Pork-stuffed budget train careening out of control

By Reps. Jim DeCesare and Stan Lee

There will be questions about why we decided to get off the reckless budget train now headed toward Gov. Ernie Fletcher's desk especially when this spending plan passed so overwhelmingly in both chambers earlier this week. We invite them.

We commend members of the budget conference committee who prepared this budget for their hard work, long days and late nights. However, when our constituents elected us, we promised them we would cast our votes in a fiscally responsible manner that would benefit all Kentuckians in the long term, not just a few during the next biennium.

Last year, we made the mistake of voting for a budget we weren't given time to fully understand. It contained nearly $2 billion in spending for too many special projects. At the beginning of this session, we determined we would not repeat this misstep.

One of the primary challenges in casting an informed vote on Kentucky's budget is to fully comprehend it. Following the budgeting process in use today, the General Assembly cannot act quickly enough to make reasoned decisions on how taxpayers' dollars will be spent.

Final budget decisions are secretly hashed out behind closed doors by our colleagues assigned to the conference committee. While there is some input from rank-and-file members before deliberations begin, most members are left twisting in the wind until the committee finishes its negotiations.

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