Published: June 29, 2009 10:27 am      

Special session qualified success, most say

By Ronnie Ellis / CNHI News Writer

Most but not all are calling the special session of the General Assembly, which ended Wednesday, at least a qualified success.

Gov. Steve Beshear called the session to deal with a projected $996 million revenue shortfall but then amended the agenda to include mechanisms for funding mega-transportation projects, economic incentives and a controversial measure to allow video lottery terminals at horse tracks. Wednesday, Beshear said the session was a success because three important measures passed although he was disappointed the expanded gambling measure failed.

Whether others share that assessment has as much to do with their feelings about expanded gambling as what was accomplished.

“I think the session was a success at every level except the slots bill,” said Danny Briscoe, a political consultant and former chairman of the Kentucky Democratic Party. “It’s not clear to me the session was needed, but Beshear called it for four reasons and all of those passed except for slots.”

Republican state Sen. Tom Jensen of London wasn’t so sure.

“The budget was all we really needed to do,” Jensen said. “I think we’ll just have to wait to see how the public perceives the session. Most of the public believes it was a waste of money at $60,000 a day and I tend to agree with them.”

Jensen said lawmakers could have plugged the budget hole in one week and left the other three matters for next January when the General Assembly will meet again.

Terry Brooks, executive director of Kentucky Youth Advocates, a non-partisan, non-profit children’s advocacy organization, said Beshear and lawmakers faced tough choices with a difficult budget outlook. But, he said, they ducked.

He said the state’s leaders “must tackle comprehensive tax reform. Until they have the political courage to align our tax system with modern reality, our fiscal problems will only continue to intensify. This session only continued the habit of relying on quick fixes.”

Brooks called the budget reduction plan “a quick fix which failed to protect the most vulnerable citizens of our state,” especially at-risk families and children.

Rep. Kevin Sinnette, D-Ashland, was attending his second session and first special session. He thought it a success.

He said both Democrats and Republicans “genuinely wanted to fix the budget problem – they just had different ideas about how to do it.”

Sinnette, a freshman Democrat from a district bordering West Virginia which has “racinos” at its horse tracks, said he was not pressured to vote for the slots bill by House leadership and voted against the measure.

“I was in no way pressured to vote one way or another,” Sinnette said. “They told me to vote my district, to do what was best for my district.”

Fellow Democratic freshman, Fitz Steele of Hazard also said he wasn’t pressured by leadership to vote for the gambling bill, something he was on record opposing even before Beshear called the session. Still, it wasn’t easy for a new member to oppose legislation supported by his leadership and the governor.

“It’s been a long and hard session for only 10 days,” Steele said with a sigh.

Sinnette said it’s too early to say if Beshear was strengthened politically because he got the gambling measure out of one chamber for the first time or weakened because he couldn’t get it through the Senate. (Beshear made expanded gambling a key issue in his race for governor in 2007.)

“I think that’s yet to be seen,” Sinnette said. “But right now, I don’t see him as weakened.”

Rep. Ken Upchurch, R-Monticello, opposed the gambling measure and was happy to see it die in the Senate.

“Because of the fact that we killed slots means it was a very successful session,” Upchurch said.

Fellow House Republican Danny Ford of Mt. Vernon saw reasons to be hopeful.

“I think we did what we had to do in addressing the budget shortfall,” Ford said. “Hopefully, we’ve done some things as well to encourage companies to locate in Kentucky and bring some major sporting events to the state.”

The economic incentives bill included inducements for a NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Kentucky Speedway and to lure the Breeder’s Cup to Churchill Downs.

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