Feb. 27, 2008 — FRANKFORT Ñ The 2008 General Assembly is half over, but the real heavy lifting hasn't begun.

Four issues seemed to hang over the session when lawmakers first came to town: the budget, pension reform, gambling and jails. It's apparently down to three as Gov. Steve Beshear and lawmakers struggle with declining revenue forecasts and seem ready to study once again the jails problems and address financial solutions in future sessions.

Gambling

A constitutional amendment to allow casino gambling dominates the session. On Feb. 14, Beshear unveiled his proposal for up to 12 casinos in Kentucky, with up to seven of them at racetracks. But House Democrats reacted skittishly to so many casinos and what some see as an amendment weighted in favor of the tracks.

After a subcommittee recommended simplifying the amendment language, reducing the number of casinos and guaranteeing none to the tracks, two members of the House leadership - Speaker Pro Tem Larry Clark, D-Louisville, and Democratic House Whip Rob Wilkey, D-Scottsville - offered two alternative proposals to the Elections and Constitutional Amendment Committee. When the committee chairman, Darryl Owens, D-Louisville, ruled the proposals out of order, Wilkey moved to adjourn the committee and the motion passed.

Owens committee is scheduled to take up the matter again on Tuesday, the 33rd day of the 60-day session. Meanwhile, House Speaker Jody Richards, D-Bowling Green, said he's trying to find the 60 votes necessary to pass an amendment in the House and Senate President David Williams, R-Burkesville, said "without fear of contradiction" there are not enough votes in the Senate to pass the amendment.

Pensions

Beshear announced on Thursday his plan to overhaul the state's three retirement systems for state and county employees and for teachers, which combined have an estimated shortfall, or unfunded liability, of more than $26 million. Under the plan, state workers would have to work 30 years rather than 27 could retire with full benefits; it would limit annual cost of living adjustments to 1.5 percent unless lawmakers approved, and pre-funded, larger adjustments.

Beshear said the plan will save $335 million a year for state and local government employees' retirement system and $155 million for the teachers' system but others disputed the assumptions which led to those savings, including Senate President David Williams, R-Burkesville, who last year tried to pass pension reform and has said if nothing is done to shore up the retirement systems, they will eat up spending at the expense of nearly every other government program.

Other features of the plan would end the practice of state employees retiring and then returning to work and earning a second pension. They could still retire and return to work, but they would not be eligible for a second pension. Hazardous duty employees would be required to work 25 years, rather than 20, to earn full retirement. And future hires would contribute an additional 1 percent for their health care.

Jails

County governments continue to strain under the demands of their jails budgets and inmate populations continue to soar. But lawmakers and Beshear have told county officials not to expect any funding help from a state budget which Beshear says is short $434 million this year and $600 million next year. Instead, he's called for a task force to look at revisions to the penal code and alternative sentencing to alleviate over crowding.

The Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday passed a resolution which would establish a subcommittee of the Interim Joint Committee on Judiciary (comprised of Judiciary members from both chambers) to study the penal code and issue recommendations no later than July 1, 2011.

Other legislation:

¥ The Senate took up SB 1, sponsored by Senate President David Williams, which would replace Kentucky's accountability testing system for elementary and secondary education with an "off the shelf" standardized national test. Williams and Senate Majority Leader Dan Kelly, R-Springfield say the test will save the state money, increase instructional time and provide parents better tracking data. The bill has already been harshly criticized in newspaper editorials and is expected to face opposition from some education advocates.

¥ The House unanimously passed a cyber safety bill sponsored by Rep. Johnny Bell, D-Glasgow, and endorsed by Attorney General Jack Conway. HB 367 would make it a felony to solicit a child for sexual purposes on the Internet; create the crime of cyber stalking; make it a crime to transmit sexually explicit images to a child by web cam; bar registered sex offenders from social networking Internet sites such as MySpace; and allow non-sworn persons to act as decoys in child sexual predator stings. It now goes to the Senate.

¥ A bill to add a cervical cancer vaccine to the list of required immunizations passed the House. The bill, sponsored by Rep. David Watkins, D-Henderson, who is a physician, would allow parents to opt out of the vaccination for their daughters. It now goes to the Senate where a similar bill died in the last session.

¥ HB 168, sponsored by Rep. Tommy Thompson, D-Owensboro, became the first bill passed by both chambers. It will allow military personnel returning to Kentucky from duty a 90-day grace period to renew expired drivers' licenses.

RONNIE ELLIS writes for CNHI News Service and is based in Frankfort. Reach him at rellis@cnhi.com.