State has few options in dealing with budget hole

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Ed Reinke

May 14, 2009

By RONNIE ELLIS, CNHI News Service The Commonwealth Journal Thu May 14, 2009, 01:40 AM EDT

Gov. Steve Beshear said Wednesday he will wait for a revenue forecast from the Consensus Forecasting Group before making any decision on calling a special session.

And he hasn’t made up his mind on House Speaker Greg Stumbo’s proposal to allow electronic slot machines at race tracks.

Beshear has said the state could be facing a budget shortfall of as much as $1.2 billion in the fiscal year which begins July 1. That’s after a $456 million shortfall this year, made up in part by an increase in cigarette and liquor taxes. If the CFG forecasts revenues to fall more than 5 percent below the budgeted amount, Beshear must by law call lawmakers into session to revise the budget.

But several lawmakers say there isn’t much sentiment for raising taxes again.

Senate President David Williams supported the increases in cigarette and liquor taxes in the past session but those aren’t popular among some in the Republican Party. This past weekend at a Republican statewide dinner in Louisville Williams all but drew a line in the sand.

He said those wishing for a fight to increase taxes are “about to see Armageddon when we come over there in special session or in January because we’ve given this governor as much money as he’s going to get,” Williams said.

One way to solve the problem without new taxes might be Stumbo’s bill, but Williams opposes expanding gambling and some in the House say it might be difficult to pass.

House Caucus Chairman Bob Damron, D-Nicholasville, said a couple of House members have said they can’t vote for the measure unless it is proposed as a constitutional amendment on which voters could pass judgment. Stumbo says his bill does not require an amendment. But without an amendment, lawmakers can’t pass the buck to their constituents and avoid a vote unpopular with some in their districts.

Beshear is scheduled to meet with Stumbo and House Speaker Pro Tem Larry Clark, D-Okolona, Thursday to discuss Stumbo’s proposal. But Beshear said he still hasn’t “made any decision on that legislation.”

But he said the decision by Churchill Downs to cut back on race days during its spring season “certainly makes it clear the horse industry is in some serious difficulties right now.” Stumbo’s bill uses taxes on the slots to increase purses, owner and breeder fees for the horse industry while also providing more state revenue.

Most state agencies have cut their budgets in the past two fiscal years, some as much as 18 percent, according to Beshear. About the only other way to avoid further cuts might be to use federal stimulus money to prop up state spending for a year while hoping the economy recovers. But Williams and Stumbo have insisted that is foolhardy.

“I don’t know – I just don’t know,” is how Rep. Fitz Steele, D-Hazard, answered a reporter’s question of how lawmakers could address the budget hole. Asked if his constituents would accept tax increases to avoid deeper spending cuts, Steele shook his head side to side and said, “You know the answer to that.”

RONNIE ELIS writes for CNHI News Service and is based in Frankfort. Reach him at rellis@cnhi.com.

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Pulaski carries Girdler to win

In the weeks leading up to Tuesday’s primary election, it was impossible to miss the colorful signs dotting nearly every Pulaski roadway. The names in the race for the 15th State Senatorial District seat popped out: A.C. Donahue. Chris Girdler. Mark Polston.

Once citizens hit the ballots, however, the results mirrored the dimensions of the signs themselves: Chris Girdler stood the tallest.

Girdler, deputy district director for Congressman Harold “Hal” Rogers, ran away with the votes inside Pulaski County’s borders, earning 3,926 votes for 62.05 percent of the total number cast.

That number more than doubled the next highest vote-getter, businessman Mark Polston, who raked in 1,624 votes for 25.67 percent.

However, Polston — who owns Classic Carpet, a home-flooring business located just off the southern 914 bypass — can claim a moral victory ... three of them, in fact. In all three counties in the district other than Pulaski — those being Adair, Casey, and Russell Counties — Polston actually edged out Girdler.

In Adair, Polston beat Girdler 629 to 394. In Casey County, it was 538 to 417, and in Russell, it was 1,862 to 1,038.

Polston said he just “couldn’t pull it out with the numbers” and that “the machine worked for” Girdler in Pulaski County.

“I think that was their strategy — I think they had a Pulaski County strategy all along,” said Polston. “They played the political game well.”

Polston said the difference between his and Girdler’s campaigns was that “mine was a very, very grass roots campaign,” he said. “I did not have a political machine behind me. I understand how this process works, and in this instance, he prevailed.”

As for why Girdler didn’t take three of four counties, the winning candidate — since there are no Democrats in the race, winning the Republican primary was effectively a final victory for Girdler — said he didn’t have an answer for that.

However, “I believe things happen for a reason and I hope the long and strenuous campaign will only heighten my desire to move beyond the bitterness and partisanship of the recent past,” said Girdler.

“Regionalism is a goal of mine, and I look forward to helping all four counties,” he added, noting that he campaigned heavily in each of them.

Sen. Vernie McGaha, the long-time state senator whose seat the candidates were vying for, actually supported Polston after Liberty’s Todd Hoskins dropped out of the race earlier this month.

Donahue, a local attorney, got 556 votes in Pulaski County, 8.79 percent of the vote. He only received 145 votes in Russell County, 74 in Adair County, and 75 in Casey County, where hometown candidate Hoskins almost matched him with 71 votes despite no longer being officially in the race.

Polston said he’s “still digesting” what happened, and though “the process has been a very good experience for me,” he wouldn’t commit to running again in the future. “I wouldn’t shut the door to anything, but I’m not opening any doors either.”

Still, “I think I got a lot of people involved in the process that had not been involved before and would not have been otherwise,” he said. “A lot of people got out and worked really hard, got motivated to talk to friends and neighbors. I think a lot of people became involved through this campaign that are going to be involved for a long time.”

Girdler stressed his “positive message” and said that Rogers is a “mentor and good friend” that he would turn to for advice in dealing with a frequently combative legislative body in Frankfort, one for which Girdler hopes to help change the culture.

Girdler said that he was “confident and optimistic” during the day Tuesday because he’d “worked extremely hard.” Nevertheless, the realization that he’d won gave him “chill bumps,” he said.

“I’m absolutely honored,” said Girdler. “The position of state senator is more than an honor, more than an office. It’s a charge to keep, and I will give it my all.

“I pledge to be the people’s state senator,” he added. “I look forward to working with everyone to move this region forward.”

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