Legislation to legalize sports wagering across the Commonwealth is now in the hands of the Kentucky Senate. The bill passed out of the House Friday on a 58 to 30 vote. Senate President Robert Stivers said he doesn’t personally see now as the time or place for sports betting. The Manchester republican added he’s not sensing a groundswell of support in his chamber.
“To say that it’s a tax generator, it’s not. I think it’s just a small item on a menu for entertainment. So it really created no energy with me. I just don’t think that there’s a lot of support for it and that there is much energy in my caucus or on this floor about that issue,” said Stivers.
The House-backed medical marijuana bill is also in the Senate. While saying there are statistically significant indicators about medical cannabis benefits for certain ailments, Stivers said he’d prefer additional study, possibly through the University of Kentucky. The Senate leader added, at this point, it’s hard to assess the measure’s chances if it made it to the floor.
Stivers said House and Senate budget conferees are making progress in reaching an agreement on a two-year spending plan. Stivers anticipates a prepared document to be out in the next week to ten days with a key date of March 30th. The Senate leader expects some tax reduction, likely in the income tax arena, to accompany the budget.
“That’s where I say there is a lot of common belief that we want to become more of a consumptions tax instead of a production tax state. Therefore, we would look to reduce the personal income tax rates and I believe there is commonality of purpose between the House and Senate leaderships,” said Stivers.
Stivers says work continues on a number of big-ticket items like pay raises for workers in corrections, state police, social workers, and state employees. He said there’s a lot of agreement in the GOP House and Senate leadership on where they want to finish regarding the budget. Stivers added it’s about finishing up the road map to get there.
