Rotary Program: 9/24/03

Program Chairperson: Dan Stratton

Speaker: Greg Stumbo, State Representative

Dan Stratton introduced Greg Stumbo as the longest serving Majority Floor Leader of the General Assembly with nineteen years in that position. He is now serving in his 12 th term as a member of the General Assembly from Prestonsburg, Ky. In 2002, he was instrumental in getting the Solid Waste bill that helped to clean up illegal dumps in the area and was a leading proponent of the Education Reform Task Force that brought about the KERA legislation. Greg graduated from the University of Kentucky in 1973 and obtained his law degree from the University of Louisville in 1975. He is married to the former Mary Karen Henderson and they have three children, Morgan, Brooke, and Cassidy.

As Greg took the podium, he shared several humorous stories with us before getting down to the business of his speech, which centered on what he sees as the greatest needs for the state of Kentucky in general and the Eastern part of the state in particular. He said that every public official must learn three important things: (1.) To tell the truth, (2.) To accept criticism in the vein in which it is given, and (3.) To maintain an optimistic attitude. Greg shared his assessment of the budget shortfall that the state is currently having by saying that for the first time since he can remember, the state took in less money than the previous year. In this no-growth atmosphere it is impossible to fund programs at the level that is needed. He explained that for every dollar of revenue that comes into the general fund, 75 cents goes to education. Of that amount, about 60% goes to Elementary and Secondary and the remaining 40% to Higher Education. The other 25 cents of that dollar of revenue goes to Health and Human Services with only about 12% of that to run state government. Another problem, he said, is that Kentucky now spends the most of any other state in the country in education, except New York. With all that going out of the treasury, it leaves little to fund other programs that are needed. The solution, he says, is a controversial one, but one that he believes will be the answer to our financial woes. He indicated that millions of dollars are being spent in states across our borders that could remain here if we would allow legal gaming to be set up in ports-of-entry into the state, such as Louisville, Owensboro, Covington, Ashland, and somewhere on the southern border with Tennessee. He estimated that the state could see revenues of nearly $400 million, if casinos could be located in these strategic points. Things he hopes to see in the future for Kentucky was his work on the Prescription Drug Task Force to address the drug abuse problem that is killing our state. Representatives from law enforcement, pharmacies, Health Departments, the legislature, and the medical community hope to set up a real-time reporting system that would alert authorities when certain drugs were being overly prescribed and to patients who did not fit certain standards so that investigations could be started earlier. In this plan the victims of the system could get the help and rehabilitation they need and the profiteers could be found and prosecuted. He also stated that he would like to see a “drug court” set up in every county and said that the Owensboro model was an excellent one. In response to a couple of questions, he commented on the Minnie to Harold highway connector to Route 80 and the final phases of US 119 being finished before Governor Patton leaves office. He also stated that in his campaign for the office of Attorney General he would focus on three issues: that being drug pushers, senior citizens in their vulnerability to fraud, and environmental issues.

Submitted by J. Morgan Chapman