Budget bill provision could set cap on Kentucky’s disaster response
Eleven tornados hit all across the Commonwealth this week, potentially causing millions in damage. But a provision in the budget bill could put a cap on how much the state can respond to those damages in the future. A provision in the Kentucky budget bill could limit the state's response to natural disasters like this week's tornados, potentially causing millions in damage. The provision would put a $25 million cap on how much the state could spend during natural disasters. If it passes, Governor Andy Beshear would have to call lawmakers in to approve more immediate funding once the cap is hit. If this happens, he plans to veto the provision. The governor said state funding is already over the limit this year after allowing people to stay at General Butler State Park for free after the tornados.
Published : 4 weeks ago by David Ochoa in
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WAVE) - Eleven tornados hit all across the Commonwealth this week, potentially causing millions in damage.
However, a provision in the budget bill could put a cap on how much the state can respond to those damages in the future.
In the last few years, Kentucky has seen major damages from floods and tornados.
The state’s response to these types of natural disasters could look very different in the future.
The provision in the budget bill would put a $25 million cap on how much the state could spend during natural disasters.
Governor Andy Beshear said if it had been in last year’s budget, they wouldn’t have been able to respond the way they did to this week’s tornados.
The tornados this week caused chaos and destruction along their path.
It’s too early to tell exactly how much damage was done or how much it’ll cost to fix, but it could be in the tens of millions.
“What happens when we hit that $25 million limit the General Assembly is trying to put in for the first time? It’s never happened before because there’s never been the limit,” Beshear said during his Team Kentucky briefing on Thursday.
If the provision passes, Beshear said he’d have to call lawmakers in to approve more immediate funding once the cap is hit.
He plans to veto it.
“It presents questions we’ve never heard we’ve had to answer,” he said. “It certainly creates impediments to the type of emergency response that we need.”
Beshear said they would’ve exceeded the cap in each of the last three fiscal years.
The governor said state funding is already over the limit this year after allowing people to stay at General Butler State Park for free after the tornados in Carroll, Trimble, and Gallatin counties.
“So then you look at what is it that we could do?” he said. “If we got creative, would we run their credit card and say we hope the general assembly passes a bill when I can get them back in that will cover this? Or otherwise, we’ll send you a bill? That’s a really tough thing if you’ve just walked in.”
Beshear said he could live with the provision if they made the number bigger.
“So why set a threshold so low that you know you’re not going to be able to meet it and you risk not being able to respond to the natural disaster in the way that you should,” Beshear said.
Kentucky Senate President Robert Stivers told the Associated Press in a statement that If a natural disaster is so bad that it costs more than the $25 million, Beshear “has a responsibility” to call lawmakers into special session.
He’s quoted as saying, “Otherwise he suggests we forgo our constitutional duties as the branch responsible for the purse of the Commonwealth of Kentucky.”