By Tony McVeigh, Kentucky Public RadioA new biennial state budget is on its way to the Kentucky Senate. The House voted 94-4 for a compromise spending plan that cuts most state agency spending by three-point-five percent the first year, and one percent the second. Former House budget chairman Harry Moberly voted 'yes,' but lashed out Gov. Beshear for not taking a stronger stand on the version of the budget approved by the House during the regular session. "I expected somebody, particularly of the Democratic Party, to recognize that we can’t just sit around and whine. We have to do something when we’re in trouble. And we have to build schools and we have to create jobs. That’s the philosophy of our party, Mr. Speaker. Where is that reflected on the first floor?” he asked.Moberly also criticized the governor for not letting lawmakers take a vote on charter schools, which Moberly says could have brought the state millions of federal dollars for educational needs. Moberly offered a charter schools bill, but since the issue's not on the special session agenda, the measure cannot be acted upon.
Rick Howlett was midday host and the host of LPM's weekly talk show, "In Conversation." He was with LPM from 2001-2023 and held many different titles, including Morning Edition host, Assignment Editor and Interim News Director. He died in August 2023. Read a remembrance of Rick here.
