Right off the bat in his State of the Commonwealth address, the Governor told Kentuckians to expect big cuts in the next budget.

“We will be cutting. A lot,” the Governor told lawmakers in the joint session in the House chambers Wednesday night.

There was no mention of tax increases, but quickly Beshear moved into one plan for acquiring more revenue.

“We should allow the people of this state to vote on the issue of expanded gaming,” Beshear said.

Beshear has talked about casino gambling and budget woes before in his speeches, but the Governor also brought up tax reform and the scourge of drug abuse.

In fact, the governor received a standing ovation when he mentioned support for a bill attacking the prescription pill problem.

“Our medicine cabinets are deadlier than our highways,” Beshear said.
Senate President David Williams called the speech “pleasant, ”but he said it lacked specifics on how the Governor proposals to tackle problems.
“I don’t think it had any details…..he didn’t say what his position on gambling is..he didn’t talk about tax reform,” said Williams, noting that the Governor did not mention specifically how he would reform Kentucky’s tax code.
The Governor also received a strong response when he talked about the military…saying he favors an adoption tax credit for national guard families.