Beshear makes case for education funding in first State of the Commonwealth Address
In his first State of the Commonwealth Address Tuesday, Gov. Andy Beshear called on the legislature to reject partisanship and focus on education, health care and other urgent needs of Kentuckians.
“I believe Kentucky has a lot going for it and that the state of our commonwealth is strong,” Beshear said. “But there are so many needs, so many in crisis, too many families crying out for help. There is simply not enough time or enough bandwidth to solve these problems if we play partisan games.”
The Democratic governor’s message comes as the Republican-led Senate has made a divisive bill forbidding cities and public universities from adopting “sanctuary policies” it’s top priority in the 2020 legislative session, stoking the debate over illegal immigration that has long burned on the campaign trail.
Rather than directly rebuke the Senate, Beshear dipped back into the rhetoric of his campaign during his 35 minute speech, stressing his desire for Kentucky to become a hub for agritech businesses and his belief that “health care is a basic human right.” He also touted the campaign promises he has already fulfilled: restoring voting rights to non-violent felons, rescinding Gov. Matt Bevin’s proposed Medicaid changes; and waiving the fee for the GED test for people who can’t afford it.
“Right here and right now, we have a can’t-miss opportunity to make widespread progress,” Beshear said. “So we have to take on the big challenges, not do what is politically safe. It’s what our people deserve. It’s what we were elected to do. In our first month in office, my administration took immediate action.”
Much of the legislative session will be focused on the tight state budget and the need for more revenue, and while Beshear will lay out his budget priorities in two weeks, he pledged to make education his top priority.
He called on the legislature to fulfill his campaign promise of giving teachers a $2,000 raise, knocking legislative leaders in the process.
“We’ve figured out how to give tax incentives to corporations,” Beshear said. “So I know we can figure out how to pay a living wage to the men and women who get up at the crack of dawn every morning to go open their classrooms, stay up late grading papers, and give everything they can so our Kentucky children have every opportunity.”
He also promised to stop cutting the state’s investment in higher education.
“A commitment to breaking cycles of poverty must also include higher education. In this state, we need more of every option,” Beshear said. “More graduates with a four-year college degree and more workers with technical degrees and certifications for skilled trades. To do that, we must end our historic cuts to our universities and community colleges.”
But to pay for it, Beshear once again trotted out his desire for the legislature to pass a bill legalizing casino gambling, an idea Republican leaders have outright rejected. House Speaker David Osborne, R-Prospect, who personally supports expanded gaming, said there’s not much appetite for a bill in the House of Representatives and even less in the Senate.
“We have yet to hear any concrete answers about how we’re going to move forward on these many, many initiatives that he is proposing and I look forward to hearing him come forward with those ideas,” Osborne said on Kentucky Educational Television.
Beshear called on the legislature to pass several proposals, including a constitutional amendment to automatically restore voting rights to non-violent felony offenders who have finished their sentences; a bill to make sure Kentuckians can’t lose health care due to a pre-existing condition; a bill to curb the cost of insulin; a bill allowing sports betting in Kentucky; and criminal justice reform that reduces the number of Kentuckians behind bars.
Despite his talk of unity, Beshear spent little time talking about Republican legislative proposals or the top priorities in the House of Representatives — public assistance reform focused on bridging the gap between Medicaid and private insurance and an effort to combat human trafficking, which leaders hailed as bipartisan.
He mentioned just two bills proposed by Republicans, a sports betting bill proposed by Rep. Adam Koenig, R-Erlanger, and a bill proposed by Rep. Danny Bentley, R-Russell, and Rep. Patti Minter, D-Bowling Green, that would curb the cost of insulin.
Some of the things on Beshear’s wishlist have met resistance in the legislature. While the House of Representatives has previously passed a constitutional amendment to automatically restore voting rights to non-violent offenders, Senate President Robert Stivers, R-Manchester, said he has “some real hesitations about it.”
Senate Minority Floor Leader Morgan McGarvey, D-Louisville, said the speech helped set the right tone for a new administration.
“We haven’t had a working relationship with the governor for the past four years,” McGarvey said on KET. “We need that back.”
Both Republican legislative leaders said they found the speech pleasant, but that they wanted to hear more about how the governor would fund his many proposals.
“The only thing he didn’t propose was puppies,” Osborne said.
This story was originally published January 14, 2020 at 8:15 PM.
