House leaders looking for $800 million this weekend

Democratic House leaders hope to beef up Gov. Steve Beshear’s anemic two-year budget with as much as $800 million in new revenue from tax hikes and other “creative” measures when they begin marking up the document Sunday.

“There will be significantly more funding in some areas,” said House Speaker Jody Richards, D-Bowling Green.

He said lawmakers hope to increase teacher salaries, restore cuts recommended for elementary, secondary and higher education, and put more money into essential state services.

Overall, Beshear’s proposed $18.8 billion two-year budget cuts state spending by about $165 million next year.

Although some programs, such as Medicaid and the prison system, would get additional funding to meet growing demand, most state agencies face a budget cut of about 12 percent. For higher education, that means $310 million less over the biennium.

Richards said the revised budget will likely include about $110 million a year from a 25-cent increase in the “user fee,”  otherwise known as a tax, on a pack of cigarettes.

He offered few other specifics, but said lawmakers will look at “creative” ways to raise money, such a refinancing state debt, when they meet behind closed doors Sunday afternoon. He declined to say how much money that move might save.

“We feel we are going to have to find new revenue,” Richards said. “I hope we can find it in as painless a way as possible.”

The House has no plans to include revenue from the potential sale of casino licenses in its budget proposal, which is expected to wind its way through the House Appropriations and Revenue Committee and the full 100-member House over the next two weeks.

Lawmakers have until April 15 to pass the budget, but Senate leaders say they may not have enough time to fully vet the voluminous document if the House doesn’t send its proposal to the Republican-led Senate until March 15.

Senate Majority Leader Dan Kelly, R-Springfield, said the Senate usually receives the House budget in the first week of March.

“And we’ve always complained about that. That gives them some six weeks to work on the budget and us about two weeks,” Kelly said.  “We have to have our version back to them in about two weeks so we can all meet in final conference committee, which usually takes a week.”

The Senate this year must be finished with its budget plan by March 21, Kelly said. 

“If we don’t get the bill from the House by March 15, we will have less than a week with it,” he said. “It raises the question if there is some strategy by the House not to give us enough time.”

- John Stamper, Janet Patton and Jack Brammer

Comments

[The Anti-Kelsey]

My "close, personal friend" says that the casinos will be pushed through and will generate about 1 gazillion extra dollars a year. We'll be so rich in Kentucky, we'll never want for anything. We'll be number 1 in education and healthcare, because our citizens will give up smoking to participate in the casino activities. Even our horse farm owners will be elated because the thoroughbreds will be &*^%'n cash instead of manure. It will be a good day in Kentucky.

[Kelsey]

Let the People Vote.
Go Obama.
Kelsey.

[nothing but the truth]

Brett Hall beat you guys again. Rep. Lou Anne Marzian, D-Lou. has a clear confllict of interest in voting on casino legislation. She owns over $10,000 in Churchil Downs stock.

You might want to pull your crack investigative team off the Bunning story and have them look at real corruption. Oh, that's right. Bunning is a Republican, and Marzian is a Democrat.

You all don't report on Democratic corruption unless they hold press conferences annoucing that they've been caught sleeping with a county party boss while awarding state contracts to his mistress's brother.

At least you all have a lame excuse, Marzian is a Louisville representative to the state house. As usual, the Courier-Journal has no excuse for its patent bias.

[Blazing Tiger]

Brett, maybe you should start reading newspapers instead of just delivering them. Read the letters to the editor, the polls you hate, etc. People are hurting economically, and you should know better than anyone about unemployment.

[Sam Wise]

Brett Who?

Oh, that's the New Jersey F-bomber who was so fired by Ernie Fletcher, isn't it?

Is he still around? How's he making ends meet, picking up tin cans for recycling?

[Blazing Tiger]

Sam, see my post above!

[Wiser than Sam]

Sam, Brett's got more integrity in his little finger than you do in your whole body.

And he probably earned more money as a state employee during his time as one than you have earned in your whole career as a Democrat patronage hire.

[Elizabeth]

I don't understand the raise for teachers at this time.

[Sam Wise]

Blazing Tiger: The timing on those two comments was something, wasn't it? Heck, I'd be willing to let him do some handyman work around here, but I'm not sure he's able to swing a hammer or actually do any sort of real work or contribute anything of value. I'd offer to give him bus fare back to New Jersey, but again, I'm not sure they'd let him back in.

And to so-called Wiser than Sam, since there's no "Ignore" filter button on this blog, please be informed I've just created my own.

Saying that the government can't do anything and should be shut down is a failure of policy, not a policy. I'm glad the House is showing some leadership on funding projects, and I'm glad Beshear is figuring out ways to get critical needs like Eastern State Hospital funded.

[Kathy Stein WORST voting record, MISSED 170 votes]

Mary Lou Marzian has been hanging out with that horribly disgusting Kathy Stein of Lexington way too long.

Kathy Stein has the 2nd WORST voting record.

To date, Kathy Stein has NOT VOTED on 170 House Bills!!!!

