Time running out on worst session in memory

By Ronnie Ellis
CNHI News Service

FRANKFORT, Ky. Sun, May 18 2008

— Wherever one goes in Frankfort, the comments are the same: this is the worst session anyone can recall.

“This is the worst one I remember in my 24 years up here,” said one veteran lawmaker. The next day, a Frankfort observer who has been watching governors come and go since Bert Combs said the same thing.

“The budget situation is a terrible mess. We’re in an awful financial condition. It’s just a disaster and I don’t know what in the world we’re going to do,” he said.

Lawmakers are annoyed with one another and with Gov. Steve Beshear. On the first floor some of the governor’s staff point fingers at members of their own party and at Republican leaders in the Senate, especially Senate President David Williams. Some show a bit of frustration with their governor as well.

There’s blame enough to go around, but most of it rests with Beshear. From the outset of last year’s election, polls showed Beshear with a commanding lead and the election outcome was never seriously in doubt. Yet, Beshear seemed unprepared when he took office to face a financial crisis that everyone knew was looming. He might be forgiven for underestimating its severity, but he can’t be excused for not realizing it was serious.

He campaigned on expanded gambling, but he took half the session to unveil a plan devised without input from legislative leaders who almost immediately rejected it. As Democratic leaders, squabbling among themselves, offered competing plans support for all of them slipped.

Each week he lamented the growing magnitude of the budget gap. He responded with an austere budget which Democrats in the House couldn’t swallow but which – curious to them – was to the liking of Republicans in the Senate. Almost immediately, Williams said Beshear might get a budget very similar to the one he proposed. He rejected calls for an increase in the cigarette tax. Beshear apparently thought lawmakers would find the budget cuts so distasteful they’d accept gambling.

While Beshear continued to focus on gambling, A&R Chairman Harry Moberly, D-Richmond, determined to find ways to avoid the painful cuts, came up with a 25-cent cigarette tax increase, some taxes on a few services and some re-financing of debt. But Beshear surprised Democratic leaders by rejecting it and accusing Moberly of using “funny money.” Reversing course, he proposed a 70-cent increase in the cigarette tax. It was too late with no preparation and he announced it in a way which embarrassed and angered Moberly and House leaders.

Meanwhile, Williams and Republicans in the Senate watched with amusement. If a Democratic governor wanted to propose a budget with spending cuts and no new taxes, why should they oppose him? If that governor wanted to feud with Democrats in the House, while Williams promised bi-partisan cooperation and leadership in a legislative election year, they couldn’t be more pleased. And why, anyway, would Williams or the Republican Senate want to raise taxes to generate money for a Democratic governor to spend on his way to running for a second term?

Monday, the Republican Senate will pass its version of the budget. Williams said it won’t include new taxes. Meanwhile, House Democrats and Beshear were talking late in the week of another push on gambling. At best, they had 45 to 47 of the 60 votes required in the House.

Time’s running out.

Ronnie Ellis writes for CNHI News Service and is based in Frankfort, Ky. He may be contacted by email at rellis@cnhi.com.

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