Budget pork for Kentucky Wired should be used for more deserving causes

This article was originally published in the Lexington Herald on April 27, 2020. 

With COVID 19 uncertainty looming large, the General Assembly fulfilled its constitutional duty to pass a budget. Senator Chris McDaniel, the Appropriations & Revenue Committee Chairman, stated, “Regardless of the near-term challenges, our Constitution has called us to ensure the continued operation of government.” Kentucky has benefited from McDaniel’s steady hand guiding the process these last few weeks.

Legislative leaders made several smart choices with this budget. Utilizing the most conservative revenue estimates, adopting a one-year plan instead of a biennial plan were prudent decisions.

And then there is Kentucky Wired.

Funding for the state-owned broadband program was not included in the original House or Senate versions of the budget. The final version, however, appropriated $34 million for the project. How did this happen?

The project has powerful backers. Gov. Andy Beshear criticized the legislature for zeroing out the funding in their earlier budgets. His father, former Governor Steve Beshear, launched the program in 2015, promising the General Assembly it would only require a one-time, $30 million commitment from the state.

Eastern Kentucky Congressman Hal Rogers has staked his legacy on the project transforming his rural district into “Silicon Holler.” The survival of his non-profit Center for Rural Development also depends on the state continuing to fund the project. Roger’s Center has been bleeding red ink for most of its existence. Poor management and excessive overhead have resulted in a failing organization desperate for a taxpayer-funded bailout.

Congressman Rogers has numerous allies in the General Assembly. Senate President Robert Stivers has publicly supported Kentucky Wired, praising the Steve Beshear-Hal Rogers bipartisanship that made it possible.

Why does this matter? In a necessarily austere budget, think of what other areas of state government could have been supported with the $34 million.

Public health departments almost certainly need an infusion of resources to deal with or prepare for local coronavirus outbreaks. Social services are strained during a time when victims of child abuse and domestic violence are extremely vulnerable. The budget didn’t provide any money for textbooks or rural libraries. A full list of better uses of the money would be a long one.

We’ll be hearing more from Frankfort about where Kentucky needs to invest to mitigate the harm caused by this epidemic. The 2021 session will be another opportunity for principled leaders and the rank and file membership of the General Assembly to scrutinize the Kentucky Wired appropriation.

Taxpayers want those who decide where to allocate scarce dollars to choose legitimate priorities. The narrow interests aligned with Hal Rogers to continue funding Kentucky Wired failed Kentuckians by prioritizing their political loyalties instead.

Andrew McNeill was Governor Bevin’s Deputy State Budget and Policy Director from 2016-2018.