For a “short session”, this 2009 Regular Session has been incredibly intense. Arguably, we “got something done”. We boosted the state’s budget revenues, protected road fund dollars, lowered the annual state correctional costs of around $450 million and we protected state programs and services that you told us you needed. By session’s end next week, at least 100 bills addressing those needs, both immediate and future, will have been sent to the governor for his consideration.
Early in the session, we took care of a half-billion dollar General Fund budget crisis. Now, as the session ends, another part of the state budget hard-hit by the recession—the state road plan—has been worked out between the House and Senate.
Passing this $3.7 billion road plan package preserves $ 126 million in annual road fund revenue and adds $400 million in bond funding which – along with an expected $400 million from the Obama Administration stimulus package road fund revenue – will pay for many needed transportation projects across the Commonwealth. Plus it will allow us to restore projects that were eliminated in an earlier piece of legislation.
The road fund package includes the freezing of the current state gas tax at 22.5 cents, giving the state four-pennies-a-gallon more than it would otherwise collect. On April 1, the tax is scheduled to drop. Each penny is estimated to be worth $32 million in revenue.
During the vote, several phone calls were received by Speaker Greg Stumbo. As no other House leader was on their individual phone at the same time, it was not difficult to figure out he MAY have been online with the Senate President. Turns out, a string of House members began standing up to speak and giving their own thanks to everyone involved in the negotiations…to speak to the importance of this bill…to , as it turned out, filibuster until the Speaker confirmed that the Senate had, in fact, passed the bill to freeze the gas tax!! Amidst many members raucously calling the Question and jeering some of the speakers (they all wanted to vote on the bill and be done with it), Speaker Stumbo finally had the info he wanted and cut off the debate. This allowed us to vote at about 6:00pm! The biennial road plan now goes to the governor for his signature.
Other issues also occupied our attention today. This included passage of a bill to better supervise payday lending in the Commonwealth. Kentucky will now require that a state database be created by July 2010 for lenders to search for any outstanding loans a customer might have. It will also allow penalties for businesses that violate the two-loan/$500 or less per-customer loan limit now on the books, and prohibit new payday loan stores from opening over the next 10 years. HB 444 now goes to the governor for his signature.
Also on its way to the governor is Senate Bill 4, which will allow drug addicts and other felony drug offenders to avoid incarceration by successfully completing drug treatment. The bill will require that local jails screen felony drug offenders at booking to determine what treatment, if any, is needed. A judge could order outpatient or some other form of treatment at the person’s preliminary hearing, or allow more serious offenders to voluntarily enter a secure treatment facility for at least 90 days, with a total of 18 months to 2 years supervision. Those whose treatment is successful could eventually have their drug charges dismissed. The bill will also ensure due process for offenders, among other provisions.
We will now take a much-needed break as part of what we call a veto recess. In these next 10 days, the governor will review and possibly veto any bill. We will return March 26-27—the final two days—to consider overriding any vetoes and to pass last-minute bills that may be unresolved.
