Published: June 02, 2009 04:43 pm      

Joint decision — 06/03/09

Governor must have specific plan for legislators to debate

Gov. Steve Beshear says a projected $996 million shortfall in the state budget for the fiscal year beginning July 1 demands that he call a special session of the Kentucky General Assembly, and he will bring legislators to Frankfort beginning June 15.

But Senate President David Williams, R-Burkesville, says the actual shortfall is not nearly as bad as it sounds, and he says the governor can make the cuts to balance the budget without calling a special session

So who is right: Beshear or Williams? Well, it all depends on which numbers one is looking at.

The Consensus Forecasting Group — the team of financial experts created by the General Assembly to remove a level of politics from the budget process — has projected that revenue from the 2009-10 fiscal year will fall $996 million short of what is necessary to balance the second year of the two-year state budget approved by the 2008 General Assembly.

However, Williams — the most influential Republican in Frankfort — said legislators already approved cuts in order to balance the budget for the current fiscal year that ends on the final day of this month, and if those cuts are extended into the second year of the budget, Williams said the projected budget shortfall would be only $129 million, or 1.5 percent of the budget. The governor can make those cuts without calling a special session, he said.

Whether needed or not, the governor alone has the power to call a special session, and he does not need the approval of Williams or anyone else to do so. However, before they arrive in Frankfort, legislators need to have a plan of action to either approve, reject or amend.

While Williams and Beshear disagree on whether a special session is required by law, legislators should want to be involved in decisions that will impact state services and school funding for the next year. In lean times, popular programs are bound to be cut, and the decision about which programs should be spared from the most severe cuts should be shared by both the governor and members of the General Assembly.

Leaders of both the House of Representatives and the Senate say there is little or no support for increasing taxes to help eliminate the shortfall. Even Greg Stumbo’s proposal to allow video slots at race tracks has little support. Even in the unlikely event it were to be adopted by the General Assembly, any law that would allow expanded gambling without a statewide referendum is sure to be challenged in court. That would eliminate any possibility of expanded gambling balancing the budget for the coming fiscal year.

In the next few days, the governor should release his proposal for trimming spending to balance the budget. Once that is done, legislators will have something to debate.