LEGISLATIVE UPDATE: March 31, 2006

 

by State Representative Addia Wuchner

Yes “ Virginia ”, there is a Budget! Reflections on days of negotiations…

Greetings from Boone County ! I write this week's column while in a holding pattern home office in Boone County . Except for the 21 member negotiating committee, remaining members of the General Assembly wait along with Kentuckians for the fate of this year's budget negotiations. Here we sit folks, with nearly an $18 Billion budget to enact and a few days left to make it happen. Since Friday March 23, many areas of the budget have been in dispute between the House Democrats, the House Republican minority, and the Senate.

Perhaps some of you will remember in my column two weeks ago, I referred to this point of the legislative drama as Act IV of the long and arduous budget process. By the time this article goes to print, Act IV must be complete. Many of the General Assembly members will be taking a few days to relax after a trying Session before returning for the final two days and Sine Die. As I write, I am not sure the date Sine Die will occur, only that we are required for it to occur by midnight on the 15 th day of April. We are also obligated to give the Governor ten days to review the legislation that we have passed this Session and the budget during which time he may allow the measures to pass into law, grant his executive signature supporting their passage, or exercise his executive privilege of “ veto.”

Over the past ten days, you have been reading about the elements of the budget: teacher and state employee salaries, projects and the cost of projects, roads, bridges, damns and schools, and finally how we are going to fund the infrastructure needs of growing communities. The entire concept of spending and taxation now comes into play. As Kentuckians, you should be mindful that the government has nothing to spend except what is received or confiscated from its citizens in the form of taxation. This legislative Session we have been pressed to address healthcare and services for many individuals and families in our state who are of limited resources. Who pays, and what services should be offered, what services if any should be eliminated; preventive care or essential medical care, what is appropriate when taxpayers are footing the bill? At the same time, I am well aware that individuals, families, retirees, single as well as two income households are finding they are bringing home less spendable income these days, less in their pockets at the end of the work week. Much of what I do serving as your state representative is to try and listen attentively to every voice on all the issues. Be assured while I may give legislative events a light hearted gesture in referring to them as the, “ Frankfort drama” or “the five acts of the budget process”, the work and responsibility you have entrusted to me, I take very seriously. I am always cognizant of the fact that the legislation we ponder, the measures we take, and how the laws we enact in Frankfort affect your lives, the lives of your children, my children, and our grandchildren's futures.

Budget negotiations can be a very contentious process arising out of basic philosophical differences on issues ranging from education, to the 1.1 fuel tax, to how funding for water projects should be distributed between the counties. We have 120 counties in Kentucky , each with specific needs and projects that offer hope of improving life for their citizens. Each community has their Representative and Senator striving to serve their needs along with issues that impact the Commonwealth as a whole.

The past few days I have received many late night calls as projects and programs affecting Northern Kentucky are placed in the budget or threats to eliminate some occur. I received good news at 3 o'clock this morning, “Ready, Set, Success” was just inserted! When the bill got bogged down in legislative politics, I had a back up plan, collaborate with the Cabinet and Senate to place the pilot project in budget language. As a freshman legislator in the minority House caucus, I have found there is much one can accomplish, The key is to remain in cooperative dialog, open to modifications and not just about authorship, recognition, and passing bills. At the same time, one must never surrender his or her principles for the passage of a single piece of legislation. Remembering that there is always another session and most legislation has to percolate few sessions before it has strong probability of passing.

Folks, I just received the call, the budget negotiations are complete! We will be returning to Frankfort on April 10 so that members can vote to concur or not concur with the Conference Committee sub of the spending plan. I t will take at least thirty-six hours to print and we will have ample time for final review.

Boone County and Northern Kentucky appear to have fared well: NKU, Gateway, the opportunity to take advantage of $50 million set aside for much needed school facility funding, long overdue road funding, water and sewer projects, an additional circuit court judge for Boone. I am not sure yet about my sidewalks for Camp Ernst Middle School as of now. Some may call this pork, and while none of us like paying taxes, for many years only a small portion of your dollars that went to Frankfort were returned, only making this worse. As your Representative, it is my privilege to work with the Northern Kentucky Caucus as we strive to assure that more of your dollars are returned and invested to meet the needs of our growing community.

Education is also crucial part of the spending plan. Please keep in mind that our Commonwealth invests between 60 and 62 percent of all General Fund dollars in education (over 40 percent of which goes to grades K-12). The conference committee agreed to a 2 percent raise for teachers in this upcoming fiscal year and an additional $3,500 increase in 2007-08. This is actually $500 more in the second year funding than we saw in either the original House or Senate versions. The Free Conference Committee also added two more instructional days as of the 2007-2008 fiscal year.

As you are read this article, legislation that has passed this session should be on the desk of the Governor and we should be mid way in a ten day veto period. As of March 23, we have passed about 100 of the 1000 or so bills filed. We still need to vote on several bills that have been lingering around this session. This is the tricky part of the session, when bills are altered with committee substitutes that fly before both Chambers in “rapid fire” for a vote. Legislation coming before the Body just minutes apart leaves little time to read these “chameleon like” bills. This point in the Session sometimes the only responsible vote is “nay”.

I will be returning to Frankfort the week of April 10 for a few more votes and to review the Governor's vetoes, accept or override them, and then Sine Die the 2006 Session In the meantime I can be reached at my home office or through the toll free message line in Frankfort 1.800.372.7181.