FRANKFORT — The House refused to vote on a budget Tuesday, part of a strategy to force the hand of senators who are holding out to kill the partial public financing system for gubernatorial elections.

        House Speaker Jody Richards said the House would vote on a budget April 15, the last day of the 2002 General Assembly session. That would have the added effect of eliminating any time for the legislature to override any vetoes exercised by Gov. Paul Patton.

        Mr. Patton has the constitutional authority to veto individual pieces of the budget. The governor has 10 days after a bill passes to exercise a veto; and if the legislature is gone, it cannot vote to override.

        President David Williams said the Senate is determined to at least partly get rid of public financing.

        The Senate unanimously passed a version of the budget Tuesday, but the House refused to accept it.

        Mr. Williams said the Senate is willing to allow public financing to continue in the May 2003 gubernatorial primary, as long as it is eliminated for the general election. That compromise seems to undercut Mr. Williams' argument that public financing is a budget buster.

        “This is about posturing,” said Sen. Tim Shaughnessy, D-Louisville. “This isn't about money.”

        Senate Republican floor leader Dan Kelly of Springfield called public financing a “failed political experiment.”

        “Are we going to continue to throw money down a rat hole, basically?” Mr. Kelly said.

        Starting in the 1995 election, Kentucky instituted a system of partial public financing. If a candidate slate raised a certain amount of money, state dollars would match it 2-for-1, provided the slate agreed to spend no more than a previously set amount.

        There was no discussion or debate over public financing until Senate Republicans carved it out of the budget. They said they wanted to spend the $9 million for school personnel raises.

        House Democratic leader Greg Stumbo of Prestonsburg said there may be some merit in taking another look at public financing, but the way the Senate did it was wrong.

        “Those are important public decisions that all of you need to participate in,” Mr. Stumbo told his House colleagues.

        Mr. Patton tried to stay out of the back-and-forth between the House and Senate, though he strongly defended public financing.

        “I will be adamantly opposed to any diminution of the effectiveness of our spending limits program and particularly as a budget document,” Mr. Patton said.

        Mr. Patton said he would authorize additional money for the campaign finance fund if the $9 million was inadequate.

        Negotiations over a budget will likely continue until April 15, when the legislature returns for its final day of work allowed under the state Constitution.

        If no spending plan is done then, it will be up to Mr. Patton to call a special session.

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