http://www.kentucky.com/592/index.xml News, sports, and entertainment from Kentucky.com en-us Copyright 2008 Kentucky.com Larry Dale Keeling 60 Sun, 06 Jul 2008 10:18:52 EDT http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss McClatchy Interactive's Workbench webmaster@kentucky.com http://www.kentucky.com/592/story/453553.html http://www.kentucky.com/592/story/453553.html Sun, 06 Jul 2008 04:28 EDT
When lawmakers adopted the two-year budget that went into effect July 1, they made certain assumptions about proposed savings to make the spending plan balance.

One of the big assumptions involved the 5,463 state workers who would be eligible for a .27 and out. retirement this calendar year.

Since the .high-three window. that has enhanced pension benefits for several years will close Jan. 1, lawmakers assumed that most, if not all, of those 5,463 workers would walk into their bosses' offices at some point this year and burst into a chorus of Take This Job and Shove It.

The basis for this assumption was the belief that these workers wouldn't miss the opportunity to have their benefits figured on the average of their high three salary years (rather than the normal high five) and have their years of service multiplied by 2.2 (rather than the normal factor of slightly less than 2) to determine the percentage of that average salary they would receive as a pension. ]]> http://www.kentucky.com/592/story/446871.html http://www.kentucky.com/592/story/446871.html Sun, 29 Jun 2008 02:21 EDT
FRANKFORT . They came. They passed a pension bill in the minimum number of days. They left.

But not without a couple of sideshows.

First, Senate President David Williams used a Transportation Committee meeting to cross-examine administration officials about the road plan they implemented after Gov. Steve Beshear vetoed a highway projects bill passed by the General Assembly.

At times, it seemed as if he were conducting a deposition for the suit he filed challenging Beshear's veto. ]]> http://www.kentucky.com/592/story/440577.html http://www.kentucky.com/592/story/440577.html Sun, 22 Jun 2008 02:06 EDT
Bad idea on multiple levels.

Stumbo, the former attorney general and former majority floor leader who has returned to the House, proposes to send Slots Bill off as a statute rather than a constitutional amendment.

Stumbo long has maintained that no constitutional amendment is necessary to expand gambling in Kentucky. An attorney general's opinion issued during his term in that office took the same position.

I agree. Technically, lawmakers probably could approve the slots at racetracks Stumbo is proposing or even free-standing casinos by statute and have it withstand a constitutional challenge.]]> http://www.kentucky.com/592/story/434317.html http://www.kentucky.com/592/story/434317.html Sun, 15 Jun 2008 02:02 EDT
Why "special session hell"? Because the cavernous Capitol does not lend itself to proper climate control.

Like two-thirds of the porridge Goldilocks found at Grizzly Manor, it can be too hot or too cold but seldom feels just right.

When you take warm summer days, add the body heat of all the folks drawn to a legislative session and throw in the voluminous hot air generated by bloviating politicians, you create Dante's Inferno .

However, our anticipated visit in special session hell is based on the assumption that the agreement House and Senate leaders reached on reforming public pension programs doesn't fall apart before the opening gavel drops. And experience suggests a handshake between these two sides doesn't assure anything.]]> http://www.kentucky.com/592/story/423628.html http://www.kentucky.com/592/story/423628.html Wed, 04 Jun 2008 02:02 EDT
You stumble out of the gate and fritter away your political capital on a doomed attempt to transfer your popularity and that of your lieutenant governor to an unelectable two-time loser well on his way to becoming a three-time loser in a special election for a Senate seat.

You limp through a General Assembly session where you have to cope not only with a Republican Senate majority that would love to see you fall flat on your face but also a House Democratic majority that stymies you on your major initiative, casino gambling.

By mid-session, you're probably just anxious for lawmakers to get it over with and get out of town so you can start exercising some of the considerable powers the state constitution grants a governor in Kentucky.

When lawmakers finally do go home, you start showing a little leadership. Eventually, you have a very good week dealing with ethics and pension reforms. And your approval ratings, which were floating near the freezing level, get a bump back up into the 40s.]]> http://www.kentucky.com/592/story/420967.html http://www.kentucky.com/592/story/420967.html Sun, 01 Jun 2008 02:05 EDT
Yes, Kentucky, there is a governor. His name is Steve Beshear, and he's acting like a leader should.

I know. Some of you may want to qualify that statement with "sorta," "kinda" or "maybe." And you could be right. After all, the steps Beshear took in recent days won't produce great leaps forward for Kentucky.

But let's give the guy a little credit for doing some positive stuff.

By executive order, he imposed stricter ethical standards on his own administration than required by the laws in effect when he took office. That's a good thing, despite the sniping response from Senate President David Williams.]]> http://www.kentucky.com/592/story/414833.html http://www.kentucky.com/592/story/414833.html Sun, 25 May 2008 02:04 EDT
All the losing gubernatorial candidates showed up in a demonstration of support for the nominee, everyone made nice to each other, and Steve Beshear went on to an easy win over Republican incumbent Gov. Ernie Fletcher in the fall.

On Friday, Kentucky Democrats staged another post-primary unity rally. Once again, it was a verbal hug fest.

"Today, there are no differences," said Greg Fischer, who ran second to Bruce Lunsford in a U.S. Senate primary that got a tad nasty at times. "Today, we're all Democrats unified in one common purpose: to put a Democrat in the White House and to put a Democrat in the United States Senate."

