Published: March 27, 2008 03:11 pm         

Moberly, Williams spar as budget negotiations go nowhere

Some are concerned no deal will come out of conference

FRANKFORT, Ky. — The issue is simple – money. How much does the state have to spend on its budget for the next two years and how willing are Frankfort politicians to raise more of it?



Leaders of the Republican controlled Senate – who don't want to raise taxes – and leaders of the Democratically controlled House – who would rather raise taxes than cut education and health and human services – are holed up in the Capitol Annex trying to hammer out differences between their two budget plans.



And sometimes the discussions have been tense – especially between House budget chairman Harry Moberly, D-Richmond, and Senate President David Williams, R-Burkesville. Aside from occasional personal exchanges between the two, the argument is about money.



“That’s the key issue that has to be addressed,” said Moberly.



Senate Minority Leader Ed Worley, D-Richmond, echoed his friend’s and fellow Madison County legislator’s assessment.



“If the Senate agrees (to raise more money) a lot of these issues can be clicked off pretty quickly,” Worley said during a break in which the two sides went item by item through differences in the budget and sometimes argued over what the other side is up to.



But while they frequently agreed to accept the other’s position on some minor items, neither side seemed in the mood to compromise on the central question – raise taxes or cut spending.



And that raises the possibility neither side ultimately will give and the 2008 session could end without a budget. That would require a special session or run the risk of shutting down many or most of the services provided by state government.



“I’m not at the point where I’m willing to say we’ll not get a budget,” said Senate President David Williams, R-Burkesville, who has sparred throughout the conference with Moberly. “But it’s going to require some compromise and willingness to understand we’re not going to raise taxes.”



Clearly, he meant the House had to understand because the Senate has made no bones about not wanting to go along with the House plan to increase the cigarette tax by 25 cents, extend the sales tax to some luxury services and re-finance existing state debt. That produces about $400 million in each year which the House wants to use to restore recommended cuts to education and human services in Gov. Steve Beshear’s proposed budget.



“If we can’t reach agreement on revenue, we may have to go home with a bare bones budget,” Moberly said.



But on top of the disagreement about taxes, the personal has entered the equation.



(Last week, Williams pointedly said Moberly has a conflict of interest in working on the state budget because he’s an employee of Eastern Kentucky University which receives state funding. The two exchanged accusations at the end of the week.)



Then the two men traded harsh comments late Wednesday night during budget negotiations and it didn’t take long Thursday for them to resume.



Williams claimed during discussion of disputed appropriations that Moberly was directing personal statements toward him and others. He asked House Speaker Jody Richards, D-Bowling Green, to restrain Moberly who has several times criticized the Senate budget or assumptions in it, even once or twice intimating Republicans wanted to harm progress in education and other areas.



“Now I wish you could get your chairman under control and talk to him and have him take a couple of deep breaths,” Williams told Richards. But it was Moberly who responded.



“I don’t appreciate that – that I need to take a deep breath,” Moberly said to Williams. “You need to take it just as much as I do.” But Williams wasn’t done.



“You want to make disparaging, hateful comments about everybody, the governor, the chief justice. I haven’t made any personal comments about you and I’m not going to,” Williams said.



“You’ve made several smart aleck comments about me,” Moberly responded as the others around the table broke into laughter.



Other members of the conference committee saw the exchange alternately as ominous for the prospects for the on-going negotiations or as the sort of thing which happens near the end of the session when people are tired and can’t agree on how to respond to tight fiscal times.



Senate Majority Leader Dan Kelly, R-Springfield, said he’s “really worried” the two sides won’t be able to compromise enough to work out a budget agreement.



But Worley, the Senate Minority Leader, said it’s par for the course.



“It’s just part of the process,” Worley said. “We’ll be fine.”



Ronnie Ellis writes for CNHI News Service and is based in Frankfort, Ky. He may be contacted by email at rellis@cnhi.com.