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Bloated bureaucracy in Kentucky gets even bigger

(source BIPPS)

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A planned expansion by the Legislative Research Commission to take over an additional 53,000 square feet of space in the Capitol Annex in Frankfort indicates the growing problem of government’s obesity.

Despite the budget crunch that threatens even basic health and human services, the LRC has voted to spend about  $1.7 million for an expansion that will force several other agencies, including the Executive Branch Ethics Commission, to relocate as well, adding to the cost of the move.

At a time when nearly 3,000 Kentuckians have been told to prepare to lose their Medicaid services because of state budget cuts, to allow $1.7 million of taxpayers’ funding to be used to expand the size of Frankfort’s bureaucracy is outrageous. The $1.7 million allocated for this expansion of the bureaucracy could have been turned into $5.1 million with the aid of matching federal Medicaid funding. How many nursing home beds could have been saved with $5.1 million?

Once again, an addiction to over spending on unnecessary projects diminishes the effectiveness and efficiency of our state government. Even the (Louisville) Courier-Journal, which is not prone to criticizing most spending decisions made in Frankfort, condemns the LRC’s move into “fancy new digs" even as “poor, sick people” are being put out of nursing homes. We commend Speaker Pro Tem Larry Clark, D-Okolona for being the only one to vote against the funding. Expanding the size of the Frankfort bureaucracy at a time when the state is dealing with a tight budget “sends the wrong signal,” Clark rightly stated.

It’s only been a decade since the LRC moved from the two floors it previously occupied in the annex to taking over half of the building. Now, it wants more. This expansion is just another indication of how bloated Kentucky’s state government has become. 

Source: (Louisville) Courier-Journal: http://www.courier-journal.com/localnews/2003/10/02ky/met-4-annex10020-3547.html

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