Local legislators voiced mixed reactions to Governor Andy Beshear’s Thursday night Budget and State of the Commonwealth Address.
The General Assembly must pass a one-year budget by the end of their 30-day short session after only approving a one-year plan last year with so much uncertainty during the beginning of the pandemic.
Ninth District state Representative Myron Dossett of Pembroke says the governor did a good job of presenting his plan and while he likes many of the proposals to help small businesses, teachers and others—he fears the revenue projections rely too heavily on one-time federal CARES Act funding.
Dossett also wanted to hear more about plans to help Kentuckians who have been waiting too long for unemployment benefits.
Representative Walker Thomas of Hopkinsville was pleased the governor isn’t proposing any tax increases and was very happy to hear him on board with Thomas’ own bill to exempt military retiree pensions from the state income tax.
The budget is now in the hands of the House and Senator Whitney Westerfield pointed out the obvious—it’s certain to look very different by the time a spending plan ultimately gets out of a conference committee, through both chambers and back to the governor’s desk.
Westerfield said he still wants the governor to be more willing to work with the legislature in a bipartisan way on pandemic measures and other issues.