House Passes Budget

{Frankfort, Kentucky}...Wednesday, the House voted 78-17 to pass a $19.5 billion biennial budget that imposes 8.4 percent cuts on most state agencies. Education, public safety and a handful of other programs would be spared under Governor Steve Beshear's plan to close a $742 million shortfall. State Representative Rick Rand, chairman of the House Appropriations and Revenue Committee, said Beshear's budget went largely unchanged, with some notable exceptions. The House extended the 8.4 percent cuts to the state judicial system, and the legislature took the same level of cuts. The House budget also whittled Beshear's proposal for some $950 million in new debt down to $350 million. Rand said House lawmakers also removed from Beshear's budget proposal several construction projects at the state's public universities, even though those projects were being paid for without General Fund appropriations. House lawmakers recommended additional spending in some high-priority areas, including nearly $4.3 million over the next two fiscal years to expand the state's prescription drug monitoring program known as KASPER. The House also approved Beshear's proposed tax amnesty plan that lawmakers believe could collect $55 million over the next two years. The state also would step up collections by hiring 85 additional Department of Revenue staffers to find delinquent taxpayers.