By Ronnie Ellis, CNHI
Jan. 27, 2010 — Frankfort, Ky. – The governor presented his budget and called on lawmakers once more to pass expanded gambling. Lawmakers yawned and said no – or worse. Two key lawmakers announced they wouldn’t run for re-election and potential legislative candidates filed to run at a furious pace.
So what was the highlight of the week in the General Assembly? Well, for the lawmakers themselves it was no contest – University of Kentucky basketball Coach John Calipari showed up Friday and everything stopped. Calipari showed his prowess as a public relations master – he told lawmakers they “are over worked and under appreciated.” No one argued.
A resolution welcoming Calipari to the commonwealth was read; Calipari made sure lawmakers understood UK’s athletics program spends no public tax money and he praised the General Assembly for challenging the university to become a top 20 research institution. Then for more than 20 minutes, Calipari stood in the well of the House and signed autographs and posed for pictures with lawmakers who appeared as star struck as any teenager.
He might still be there had not House Speaker Greg Stumbo urged the body to let him leave for a scheduled basketball practice.
In a five-minute address, Calipari said the Hoops for Haiti fundraiser he organized for victims of the earthquake in the Caribbean nation is on track to raise more than $1.5 billion and he joked about a couple of people in the crowd who wore red, the school color of the University of Louisville. But even lawmakers known for their loyalty to the U of L program beamed as they shook hands with Calipari.
The other business of the week may have been forgotten Friday with Calipari’s appearance, but much happened. On Tuesday, Gov. Steve Beshear made his budget proposal to a joint session, including roughly three-quarters of a billion dollars in gambling revenue. By Wednesday, it was clear lawmakers weren’t interested. On Friday, Stumbo and Senate President David Williams said lawmakers will craft their own budget and they agreed gambling is a dead issue in the current session.
Midweek, two influential Madison County Democratic lawmakers said they won’t seek re-election. First Senate Minority Floor Leader Ed Worley and the next day Rep. Harry Moberly said they had decided not to run again in order to focus on their careers, family and health.
The Senate failed to approve a proposed constitutional amendment which would have required an amendment before any additional type of legal gambling could be approved. Sponsored by Williams who has opposed Beshear’s and the horse industry’s wish to allow electronic slots at the tracks, the bill received 21 votes – 20 Republicans’ and Bob Leeper’s, the only independent in the chamber. That’s two short of the 23 necessary for a constitutional amendment.
The Senate did pass SB 25, sponsored by Leeper, to lift a moratorium on construction of nuclear power plants in Kentucky. Under the current law, no plant can be approved without a plan for the permanent disposal of nuclear waste produced by the plant. The bill now goes to the House where it has languished without passage in previous sessions.
The upper chamber also approved three bills, all sponsored by Sen. Elizabeth Tori, R-Radcliff, to benefit military veterans. One would guarantee interviews for eligible veterans seeking state jobs. A second would expand the state’s military assistance trust fund, and the third would make it easier to open residential care facilities for three or fewer veterans.
The House unanimously passed a bill, sponsored by Education Committee Chairman Carl Rollins, D-Midway, which would make it easier for students to transfer credits from the state’s community colleges to its four-year public institutions.
Ronnie Ellis writes for CNHI News Service and is based in Frankfort, Ky. He may be contacted by email at rellis@cnhi.com.
