Lexington Herald Leader Editorial: "Beyond The Budget Failure".
Beyond the budget failure
Key reforms died in legislative wreck
As lawmakers scurried away from the sinking ship of state they steered into the budgetary iceberg Thursday, Gov. Steve Beshear reminded everyone of the eagerness to prove they were grown-ups those same legislators displayed early in the General Assembly session.
"You will recall that the leadership of both chambers, after rejecting my budget proposal, said that writing their own budget would be their 'defining moment,'" Beshear said. "Well, it was. A moment of abject failure."
Alas, Beshear was wearing blinders that didn't allow him to see the bigger picture. Lawmakers didn't just produce "a moment of abject failure" this session. Their 2010 moments of abject legislative failure were legion.
Sure, the biggie was going home without leaving behind a new two-year spending plan for state government. And the school dropout bill and the unemployment insurance fix discussed in a Sunday editorial represent major failures as well.
But the list is much longer:
■ Interest rates on payday lending didn't get capped at a reasonable level — again.
■ Executive branch ethics statutes didn't get updated — again. And they won't until the legislation's sponsor, Sen. Damon Thayer, R-Georgetown, quits trying to hold statewide candidates to a higher standard on accepting campaign contributions from potential state contractors than he's willing to impose on legislative candidates.
■ A persistent felony offender statute that contributes to Kentucky having the fastest-growing prison population in the country didn't get reformed.
■ Neither did legislative pension rules. So, veteran lawmakers still can bump their benefits up 100 percent or more by accepting high-paying judicial or executive branch appointments for as few as three years.
■ Juvenile courts and child abuse records will be no more transparent than they were when the session began.
■ Legislation that would have restored full funding for the safety and security measures for social workers contained in the Boni Bill enacted three years ago died in the House when abortion-related amendments were attached to it.
■ The same tactics helped kill legislation that would have removed the requirement that makes some families pay premiums for the K-CHIP health insurance program for children.
■ No budget means no authorization for covering smoking cessation with Medicaid. Meanwhile, the Senate stripped the funding from legislation creating a colon cancer screening program.
■ Independent Kentucky voters remain shut out of a crucial part of the elective process after legislation that would have given the state open primaries died.
■ And the state's resort parks still can't serve visitors a cocktail before dinner or a glass of wine with it.
Failures one and all. And that's just the short list for one of the least productive General Assembly sessions in recent memory.
Read more: http://www.kentucky.com/2010/04/20/1231324.html#ixzz0lenjAdi7
Key reforms died in legislative wreck
As lawmakers scurried away from the sinking ship of state they steered into the budgetary iceberg Thursday, Gov. Steve Beshear reminded everyone of the eagerness to prove they were grown-ups those same legislators displayed early in the General Assembly session.
"You will recall that the leadership of both chambers, after rejecting my budget proposal, said that writing their own budget would be their 'defining moment,'" Beshear said. "Well, it was. A moment of abject failure."
Alas, Beshear was wearing blinders that didn't allow him to see the bigger picture. Lawmakers didn't just produce "a moment of abject failure" this session. Their 2010 moments of abject legislative failure were legion.
Sure, the biggie was going home without leaving behind a new two-year spending plan for state government. And the school dropout bill and the unemployment insurance fix discussed in a Sunday editorial represent major failures as well.
But the list is much longer:
■ Interest rates on payday lending didn't get capped at a reasonable level — again.
■ Executive branch ethics statutes didn't get updated — again. And they won't until the legislation's sponsor, Sen. Damon Thayer, R-Georgetown, quits trying to hold statewide candidates to a higher standard on accepting campaign contributions from potential state contractors than he's willing to impose on legislative candidates.
■ A persistent felony offender statute that contributes to Kentucky having the fastest-growing prison population in the country didn't get reformed.
■ Neither did legislative pension rules. So, veteran lawmakers still can bump their benefits up 100 percent or more by accepting high-paying judicial or executive branch appointments for as few as three years.
■ Juvenile courts and child abuse records will be no more transparent than they were when the session began.
■ Legislation that would have restored full funding for the safety and security measures for social workers contained in the Boni Bill enacted three years ago died in the House when abortion-related amendments were attached to it.
■ The same tactics helped kill legislation that would have removed the requirement that makes some families pay premiums for the K-CHIP health insurance program for children.
■ No budget means no authorization for covering smoking cessation with Medicaid. Meanwhile, the Senate stripped the funding from legislation creating a colon cancer screening program.
■ Independent Kentucky voters remain shut out of a crucial part of the elective process after legislation that would have given the state open primaries died.
■ And the state's resort parks still can't serve visitors a cocktail before dinner or a glass of wine with it.
Failures one and all. And that's just the short list for one of the least productive General Assembly sessions in recent memory.
Read more: http://www.kentucky.com/2010/04/20/1231324.html#ixzz0lenjAdi7
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