Governor's budget "passes the buck" on fiscal responsibility

For immediate release
January 19, 2010
Contact: Martin Cothran
Phone: (859) 329-1919

LEXINGTON, KY--A spokesman for an anti-expanded gambling group charged that Gov. Steve Beshear was avoiding making responsible fiscal decisions to the legislature in his new budget by premising it on slots revenue. "The Governor is passing the buck," said Martin Cothran, spokesman for Say No To Casinos, "and passing the buck is not a good governing strategy."

"Kentuckians have this strange notion that a governor should govern, not pass the responsibility to make good fiscal decisions to someone else."

The Governor's inclusion of slots revenue in his budget will force state lawmakers to either make cuts themselves or to try to cobble together another slots bill that is unlikely to pass. "To put out a budget based on something that is unlikely to happen is the height of fiscal irresponsibility," said Cothran.

The group said that slots legislation has little chance of passing either the House or the Senate and to assume that gambling revenue will be available is to simply ignore political reality and place the burden of budget cuts on the legislature.

"The leaders of both chambers of the General Assembly have advised the Governor not to do this. He should listen to good advice."

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