Also, here's a press release that Governor Beshear issued regarding the special session:
FRANKFORT, Ky. – Against the backdrop of a troubling national recession, Gov. Steve Beshear tonight called upon legislators to come together to plug a $1 billion budget hole and pass legislation that would create jobs and invest hundreds of millions of dollars into the Commonwealth’s economy.
“In these stark economic times, those two goals – short-term assistance and long-term investment – must define our every decision,” Gov. Beshear told lawmakers gathered for the start of the Special Session. “The four issues on the agenda of this special session... epitomize those goals.”
Those issues, which Gov. Beshear discussed in a speech before a joint session of the General Assembly, include:
- A plan to close a $1 billion shortfall in the Fiscal Year 2010 budget without raising taxes while maintaining current investments in the SEEK formula and postsecondary education and critical areas of health care, public safety and economic development;
- An initiative to modernize the state’s economic development incentives by fostering more investment in state businesses, luring a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race to Kentucky and helping attract a proposed advanced battery manufacturing facility to Hardin County;
- A proposal to create financing authorities to ensure construction of mega-transportation projects like the proposed Louisville bridges and other projects within Kentucky.
- Legislation to allow Video Lottery Terminals at Kentucky’s racetracks to boost purses and breeder incentives as part of an effort to save one of the Commonwealth’s signature industries, worth some $4 billion in investment.
On the budget, Gov. Beshear said his proposal would cut some $200 million in spending from the enacted 2010 budget, which is in addition to some $600 million in cuts since taking office 18 months ago. In addition, it would utilize roughly $740 million federal stimulus dollars to help ensure funding for education and mitigate deep cuts to state services.
Most other state agencies would receive cuts of 2.6 percent from current spending levels for the coming year – on top of cuts made the past two years.
Gov. Beshear said that despite the continued cutting, it is critically important not to raise taxes on working families at this time, but also work to ensure that funding for vital services continues as much as possible. Calling for responsible, prudent planning, the Governor also pointed to the next two years when the economy is expected to experience slow growth with the potential for large continued shortfalls.
“We must manage this shortfall in a way that does not move us significantly backward,” he said. “And we must do so in a way that doesn’t jeopardize the next two years.”
But even as the state is responsibly managing a tough budget, Gov. Beshear said Kentucky’s policy-makers must continue to look for ways to invest for the future. To that end, he said the Commonwealth should modernize its economic incentives to better compete with surrounding states.
“Our current economic tools are rusty. They’re dull,” he said. “They’re missing parts. And they’re old fashioned. We’re using hand tools in a power tool world and we’re being left behind.”
Similarly, Gov. Beshear called on legislators to pass an initiative that would create financing authorities with the ability to help ensure funding for mega-transportation projects, such as the Louisville bridges and other proposals in the future.
“We need this legislation to create momentum on these important projects,” he said. “We need action to foster continued federal investment and safeguard the existing state investment.”
Both the economic incentives’ proposal and bridges’ legislation passed both chambers during the last regular session with only minor variations. Now, Gov. Beshear said, it is time to iron out any differences and move forward to create jobs and investment in the state.
Finally, Gov. Beshear said now also is the time to act, once and for all, on an initiative designed to aid Kentucky’s ailing horse industry, which means some 100,000 jobs and $4 billion in investment for the state. After years of debate, Gov. Beshear said a proposal to allow limited expanded gaming at the state’s racetracks needs an up-or-down vote.
“Our racetracks face declining status and even the certainty of closure – if we don’t act now,” the Governor said. “But this isn’t just about racetracks. It’s about the many thousands of working-class Kentuckians whose skills and sweat support those tracks, the people who without fame or fanfare muck stalls, exercise horses, truck hay and paint those hallowed rows of fences on our beautiful farms.
“We can no more stand to lose the equine industry’s 100,000 jobs and $4 billion economic impact than we can stand to surrender our title as the Horse Capital of the World.”
In total, these initiatives, the Governor said, represent a “common-sense approach” to dealing with critical issues confronting the Commonwealth during a time of deep economic challenge – a challenge paralyzing many states across the country.
“It’s time for us to lead … shared misery is no reason for us to hide, no excuse to be paralyzed by fear and no justification for surrender. Kentuckians do not surrender,” Gov. Beshear said. “We cannot control the global economy, or hold off the financial pressures that are squeezing us. But we can control the manner in which we respond.”
