Kentucky House Speaker Greg Stumbo says House Democrats' top priority for the 2015 legislative session could be letting local governments temporarily raise taxes to pay for large construction projects.
Stumbo had previously said the House would focus on legalizing casino style gambling in Kentucky, an issue pushed by the state's formidable horse racing industry and its popular Democratic governor.
But that changed when Churchill Downs, Louisville's iconic horse racing track, donated money to a political action committee dedicated to electing Republicans to the state legislature. Democrats have an eight-seat majority in the House, one of the last Democratic-controlled state legislative bodies in the south.
The local option sales tax would let local governments impose a temporary 1 percent sales tax to pay for large projects. Voters would have to approve the tax first.
