| Democrats Push Through Budget Bill |
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Democrats Push through Budget Bill
By a vote of 85-14, House Democrats were able to pass a budget bill late Wednesday. This budget is a far cry from the governor’s budget in that new revenue for state programs and operations will come from new taxes on services and other avenues, but not from any casino gambling operations.
1. The Fiscal Year 2009 and 2010 $19 billion budget will gain $292 million from tax hikes on tobacco products, gasoline and several services to cover the 12 percent cuts proposed by Gov. Steve Beshear impacting higher education and social services programs.
2. This budget will propose new cigarette tax hikes of 25-cent increase to the state's 30-cent-a-pack levy on cigarettes.
This move by House leadership brought about the night’s only true debate on the budget. On a narrow vote of 50-45, the tax was approved. Thirteen Democrats, including Will Coursey D-Benton, crossed party lines to vote against the bill. Only three Republicans voted for it.
Several Republicans noted that state revenues have continued climbing, albeit slower than predicted, as the national economy turned sour over the past year. They urged more belt tightening.
"We don't have a revenue problem in Kentucky," said Rep. Jim DeCesare, R-Bowling Green. "We have a spending problem."
Budget committee chairman Harry Moberly, D-Richmond, called the arguments against tax hikes "demagoguery," noting that the budget saves $85 million a year by eliminating 3,400 state jobs through attrition.
If the state's belt gets tighter, it "then becomes a noose that we hang ourselves and the future of the commonwealth of Kentucky," Rep. Kathy Stein, D-Lexington, said.
3. Late on Wednesday, the House approved the budget bill, House Bill 406, in an 84-14 vote. That bill raises an additional $300 million by restructuring the state's debt.
The vote was along party lines with 14 votes against the bill being cast by members of the minority Republican caucus. They voice frustration at the Democratic majority in the House for what GOP floor leader Jeff Hoover called a "blatant, calculated, petty political move."
Hoover, R-Jamestown, said that Republicans who are slated to have Democratic opponents in the November election saw the amount allotted for their districts' water and sewer project funding slashed to $750,000. Other lawmakers from non-coal producing counties were receiving more than $1.2 million.
Moberly responded that many of the decisions hinged on whether members would support the tax plan that raised additional revenue. "We felt if you weren't willing to vote for the revenue to pay for that, then you didn't think it was ... important," he said.
4. The budget now heads for the Senate where it will have about two weeks to rewrite the tax bill and spending plan to its liking. A conference committee of lawmakers from both chambers will then attempt to smooth out their differences by April 1.
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