Posted on 05/10/2004 8:38:31 AM PDT by MountainPatriot
SOMERSET, KY - Pulaski County broadcaster and Republican State Senate candidate David Carr said today there are clear differences between him and his opponent. He said a close examination of his opponent's voting record reveals these differences. In particular, David Carr points two votes in the 2000 session of the General Assembly.
These votes to increase his opponent's Senate pensions are a clear need for a change in the State Senate says Carr.
"Both bills would have financed the huge pension increase on the backs of Kentucky taxpayers, while many projects and programs went unfunded. I don't think votes like these are in the best interest of the people," Carr said.
Carr points to copies of roll call votes on Senate Bill 349 and House Bill 389. Both bills were passed by the State Senate within days of each other but had one underlining purpose-to increase the Senate pensions of the very people who were voting for them.
Roll call votes from the Legislative Research Commission show on Thursday, March 16, 2000 and Wednesday, March 29, 2000, Carr's opponent voted for legislation to increase his Senate pension. In fact, one of these votes would have increased his Senate pension by sixty-four percent (64%). The other bill would have increased pensions and would have cost taxpayers $950,000 per year.
"These votes are wrong and are not in the best interest of the people. Too many issues in our District have gone undone," Carr said. "It seems Senators can agree to increase their pensions, while the people's business goes undone."
News reports at the time show last minute language was inserted into House Bill 389, creating a controversy about the pension increase. The bill increased Senators' presumed annual salaries from $27,500 to $40,000, in order to provide for the sixty-four percent (64%) increase in the Senators' pensions. HB 389 made the increase retroactive to 1998 and also provided for an automatic cost of living adjustment (COLA) for inflation each year.
Carr said, "This is a matter of record in the news reports about the vote by my opponent. This was a waste of tax dollars and government resources, Senators should have been working together harder to cut waste, cut taxes, to get a budget and to address other issues important to working people."
The other pension bill, Senate Bill 349, was introduced by Pikeville trial lawyer and former Democrat State Senator Gary Johnson. This bill would have cost taxpayers $950,000 dollars per year for the pension increase.
"They try to hide votes like these from the public, but this is why we have elections-to hold our officials accountable for the votes they cast. These bills are a lot like the same moves tried by legislators when John Y. Brown, Jr. was Governor," Carr continued.
During the Brown Administration, people coined the term 'Greed Bill' to describe legislation Senators voted on to increase benefits. Carr said that same term should be applied to these two pieces of legislation also. These bills are about putting money in their pockets while the people's business goes unfinished. "My opponent cannot hide from these votes. If he tries to say he did not know for what he was voting then people need to use that to make an informed decision also."
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.
