Beshear ready to 'go to the mat' on casino issue

It’s been a tough week for Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear, with his casino gambling plan in limbo and his politically risky proposal for a 70-cent-a-pack cigarette tax increase getting slapped down by the House. But it was clear from Beshear’s speech Friday at a Northern Kentucky Chamber of Commerce luncheon in Covington that the governor isn’t about to give up on either proposal.

His first big applause line in the crowded Radisson Hotel ballroom came when he mentioned the $500 million to $600 million in revenue he projects the state will receive from casinos if his plan is adopted. “I’m going to go to the mat on this issue,” Beshear said. “This is the first time this issue has really been discussed in Kentucky. In other states it’s taken four or six or eight years to get it passed. … So if this means taking on a controversial issue and losing, then bringing it back and losing again, that’s what I’m going to do. Because that’s what a governor ought to do.”

Beshear, a Democrat who opposed raising the state’s cigarette tax while running for governor, said he changed his mind after seeing projections of “continuing reduced revenue” from the state’s fiscal forecasting agency. Once he decided to change course, Beshear said, he figured a large increase would be necessary, given the uncertainties surrounding the casino amendment. “I can’t think of a tax that’s easer to raise than the cigarette tax. It’s a voluntary tax,” Beshear said. “Let’s raise it big enough to actively make a difference in the revenue stream, and to actually have a health benefit as well.”

The budget the Democratic-controlled House approved on Wednesday contains only a 25-cent hike in the cigarette tax. Beshear said he intends to keep pushing for the higher figure. He told the Louisville Courier-Journal on Thursday that the House plan counts on projected revenue and savings that won’t materialize, in Beshear’s opinion. Unless lawmakers correct the budget – notably by adopting the 70-cent tax – Beshear said he may call a special session of the General Assembly to fix it.

Beshear’s hastily arranged appearance in Covington was part of the governor’s statewide media push this week to counter his recent policy setbacks – what he called “the fun we’ve been having in Frankfort lately.” He also brought words of praise for Northern Kentucky, particularly for its success in economic development. “The way you have come together, the way you have ignored artificial boundaries of city and county … has been nothing short of miraculous, and you have seen the results of it,” Beshear said. “I go all around the state saying we’ve got to band together as regions and work together as regions to get the kind of economic development you need.”