State Rep. Mike Cherry of Princeton voted Wednesday to approve legislation that would increase taxes on tobacco and alcohol in order to help close a $456 million shortfall in Kentucky's current budget.House Bill 144 is expected to generate an additional $150 million in revenue for the commonwealth by adding 30 cents to the tax on a pack of cigarettes, doubling the tax on pouch, snuff and dip tobacco and lifting the current sales tax waiver on the purchase of package liquor or beer. Cherry, who represents Crittenden, Livingston and Caldwell counties, was one of 60 House Democrats, along with four Republicans, to vote for the measure.
HB 144 passed 64-34 and now awaits a Senate vote, which Senate President David Williams (R-Burkesville) has promised by Friday. In fact, the legislation on Thursday passed a senate committee vote 9-7 to head to the senate floor.
Williams, the top Republican in the GOP-controlled senate, supports the bill.
Meantime, Sen. Dorsey Ridley (D-Henderson), voted in favor of one education bill this week presented by Crittenden County native Sen. Ken Winters (R-Murray) and against another.
Ridley joined a 36-0 vote Tuesday to make extensive changes to the state student testing that would remove open-response in favor a national norm-referenced testing that uses multiple choice on the end-of-the-year exams. Writing portfolios would be used only as a teachers tool, not as a portion of the CATS test. In essence, Senate Bill 1 would axe CATS testing as it has been known the last two decades.
Ridley represents Crittenden, Livingston, Caldwell, Union, Webster and Henderson counties.
Ridley, though, opposed another measure from Winters to reduce the number of required high school credits from 22 to 15. The move, Winters said, would allow students aggressive about their education to graduate high school in three years instead of four, after completing all 15 core content courses. Senate Bill 3 passed Tuesday 24-12.
Both senate bills now head to the House.
