats on the eve of today's vote in both chambers.

Some said they were disappointed that their representatives on the committee didn't push harder for a House revenue package, including a cigarette tax increase, that would have generated about $760 million over the biennium...

...Teachers and state workers will get raises of only 1 percent in each of the next two years. Funding for state universities will be cut by 3 percent. Programs in education, health and social services also will be cut.

Rep. Harry Moberly, the Richmond Democrat who is chairman of the Appropriations and Revenue Committee, said the budget is "totally inadequate."

"I think we will go backward in education," he said.

Moberly said the House version barely allowed the state to make progress over the 2008-10 budget period. But the final budget falls well short because the Senate refused to agree to the cigarette tax increase, he said.

Still, he said, "I'm going to hold my nose and vote for it" because failure to pass a budget would force a special session...

...As for public education, the only additional revenue in the budget is the 1 percent annual raises for teachers and other school workers.

It retains cuts in the Senate version for the extended school-tutoring program and professional development for teachers, as well as other programs.

Department of Education spokeswoman Lisa Gross said the 1 percent annual teacher raises are appreciated but will still leave Kentucky behind surrounding states.

"We really have to have a huge percent increase to get us up to the level of surrounding states," she said.

Brent McKim, president of the Jefferson County Teachers' Association, said, "We are particularly disappointed that this (abandons) the commitment to raise our salaries and to reach the average of surrounding states." ...

The Hide and Seek Legislature

Budget negotiatons: Day 6 -- Lawmakers hide

Budget updates from John Stamper at Pol Watchers:

FRANKFORT -- House and Senate budget negotiators have decided to take their business behind closed doors.

After pledging to iron out their differences over the state budget in public, members of the House-Senate conference committee used state police to keep media and lobbyists away from their meeting room Saturday afternoon.

Large white shades were pulled down over the windows of the meeting room to block any view of what was going on inside...