The Trump administration and some House Republicans, including Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., have floated the idea of privatizing the United States Postal Service.

Experts said operating the agency like a private business could leave Kentucky's rural areas without mail options for essential functions such as receiving checks or paying taxes.

Tyler Offerman, manager of policy initiatives at the Kentucky Equal Justice Center, said privatization would eliminate essential infrastructure in rural counties, noting 54 of the Commonwealth's 120 counties are entirely rural, with no urban center.

"Many parts of Kentucky are not profitable based on some of these companies business models, and they're considered expendable," Offerman explained.

The Postal Service saw $1.8 billion in controllable losses in fiscal year 2024, compared to more than $2 billion the prior year, according to the agency. Supporters of privatization argued mail volume is dwindling and the agency has lost billions of dollars over the past decade.

Similar to how the decline in rural Kentucky hospitals has forced people to travel farther or skip medical care, Offerman pointed out the state's most vulnerable people would have to travel farther for mail service or go without timely delivery and access to information they need to make ends meet.

"I help people in food stamps and WIC, and we've got people that help people with Medicaid," Offerman outlined. "The way that you sign up and you get information around those programs is either the internet or the notices you get in the mail."

Porter McConnell, senior director for Take on Wall Street and founder of the Save the Post Office Coalition, said the agency was designed for the public good in a functioning democracy. She added legislation requiring the agency to break even and poor decisions leaving it behind in the digital age need to be addressed to keep it robust.

"It's a terrible candidate for privatization, because it's a core service that everybody needs and everybody needs to be able to use affordably," McConnell argued. "The consequences would be disastrous."

An April 2024 poll by the Pew Research Center found overall, 72% of Americans have a favorable view of the Postal Service. That number jumps to 76% among Democrats, and dips to 68% among Republicans.

The next legislative session is approaching in Olympia and Washington state's budget shortfall will be one of the biggest topics.

A gap of $10 billion to $12 billion is expected over the next four years.

Jerry Cornfield, a reporter for the nonprofit newsroom Washington State Standard, said a number of ideas have been thrown out. He noted Democrats are considering increasing taxes on businesses and wealth or excise taxes.

"They've also talked about a higher tax on the sales of super expensive properties," Cornfield explained. "They're really targeting wealthy individuals and large businesses in many of their proposals."

Cornfield pointed out the budget deficit could make it difficult to fund other priorities such as in education. Because of the gap, he does not foresee major changes in education funding this session. Republicans said reducing spending is the better option for shrinking the deficit. The session starts Monday.

On the housing front, Cornfield observed stabilization went far in previous sessions and could be on deck this session.

"Democrats are going to try to push it across the finish line and to the governor's desk this session," Cornfield projected. "They have more members in each the House and the Senate. They seem poised to really impose a statewide limit on rent increases -- monthly rent increases or annual rent increases -- of some percentage."

Cornfield stressed the priorities of newly elected Governor Bob Ferguson will likely determine the direction of the session. He added some nonbudget related topics could surface, such as reducing the blood-alcohol level for drunken driving. Gun-related legislation usually bubbles up too.

"There are bills again being introduced that would further narrow where people can openly carry weapons," Cornfield reported. "There's also going to be probably a good fight on this bill requiring individuals to have a permit before they purchase a weapon."

Cornfield said the legislation could involve a gun safety class for people to get a permit.


get more stories like this via email

North Dakota lawmakers gather in Bismarck today for a new legislative session and as they settle in, they will have public polling data to analyze ahead of final votes down the road.

Today's events mainly consist of speeches, including the governor's state of the state address. When committee hearings are eventually heard, legislators face pressure from the public to tackle property tax reform.

A new poll from DFM Research showed 81% of those surveyed support such a move. Last fall, voters rejected largely doing away with local property taxes, keeping the revenue tool in hand for communities.

Dean Mitchell, owner of DFM Research, said it is clear voters want such a balance.

"People understand that property taxes are in the mix to fund schools but they do want that reform," Mitchell reported. "I think that's the number one issue in the realm of education."

The second-highest priority in the poll, commissioned by the teacher's union ND United, was universal lunches. Among respondents, 79% support providing no-cost school meals to all students, regardless of their family's income. Meanwhile, 68% oppose public money being used for private school tuition.

All the issues are expected to be debated this session. Some bills might vary in their language, namely school choice, with differing views on various models being floated. Mitchell noted North Dakota voters appear to be in tune with the public education landscape and what their district's needs are, versus trends, such as private vouchers, seen in other parts of the country.

"I think it's just kind of that common sense nature of North Dakotans (being) a little bit more closely tied to their community," Mitchell observed.

He added the poll results reinforce long-standing sentiments. The survey was conducted last month with 600 voters from around the state interviewed via landline, mobile phone and text-by-web.

On Wednesday, Maryland's legislative session begins in Annapolis - and state lawmakers are facing numerous challenges.

Maryland expects pressure from the incoming Trump administration, which has called for slashing the federal workforce.

In a state where the workforce is among the most dependent on federal employment, those jobs translate into tax dollars for the state.

Brenda Wintrode, state politics reporter at the Baltimore Banner, said that matters - especially as Maryland stares down a nearly $3 billion deficit.

"This is going to probably take up a lot of the oxygen out of the session," said Wintrode. "It's the worst imbalance the state has seen in two decades. The revenues just aren't keeping up with the expenses, and economic growth remains sluggish, even though unemployment is at a record low."

She added that she'll be watching to see what lawmakers decide, whether it's cutting spending or raising taxes. Maryland lawmakers have pre-filed more than 250 bills for the 90 day session.

The deficit will have ripple effects in other areas, including education policy.

Progressive reforms, called the Blueprint for Maryland's Future, were passed in 2021. They include increasing teacher pay, preparation time for teachers and diversity among educators.

Wintrode said the program is ambitious, but costly, at a time when the budget remains unbalanced. Maryland Gov. Wes Moore has said he is willing to pause certain policies, given the budget situation.

"Gov. Moore nodded that he would like to look at some of the most costly portions of the program and see how they can cut back on them," said Wintrode. "And one is this portion of the education reform that would allow teachers more time to plan their classes."

Other bills include support for in vitro fertilization, phone-free classrooms, and consumer protections on automatic renewals.