Kentucky’s highest ranking Republican lawmaker says he has identified areas of the budget he would like to cut, but he isn’t going to share them just yet.
Senate President Robert Stivers says he has some cuts in mind, but he hasn't discussed them with Gov. Steve Beshear or House Speaker Greg Stumbo. He and Stumbo have also downplayed the issue of structural imbalances in the state budget, which cause recurring shortfalls of millions of dollars.
“You can get into some more esoteric-type things where programs don’t get ramped up as fast, vacancy credits, things of that nature, personnel don’t get brought on as fast. And so there’s monies always captured in those areas," Stivers said. "And we are talking about substantial individuals, or substantial debt services, comes in to some pretty decent money sometimes.”
Stivers says that he will wait and see what Gov. Beshear will suggest next week before he discusses what programs he is willing to cut.
The State Office of the Budget Director has projected an estimated $3.6 billion spending gap between budget requests and the state’s general fund.
