Lawyer, Engineer, Lawmaker
Rep. Sannie Overly uses skills from two professions to represent her central Kentucky district?
By Dan Dickson
This article was originally published in The Kentucky Gazette. To see this article as it originally appeared, please click here.
A long-ago politician is believed to have said that laws are like sausages. It’s best not to see them being made. But state Rep. Sannie Overly, D-Paris, likens the job of crafting legislation to playing chess.
“You picture this grueling process, but really it’s so much about working relationships, friendships and acquaintances you make. It’s learning to understand everybody else’s issues, how that plays into your agenda when you’re trying to advance something,” said the lawmaker, who represents the 72nd House District, including Bourbon, Bath, Nicholas and part of Fayette County.
When working on legislative issues, it may help to have a lawyer’s mind, and maybe an engineer’s, too. Overly earned a civil engineering degree from the University of Kentucky in 1989 and then switched gears completely to earn a law degree from the University of Louisville in 1993. Why the change of heart?
“I always wanted to go to law school. But in high school, I took all the standardized tests and the guidance counselor said my strength was in auto mechanics. It wasn’t something that interested me, but the counselor said that with my scores I should consider mechanics or architecture or engineering,” she remembered.
Overly worked for a time at the Kentucky Department of Transportation as a civil engineer but soon decided to go after her original dream.
“I worked for (DOT) during the day in their Louisville office and did law school at night at U of L,” she recalled. The twin careers seem to serve her well in the General Assembly, where she chairs the House Budget Subcommittee on Transportation.
State Sen. R.J. Palmer, D-Winchester, a colleague in the upper chamber, has noticed Overly’s attention to detail.
“Sannie’s style is very thorough. She takes time to gather all the information she needs on any issue we’re working on before she makes a decision. She’s a practicing attorney with an engineering background,” he said.
Overly came to the House after winning a special election on Jan. 8, 2008, which also happened to be the first day of the session. She replaced state Rep. Carolyn Belcher, D-Owingsville, who resigned to accept an appointment as Bath County judge-executive.
Describing those days as “tough, challenging, but interesting,” Overly began work without the usual lead time a new elected official would expect. “I was sworn in and showed up for work. The session wasn’t in full swing yet, but what I missed out on were those couple of months of down time that most folks have after an election. You can attend interim committee meetings, get to know people and get moved into your office. So I did in a few days what other people did more leisurely. But it was fine, though.”
The biggest issue facing every Kentucky legislative district is the puzzling economy, with hundreds of job layoffs and the harsh impact on families and individuals.
“But it also affects government,” Overly said. “When everything else in the economy shrinks, so does the tax base and tax revenue. We have fewer dollars to provide local services.”
With a huge portion of the budget allotted to education, says Overly, “You can’t cut it too far before education becomes a target. That affects all children in the state. In my 72nd District, education is the No. 1 employer and is an economic driver.”
Overly thinks it will be challenging for Gov. Steve Beshear to offer a budget to fund services with Kentucky’s predicted income stream.
“Are we going to trim services? The governor has consistently done that. He’s cut and cut into these agency budgets, and some of that is positive. You want government to be as efficient as possible, but you can only cut so far before you’re eliminating programs. We’ve already seen that, and there could be more.”
On raising taxes to generate more revenue, Overly is clear on one thing. “I don’t know raising taxes in a bad economy is a great idea.” She believes most lawmakers in Frankfort agree. “The answer isn’t to increase taxes to keep services at the level we have them.”
However, Overly isn’t opposed to expanded gambling at Kentucky racetracks, a kind of “voluntary” tax, but you’d probably expect that from someone representing a portion of Bluegrass horse country.
“The horse industry is critical to our economic situation. The potential loss would be particularly devastating to the 72nd District. I think you’re hearing loudly and clearly from the (horse) industry that the time for a constitutional amendment (to let voters decide on allowing expanded gambling) is past,” she stated. “Five or six years ago, that would have been a great idea. But now we’re at a critical point. We want to attempt to legislate (video lottery terminals) at tracks.”
Palmer notes that Overly is in tune with her rural constituency in other ways, like supporting the Bath County Agricultural Education and Marketing Center in Owingsville. The center serves farmers in six surrounding counties and is a model project for agricultural diversification in Kentucky.
“She’s involved in that. It’s an ongoing project,” said the 28th District senator.
Overly, who grew up on a farm, describes her district as “one of the last true agricultural districts in the state.” In addition to the equine industry, tobacco and cattle farming are important in her district.
“There’s lots of diversity, especially with the loss of the tobacco support system from the federal government,” she explained. “People are trying new things, like developing the farmer’s market, which is good. There’s not much industry. We have a lot of availability, quite frankly. Nicholas and Bath Counties have lost major, established industrial businesses.”
The best lesson she’s learned in her nearly two years in office?
“To tell you the truth, I learn a new lesson about every day,” she laughed.
Dan Dickson is a writer and media consultant based in Lexington. He may be reached at dicksonkentucky@hotmail.com.