(Frankfort, Ky.) – Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear is calling his new budget proposal "inadequate for the needs of our people."
He unveiled his proposed $19.5 billion two-year spending plan yesterday to the state legislature. The plan includes a call for 8.4 percent in spending cuts for many state agencies during the first year, with no additional cuts in the second year.
Education and public safety are excluded from the belt-tightening.
“We should be making substantial investments in our physical and intellectual infrastructure to bring transformational change to our state. This budget does not allow us to do enough of that,” said Gov. Beshear. “Instead, it requires painful cuts that may well force us to retreat on some core services, and that risk jeopardizing progress we’ve made over decades in education.”
There won't be any layoffs, but Beshear says some may have to take hits in staffing to get under budget.
The legislature still has to approve the measure. Those lawmakers may be more tempted to buy into Beshear’s plea to allow expanded gambling in Kentucky as a way to generate more revenue.
A study released Tuesday by the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce estimates that Kentucky could see a $1.7 billion economic impact in one full year if slot machines were allowed at eight horseracing tracks around the state.
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