Monday, Jan. 27, at Liberty City Hall, Sen. Jimmy Higdon and Rep. Daniel Elliott conducted a public forum dealing with the 2020 legislative session. If the rest of Kentucky has such a dedicated and informed elected team, then Kentucky is in greater condition to start the new decade!

The biggest burden facing the legislature in 2020 is the distribution of available revenue (taxes, federal) to the state. This distribution will require:

1. A “big” makeup for the funded state pension;
2. Current cost exploding devoted to law enforcement, cost of incarceration of convicted felons (plus economic net for dependents housing, food etc);
3. The changing culture of marriage, parenting, lack of moral values caused by horrible increase in addiction of substance-use disorder!

There will be only a minimum of increase funding from the current sources (Fed, taxes, etc).  

The legislature will have to honor fixed commitments and maneuver their way through this crisis!

Government 101 tells us there are three divisions of state management: Executive, Judicial, Legislative.  The public views all of these issues combined and does not separate them. I have crossed all three boundaries because as a volunteer in SUD, I have to begin with the “bottom” gutter and move into the realm of social responsible citizenship. Sen. Higdon and Rep. Elliott do not have that luxury of review and must work with executive and judicial issues that affect their legislative process.

Thank you Sen. Higdon and Rep. Elliott for the hard work and dedication!

 

1. M. “Rat” Durham

Parksville