Peril and Promise in 2007
Caleb O. Brown of the Bluegrass Institute handicaps the key risk and possible reward in General Assembly 2007:
After signing a budget in May that obligated taxpayers to $2.4 billion in additional debt, [Gov. Ernie] Fletcher then trumpeted his very modest veto of $370 million in bonded projects, much of which was pork-barrel spending. However, he then turned around and indicated that the vetoed projects could return … and soon. At the time, the governor told reporters that he wasn’t opposed to the vetoed projects, but that they just could not be approved this year.Don't just expect the big spenders in Frankfort to double down with your dollars, bank on it.
Since many of these projects were scheduled for the second year of Kentucky’s two-year budget cycle, expect Fletcher and his fellow big spenders in the General Assembly to push state spending even higher by insisting on restoring funding for these projects. With the governor seeking another term in 2007, lawmakers likely will press the advantage by asking for more spending in their districts.
