RONNIE ELLIS
FRANKFORT — Last week the House approved a revenue plan to fund a new two-year budget, including some temporary changes to a couple of business taxes. At the time, only one Republican voted for the measure.
Tuesday, the House took up a two-year road plan and there aren’t many projects in Republican districts and there weren’t many happy Republicans. But Democrats passed the $3.4 billion road plan 67-32 with Republicans Tim Moore of Elizabethtown and Jim Stewart of Flat Lick joining the majority party. (Stewart was the lone Republican who voted last week to suspend a popular business tax write-off and accelerate collection of sales taxes to fund the revenue package.)
Minority Leader Jeff Hoover, R-Jamestown, said the road plan “stripped out” all federal stimulus funded projects from Republican districts from Gov. Steve Beshear’s proposed plan. House budget chair Rick Rand, D-Bedford, responded, “I have not looked at (the plan) in that way.”
Hoover said projects were taken out to punish Republicans who voted against two business tax measures which are part of a $350 million revenue package crucial to balancing the two year spending plan. He said the road plan is simply “part one in a lesson in political retribution,” and part two will be in the general fund spending plan which will be voted on Wednesday. He said that will include new schools in districts of those who voted for the taxes and not in districts represented by the Republicans who voted against the taxes.
House Speaker Greg Stumbo, D-Prestonsburg, reacted angrily to the charges of political retribution and Hoover’s comparison of the budget process to President Barack Obama’s health reform plan.
“It’s a Republican recession,” Stumbo said. “We have to create jobs and that’s what we’re going to do. George Bush led us into a worldwide recession and a Republican Congress led us into a worldwide recession. George Bush caused this recession and that’s the reason people are out of work, that’s the reason so many people are unemployed and our businesses are having problems.”
Rep. Danny Ford, R-Mt. Vernon, said two bridges rated “structurally deficient” by state inspectors and scheduled for replacement in Beshear’s road plan had been removed – one from Lincoln County in his district and one from Carter County in the district of Rep. Jill York, R-Grayson. He said 13 school busses travel the Lincoln County bridge.
“Are we really concerned about the things that should make a difference?” Ford asked, “Or is it more about politics and who voted for his tax or who didn’t?”
York said a replacement bridge over Stinson Creek on U.S. 60 in Carter County had been removed from the road plan, she assumed over her vote against the tax changes last week. She said school busses travel that bridge, too.
“When a bridge is declared structurally unsound is removed, you have to wonder about the process,” she said.
Asked if it is reasonable for Republicans to take a politically safe vote on taxes and then expect projects in their districts which are funded by those taxes, York said her district shouldn’t be punished “just because I’m not in favor of continuing down a spending road I don’t think we can sustain.” Instead, she said, all areas of the state should share the frugality of a tight budget.
Ronnie Ellis writes for CNHI News Service and is based in Frankfort, Ky. He may be contacted by email at rellis@cnhi.com. Follow CNHI News Service stories on Twitter at www.twitter.com/cnhifrankfort.
