{Frankfort, Kentucky}...Governor Steve Beshear is set to deliver a two-year budget proposal to a joint session of the House and Senate Tuesday. Spokeswoman Kerri Richardson says Beshear has repeatedly warned that the budget numbers are so miserable that Kentuckians should expect deep and painful cuts in most areas of state spending. Initial projections say cuts would be in the 7 to 9 percent range. Budget cuts have been common over the past four years because of the lingering economic recession that is blamed for $1 billion in revenue shortfalls since Beshear took office in late 2007. Some agencies already have had to cut their spending 25 percent to 30 percent. House Appropriations and Revenue Committee Chairman Rick Rand, D-Bedford, says he expects even agencies and services that have been largely spared from past spending reductions will be hit this time around. State Representative David Floyd, R-Bardstown, says the budget shortfall could exceed $300 million, which will almost certainly force cuts in corrections, education and health care, which have been spared in the past. Beshear has appointed a commission to review the state's tax code and to recommend reforms, but it won't report in time for the legislature to take action this year.
