2008 Woodie Awards
Statewide budget cuts cause more ripple effects
Issue date: 4/11/08 Section: News
Associated Press
Budget cuts may force some defendants who would normally rely on public defenders to appear in court without state-funded legal representation, the Department for Public Advocacy Commission announced Tuesday.
The state spending blueprint authorized last week by the General Assembly would cut the Department for Public Advocacy by $2.5 million in the next fiscal year, DPA Commission Chairman Robert Ewald said. Some defendants who would normally be assigned a public defender may not get one.
Kentucky lawmakers last week approved a two-year, $19 billion state spending plan that cuts some government programs and services across the state. Economic forecasters have projected the state is facing a $900 million revenue shortfall during the next two years.
Lawmakers offset some of Gov. Steve Beshear's proposed cuts through a plan that included taking additional proceeds from the Kentucky lottery, restructuring some state debt and capitalizing on an expected flood of retiring state employees.
Beshear and other lawmakers called for raising the tax on cigarettes by 70 cents per pack as a way to fill the revenue hole, but legislature did not agree to raise taxes after the Senate opposed the idea.
The governor also urged lawmakers to approve a constitutional amendment legalizing casino gambling. "These types of announcements concern me greatly. I proposed two different sources of revenue which would have allowed us to avoid such reductions, but the General Assembly chose not to pass them," Beshear said in a statement. "This is a painful budget for all who depend on the state for services."
Budget cuts may force some defendants who would normally rely on public defenders to appear in court without state-funded legal representation, the Department for Public Advocacy Commission announced Tuesday.
The state spending blueprint authorized last week by the General Assembly would cut the Department for Public Advocacy by $2.5 million in the next fiscal year, DPA Commission Chairman Robert Ewald said. Some defendants who would normally be assigned a public defender may not get one.
Kentucky lawmakers last week approved a two-year, $19 billion state spending plan that cuts some government programs and services across the state. Economic forecasters have projected the state is facing a $900 million revenue shortfall during the next two years.
Lawmakers offset some of Gov. Steve Beshear's proposed cuts through a plan that included taking additional proceeds from the Kentucky lottery, restructuring some state debt and capitalizing on an expected flood of retiring state employees.
Beshear and other lawmakers called for raising the tax on cigarettes by 70 cents per pack as a way to fill the revenue hole, but legislature did not agree to raise taxes after the Senate opposed the idea.
The governor also urged lawmakers to approve a constitutional amendment legalizing casino gambling. "These types of announcements concern me greatly. I proposed two different sources of revenue which would have allowed us to avoid such reductions, but the General Assembly chose not to pass them," Beshear said in a statement. "This is a painful budget for all who depend on the state for services."
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