Republicans Release Solid, Unexciting Agenda
Today, the Kentucky House Republican Caucus released a six-point agenda for the upcoming session they are calling "A New Day, A New Direction for Kentucky".
The proposals are good protections of the taxpayer that are so safe and common-sense that you are left wondering why they aren't state policy already.
- Refuse special session pay if they fail to pass a budget
- Require a 48-hour waiting period to read bills before voting on tax and spending legislation
- Close pension loopholes for all state elected officials
- Require competitive bidding on all construction contracts
- Require all state expenditures to be posted online
Again, all good proposals, but an underwhelming agenda.
A sixth item:
- Expanding managed care opportunities in Medicaid
is indeterminate. Taking managed care statewide and allowing competition among managed care services might yield savings, but their proposal to simply expand the state's "Passport" program is not likely to significantly change costs and will require a dubious renegotiation of the federal waiver.
All in all, the first five will protect taxpayers from being cheated. It's a shame that these obvious policies constitute an agenda. But in Kentucky, they probably do.