Kathy Stein has the WORST VOTING RECORD IN THE HOUSE. Stein has MISSED more votes than any House member!!!!

That's right, Stein does NOT care about the people in her district which is why the female dog MISSED 170 Votes to date!

Kathy W. Stein (D) did make one vote though, she did vote to pass the Merck Vaccine ... Kathy W. Stein (D) also gets paid indirectly by Merck because Merck has donated money to an organization Stein is a member of, Women In Government.

... I wonder .. what does the "W" in Kathy W. Stein's name stand for??? Maybe a five letter word ending in the letter "e."

As for Mary Lou Marzian. She SHOULD be investigated for her vote on Merck's vaccine. She has received DIRECT contributions from Merck's PAC's .... she broke KRS laws when she voted on that Bill.

Mary Lou has no ethics anymore and her friend Kathy W. Stein never has had ethics.

To check Kathy W. Stein voting record go to the link:
http://www.kentuckyvotes.org/MissedVotes.aspx?Sort=Total

[Vote them OUT OF OFFICE!!!!]

Look at these LAZY effin legislators who have the gaul to NOT do the job they were elected to do! SHAME ON THESE LEGISLATORS!!!

Legislator...Total Missed Votes*
Rep. Kathy W Stein (D)...170
Rep. James E Bruce (D)...168
Rep. Sheldon E Baugh (R)...155
Rep. Kevin D Bratcher (R)...143
Rep. Denver Butler (D)...140
Rep. Robin L Webb (D)...138
Rep. Ted Edmonds (D)...126
Rep. Russ Mobley (R)...115
Rep. W Keith Hall (D)...113
Rep. Jim Gooch, Jr (D)...102
Rep. Jeffrey Hoover (R)...88
Rep. Jesse Crenshaw (D)...81
Rep. Jon David Reinhardt (R)...80
Rep. Mary Lou Marzian (D)...78
Rep. Danny R Ford (R)...77

Vote them OUT OF OFFICE, they do not deserve to be elected... Shame on these people!

[skinner]

Write your legislators and DEMAND that if they cannot cut all of the real, REAL, waste in Frankfort ... and if they continue to CUT programs that are essential to this Commonwealth, like education and children's healthcare, we will VOTE THEM OUT OF OFFICE!!!!!! I'm serious

Let me add, the legislators who have missed all those votes should have to repay the salary the PEOPLE paid them because they are clearly NOT doing the job the PEOPLE have paid them to do.

If I had a job where my boss told me I was responsible for voting on issues, and I MISSED 170 issues or even 77 issues I would deserve to get FIRED.

Well, guess what, WE are their bosses and they are NOT doing their jobs. They should get FIRED!!!

* the taxpayer money is being wasted on their salaries ...

* this budget the House is looking at has an ADDITIONAL $166 Million dollars that Beshear added when HE added projects that were vetoed in 2004
-- ELIMINATE THAT $166 Million from the budget RIGHT AWAY!

* this budget the House is looking at has ADDITIONAL funding to pay for agencies Beshear created.
-- ELIMINATE THOSE NEW AGENCIES RIGHT AWAY!!!

Decrease government ... not a one does their job so why increase government?

To reiterate:

Write your legislators and DEMAND that if they cannot cut all of the real, REAL, waste in Frankfort ... and if they continue to CUT programs that are essential to this Commonwealth, like education and children's healthcare, we will VOTE THEM OUT OF OFFICE!!!!!!

... and we will begin voting OUT members that do NOT even bother to VOTE on the issues facing Kentuckians!

[nothing but the truth]

Excuse my mistake. Mary Lou Marzian (Not Lou Ann Marzian) owns over $10,000 in Churchill Downs stock and was on the House committee that voted on the casino amendment. She will personally benefit if casinos are alloweed in Kentucky.

Brett Hall reported this conflict of interest. The Herald Leader ignored the story.

But the H-L did report on Jim Bunning legally paying his daughter with non-taxpayer dollars to work for him. That's real journalism.

[Blazing Tiger]

The problems lies in what one considers as necessary, another considers as unneccessary. Is it necessary for Medicaid to pay for round the clock in home nursing care for severely disabled children and young adults who require medical equipment and skilled nurses to attend to them. This care enables parents/guardians to work fulltime and avoid putting the patient in a nursing home. Some would say necessary, others would say put the patient in a nursing home or force a person to quit working to care for the child. Do you cut this service? Public Policy making is not easy. Budget cuts are hard decisions. I challenged you once before: what specific state services should we cut and what would you personally be willing to sacrifice?

[beaverbear]

Regarding the legislators listed for missed votes, Butler and Bruce have no been in the House of Representatives for over a year as they did not run for re-election in 2006 due to bad health. All the others except Stein, Marzian and Crenshaw have missed votes due to health problems, or operations of wives, mothers or children or the death of several close family members

[Blazing Tiger]

I see that NO ONE rose to the challenge to list state services that should be on the chopping block, and no one stepped up to say what they would be willing to pay more for in state/government services. Public Policy IS much more difficult that mouthing off on a blog about what you perceive as "waste."