Kentucky AG supports gambling to fuel pension funds

Andy Beshear, Kentucky Attorney General, has urged legislators to widen the scope of legalised gambling to various avenue such as casinos, sports gaming and eventually online poker. He pointed out that gambling can become a dedicated revenue source for Kentucky’s underfunded pension plans.

Beshear wrote in a letter to the lawmakers legislators: “The solution is not to cut legally promised benefits, but to create a new and dedicated stream of revenue solely for pensions that does not raise any Kentuckian’s taxes.  The answer is simple—expanded gaming including casinos, fantasy sports and sports gaming, as well as preparing for the eventual legalisation of online poker.”

Kentucky has the biggest public pension funding gap among the US states. Its total pension liability of $64.9 billion receives only 33.9% funding. In April, a Franklin Circuit Court judge ruled that a lawsuit Mr. Beshear filed against a pension reform law could move forward. His lawsuit is before the Kentucky Supreme Court, according to a release from Mr. Beshear’s office.

Besher filed a lawsuit at the Kentucky Supreme Court against a legislation, signed into law April 10 by Gov. Matt Bevin, that will put new teachers into a hybrid cash balance plan instead of the existing defined benefit plan overseen by the $18.1 billion Kentucky Teachers’ Retirement System, Frankfort.

He says the residents of Kentucky spend more than $1 billion in casinos in other states where casino gambling is legalised. He also pointed out that tax revenue from gambling in some of these states has touched $2.4 billion per year.

“The General Assembly should pass legislation to allow expanded gaming, but dedicate all of the revenue to Kentucky pension systems until those systems are fully funded,” Mr. Beshear wrote.

Mr. Beshear’s office could not immediately be reached for comment.

Blake Brickman, chief of staff for Mr. Bevin, said in an emailed statement that “funding alone will not solve the problem” facing Kentucky’s pension plans.

“Expanded gaming is a tired tenet of the Democratic Party, so it’s no surprise that candidate Beshear is using his official office to call for a policy which is also conveniently part of his campaign platform. Gov Bevin is the only governor to commit to fixing the pension crisis by fully funding the system and calling for necessary reforms to ensure that Kentucky can deliver on the promises made to retirees and current state workers.” Mr Brickman wrote.

Incidentally, Besher will be running for Kentucky’s governorship in the upcoming election in 2019.