By Tony McVeigh, Kentucky Public RadioIn Frankfort late Saturday night, Kentucky lawmakers wrapped up their work in what turned out to be a six-day special session on the budget.Friday night, lawmakers approved a $17 billion biennial budget, but still needed to pass a state road plan and an operating budget for the Transportation Cabinet. During a rare Saturday session, legislative leaders hammered out an agreement behind closed doors and put the results before each chamber late last night. The House voted unanimously for both bills, but that was not the case in the Senate.“This is an absolute outrage. We are here in the evening, being asked to vote on a bill of 245 pages,” said Democratic Sen. Kathy Stein of Lexington.Stein, along with Republican Sen. Tom Buford of Nicholasville, voted against both bills. The six day special session, which cost taxpayers around $64,000 day, is now history.
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.
