No special session set for budget

By RONNIE ELLIS
CNHI News Service

January 09, 2009 11:43 am

— There’s not going to be a special session to deal with the projected $456 million state budget shortfall.
That was the message Thursday after House and Senate leaders spent an hour and a half in Gov. Steve Beshear’s office. When it was over, Beshear and Senate President David Williams, R-Burkesville, said lawmakers will use the three-week interim of the short, 30-day session to gather information and develop a budget plan.
“Right now, we’re looking at the next three weeks for informational gathering or hearings they think are necessary,” Beshear said. “Once they get back, things can then move quickly.”
Beshear initially talked of calling a special session during that interim period to pass a budget fix – for two reasons: one to get the job done quickly and to avoid the requirement of a constitutional majority in each chamber of the legislature to pass any revenue measures.
But Williams and Senate budget chairman Charlie Borders, R-Grayson, said later Thursday they don’t have enough information – about the present size of the revenue shortfall and about any federal stimulus plan that might affect what state lawmakers do.
Williams said it’s likely the stimulus will include federal money to help states with growing Medicaid costs and will likely not require a state funding match. But it is also likely to lock in various eligibility and enrollment standards for the period covering the stimulus. That might affect what the state can do in terms of revising Medicaid expenses. The same is true for the road budget, he said.
The current state road plan is being contested in court by Williams and Beshear.
Williams suggested Thursday that the legislature is likely to enact a new road plan in order to be prepared for any stimulus from the federal government.
Williams said the discussion with House leaders and Beshear focused on process rather than on issues, and there are likely to be frequent and separate hearings by each chamber’s budget committees over the next three weeks. As Senate President, Williams and the new speaker of the House, Greg Stumbo, D-Prestonsburg, can call interim meetings of committees during the three-week recess.
But part of the delay, he and Borders said, is that the House has not yet named its budget chair in the wake of changes in leadership.
Stumbo said Thursday he expects to announce committee chairs Friday and Borders said he hopes after that to establish a meeting schedule for the Senate Appropriations and Revenue Committee. But he said he expects to begin by Tuesday of next week.
Ronnie Ellis writes for CNHI News Service and is based in Frankfort. Reach him at at rellis@cnhi.com.