Kentucky General Assembly Opens Session

From Kentucky Public Radio's Tony McVeighThe 2010 session of the Kentucky General Assembly is underway in Frankfort. Gavels in the House and Senate fell at noon.House Speaker Greg Stumbo expects the budget to dominate the 60-day session, which is slated to adjourn on April 13th.“The budget always overshadows," says Stumbo. "It’s the way that we direct our primary policy in this state and it always overshadows everything else. And a lot of the legislation that’s passed in linked to the budget, because if there’s not funding in the budget then many of these bills just don’t have any reason to be enacted.”With lawmakers still looking for new sources of revenue, Stumbo again intends to offer legislation allowing slot machines at horse tracks. But Stumbo says it remains to be seen if the bill will go anywhere.Similar legislation passed the House in last summer's special session, only to die in Senate committee.