Lunsford responded in kind, saying Fischer "has a great future if he decides to stay in the game."]]> http://www.kentucky.com/592/story/412197.html http://www.kentucky.com/592/story/412197.html Thu, 22 May 2008 02:04 EDT
Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton did what the polls said she would do in Kentucky's presidential primary. She beat Sen. Barack Obama soundly.

The margin might have exceeded some expectations, but that's explainable since the Clinton family became Kentucky residents for the better part of a week and spent considerable time chatting up their new Kentucky neighbors while Obama made just one quick visit to the state.

But the thing is, if the national pundits have it right, nearly two-thirds of Kentucky Democrats voting in Tuesday's primary joined a losing cause by choosing Clinton.

And that could pose a bit of a dilemma for Gov. Steve Beshear, who is one of the three Democratic superdelegates from Kentucky who have remained uncommitted throughout the primary campaign. (Jennifer Moore and Nathan Smith, the party's state chairwoman and vice chairman, are the other two.)]]> http://www.kentucky.com/592/story/408406.html http://www.kentucky.com/592/story/408406.html Sun, 18 May 2008 02:05 EDT
An overwhelming majority of the poll's respondents (81 percent) agree with him that a constitutional amendment on gambling should be submitted to voters.

And a solid majority (55 percent) support raising the cigarette tax by 70 cents a pack, a proposal he backed during this year's General Assembly session.

Beshear also can take some comfort from knowing his approval rating is 17 percentage points higher than the General Assembly's.

Of course, there is a troublesome aspect to this comparison. Just 22 percent of poll respondents approve of the General Assembly's job performance, which means Beshear's 39 percent favorable rating takes him into the territory former Gov. Ernie Fletcher inhabited for the last half of his term.]]> http://www.kentucky.com/592/story/398727.html http://www.kentucky.com/592/story/398727.html Thu, 08 May 2008 02:03 EDT
In a Tuesday e-mail copied to other leadership members, Majority Whip Rob Wilkey rather scathingly criticized the way the chamber's Democratic leaders handled this year's General Assembly session, accused them of failing to support Gov. Steve Beshear and announced his intention to leave the legislature at the end of the year.

Referring to the obvious rift in House leadership that proved problematic during this year's General Assembly session, Wilkey wrote, "I thought we didn't serve anyone very well ... I also thought there was a conscious effort to embarrass this governor during this session. It worked. He could have done a better job of building a relationship with the House, but I also feel he was misled into believing that we would work with him. We didn't."

In an interview Wednesday, Wilkey said his decision to leave the House was made easier by this year's leadership conflicts but was not caused by them. He said his decision was based on the "continuing challenges" of trying to balance his legislative duties with the needs of his family (particularly "my daughter and son who need me") and his regular job.

His employer, Commonwealth Brands Inc., a subsidiary of Imperial Tobacco Limited, did not ask him to quit the House, Wilkey said. But he added that his position as a company officer and senior legal counsel required a lot of his attention.]]> http://www.kentucky.com/592/story/395277.html http://www.kentucky.com/592/story/395277.html Sun, 04 May 2008 12:17 EDT
Welcome to the day after, when some among us awaken to those hungover feelings described so wonderfully by Kris Kristofferson in Sunday Morning Coming Down.

You could say this is Kentucky's annual Sunday morning coming down, our descent from the high we experience each year as the Kentucky Derby showcases the state's signature Thoroughbred industry.

Lately, though, the coming down seems to bottom out a little lower every year because the face we show the world on Derby Day increasingly misrepresents the reality of racing in this state.

Sure, we'll always be able to deliver glitz and glitter on the first Saturday in May because the Kentucky Derby is the greatest two minutes in sports, a race that annually draws up to 20 contenders and provides the best damn display of equine and human heart, strength, traffic skills and riding ability you'll find in any race anywhere.]]> http://www.kentucky.com/592/story/379018.html http://www.kentucky.com/592/story/379018.html Thu, 17 Apr 2008 08:29 EDT
Total chaos. Utter confusion. An indifference toward legal niceties that led to a resurrection of the good old days of stopped clocks and floor sessions that ran beyond the constitutional midnight witching hour into the wee hours of the morning. (Darn those computerized time stamps.)

And most fitting for this session, the really good stuff was left twisting in the wind — a wind generated by excessive amounts of hot air — when the gavels finally fell.

Shoot, when sine die was uttered, even the roads portion of the projects package that was put together to buy House votes for an ugly budget was left hanging with the really good stuff.

If there is a telling vignette about the anarchy and disarray that marked this session's final hours, it is the fact that lawmakers left projects on the table when they went home. The last time that happened, hell froze over, pigs flew, the sun came up in the west and earthlings carved up the moon for a feast of green cheese.]]> http://www.kentucky.com/592/story/363900.html http://www.kentucky.com/592/story/363900.html Wed, 02 Apr 2008 08:52 EDT
Even when the charade of an open conference committee plays out to the end of the process in the first-floor meeting rooms of the Capitol Annex, the real head-banging and arm-wrestling takes place upstairs in legislative leaders' offices, either in private meetings or via phone conversations.

Open conference meetings are for pontificating and posturing. The pontificating can consume considerable time, and the posturing often leads to frayed tempers. Both serve as impediments to timely agreements.

So, it came as no surprise when House and Senate leaders, facing a fast-approaching deadline for producing a veto-proof budget, decided to take their talks behind closed doors Sunday in an attempt to speed the process along.

Even then, they didn't reach agreement in time to avoid putting themselves at risk of missing the witching hour for being able to override any potential line-item vetoes by Gov. Steve Beshear.]]>