Beshear : Opposes shift from income to sales taxes. Limit tax incentives for outside corporations. Add new revenue sources like casino gambling & taxing medical marijuana. End tax incentives for companies that don't pay a living wage.
Bevin: Signed $106 million tax cut for banks & other institutions. Would shift revenue base to sales taxes: "I think the state income tax & state corporate tax should be zero." Offer tax incentives for corporations investing in state
Beshear : Yes. "Climate change is real, but you don't have to take my word for it, ask any farmer here in Kentucky or ask the U.S. Military which is preparing for it each & every day." Unclear on specific greenhouse gas regulations.
Bevin: No. "The idea that somehow we created this solely & need to fix it solely is an absolutely preposterous assumption of the authority & power of man as related to the planet."
Renewable Energy: Support development of renewable energy?
Beshear: Need to diversify & include "as many renewables as possible." Specific renewables plan not found.
Bevin: No. Opposes tax-payer subsidies of renewables; calls powering the world through them "unrealistic."
An ACLU lawsuit attempted to prevent the Bevin administration from shutting down Kentucky's only abortion clinic after the state moved to enforce regulations requiring the clinic to have mandatory patient transfer agreements with an ambulance service and hospital.
Bevin has called himself "the most pro-life governor in America." In his State of the Commonwealth Address earlier this year, Bevin said he is proud to live in an anti-abortion rights state.
"I am so proud and so grateful to be a governor in a state where these chambers, an overwhelming majority, 80 plus percent of bipartisan support are strongly pro-life," Bevin said. "How awesome that in Kentucky, we value life."
Bevin at times has strongly criticized those who don't agree with him, saying at one point, for instance, that somewhere in Kentucky a child was sexually assaulted after being left home alone while teachers were in Frankfort to protest changes in their pension system.
Bevin later apologized for that slap at teachers, but on another occasion used the words "selfish" and "ignorant" in talking about opponents of the pension changes.
"The greatest financial threat to the commonwealth has now been made worse by [gubernatorial opponent] Andy Beshear's self-serving, political lawsuit, and it places the retirement security of tens of thousands of our teachers and public employees at greater risk of failure and further credit downgrades. This is unacceptable. All options must remain on the table to solve this crisis because without real structural reform, the pension system is on the fast track to failure."
Beshear is eager to jump on board with gambling, but Bevin has said repeatedly that he does not want that for the state.
In a radio interview, the Kentucky Republican said new laws aren't the solution to violence, but addressing a "culture of death" in media is the start. "It starts with everything from the type of entertainment that we focus on," Bevin said. "What's the most popular topic that seems to be in every cable television network. Television shows are all about, what? Zombies! I don't get it ... that's what we are."
Bevin added that violent shows are morphing the minds of young, impressionable children. "When a culture is surrounded by, inundated by, rewards things that celebrate death, whether it is zombies in television shows, the number of abortions ... there's a thousand justifications for why we do this," Bevin said.
Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin said he and Trump regularly talk by phone about trade and was supportive of ongoing negotiations. "It's moving us into the 21st century reality of trade that exists," Bevin said. "Is it perfect? No."
For his part, Kentucky Governor Matt Bevin has focused on the "culture" around gun violence. In a video after the Marshall County shooting, he blamed a "culture of death" in America and attributed the violence to video games, films, television and social media.
In a meeting with the Federal Commission on School Safety last week, Bevin brought up the impact of smart phones on students' mental health "We need to start being very very intentional and thoughtful and data driven as it relates to the impact of these devices in the hands of young people," Bevin said.
The new taxes will be in the form of an additional 50 cent tax (on top of the current 60 cents) per package of cigarettes and a 25 cent tax on each opioid dose prescribed in Kentucky. The revenue bill also raises money by eliminating a $10 personal tax credit for Kentucky taxpayers.
The budget actually increases SEEK funding for public schools from $3,891 per pupil to $4,055 per pupil in the first year and $4,056 in the second. It also restores $127.8 million in state funding for school transportation costs that Bevin would have cut in his proposed budget. And it spends $11.8 million in FY 2019 and $3.16 million in FY 2020 to fully fund the Teachers' Retirement System employer match, including retiree health insurance.
On May 19, 2016, the Franklin County Circuit ruled against Beshear. The decision stated that the constitution did not prevent Bevin from instructing colleges to spend less money, as he did in the executive order, but did prevent him from altering the funding they receive. Beshear appealed the ruling and on September 22, 2016, the Kentucky Supreme Court ruled that Bevin did not have the authority to control the budgets of public colleges and universities without the legislature's approval. This reversed the lower court's decision.
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The above quotations are from 2019 Kentucky Gubernatorial race: debates and news coverage.
Click here for other excerpts from 2019 Kentucky Gubernatorial race: debates and news coverage. Click here for other excerpts by Matt Bevin. Click here for other excerpts by other Governors.
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