LOUISVILLE (WHAS11) -- Governor Matt Bevin announced he will veto the tax reform and state budget bill.
That announcement came during a news conference on Monday morning at the Capitol.
The news conference lasted for about an hour and then toward the end, Governor Bevin made the veto announcement. The tax reform would've imposed a 6 percent sales tax on a variety of services including auto and home repairs. It also included a cut in income tax rates for some individuals and businesses.
He specifically cited the “job creators of the state,” saying they're unhappy with the proposals because the plan is not comprehensive enough.
Last week, legislators approved the tax bill. They say it would raise $487 million in additional revenue, but Governor Bevin said there is still time to do more.
RELATED VIDEO: Gov. Bevin's Monday news conference about the veto
He says he does applaud the legislators who have made difficult and unpopular decisions to try to fix the budget.
Lawmakers will return to Frankfort on Friday. Republican leaders have said they would override a veto.
The Kentucky Democratic Party released a statement on Bevin's vetoes:
“We agree with Gov. Bevin for vetoing these bills, but for different reasons. The Republican-proposed tax bill increased taxes on the working class of Kentucky and the budget bill continues the war on public education,” Ben Self, Kentucky Democratic Party chair, said. “Instead of passing a bad bill behind closed doors at the last minute with no public input, we need to focus on bills that help the working class not the 1 percent.”
The Democratic leaders of the Kentucky House and Senate released the following statement:
“These vetoes confirm the House and Senate Democrats’ concerns that the budget and revenue plan are wrong for Kentucky and irresponsible. That is especially true of the revenue measure, which shifts the tax burden to 95 percent of working families while lowering taxes for corporations and the richest five percent. We also urge the Governor to veto Senate Bill 151, the sewage/pension bill. When decisions are made behind closed doors and legislation is not transparently vetted, these are the unintended consequences that result.” -- House Democratic Leader Rocky Adkins adn Senate Democratic leader Ray Jones
KEA statement on Gov. Bevin's veto:
"We are profoundly disappointed by Governor Bevin’s announcement that he will veto the budget and revenue bills sent to him last week by the General Assembly. Sadly, this is just one more example of his blatant disrespect for Kentucky’s public employees.
The legislators who crafted those bills did not do so lightly. They worked hard and thoughtfully on them, Republicans and Democrats both, and many of them took difficult votes in the interest of forging a way forward for the people of the Commonwealth. In dismissing those bills out of hand, Governor Bevin shows that he cares as little for legislators’ work as he cares for the work of Kentucky’s other public employees—including teachers and classified school employees, law enforcement officers, firefighters, social workers and many more—who have dedicated their lives to the service of Kentucky’s children and families.
KEA President Stephanie Winkler said, “We are disappointed as well by the governor’s reference to KEA as ‘the problem.’ KEA is 45,000 women and men who serve in every community in Kentucky, supporting and training our children for the jobs they will do when they take their places in the adult world. KEA members live, work and pay taxes in every community in this state. If the governor wants to work with ‘job creators and taxpayers’ why does he insist on insulting so many people who do both?”
We agree with Governor Bevin about one thing: HB200 and HB366 are not perfect. But instead of sending the legislature back to square one and forcing a special session that the citizens of Kentucky should not have to pay for, the Governor should sign both bills and begin doing now what he should have been doing all along: engaging the legislature and the people of Kentucky in constructive, forward-looking, bipartisan discussions aimed at finding new solutions to the revenue challenges facing the Commonwealth."