2016 Legislative Session

FRANKFORT – Looking to the courts for clarity on whether Governor Bevin’s recent vetoes—and another bill he signed into law – were done properly, Kentucky House Speaker Greg Stumbo filed a lawsuit today in Franklin Circuit Court.              “I believe the governor’s actions go against the letter and spirit of Kentucky’s constitution, but case law is…

Summary of Vetoes to Executive Branch Budget Governor’s Office of Agricultural Policy Deletes language related to special initiatives that were to be funded with $21 million from Tobacco MSA dollars in FY 2016. The funds now shall be used solely for agricultural development initiatives approved by the Agricultural Development Board with no dollar limit for…

Despite the projected growth – of nearly $1 billion in the next biennium – the Governor’s vetoes: …limit access to education opportunities for Kentucky’s students who are most in need Vetoes Work Ready Scholarship that would allow traditional high school graduates to earn a 2-year degree debt free, leaving the funding in 2018 with no…

FRANKFORT – Following the General Assembly’s near-unanimous approval this evening of a budget that will run state government for the next two years, House Democratic leaders said they were “extremely pleased” that proposals the chamber championed were included. “This budget is a great blueprint that will move the commonwealth forward while putting our retirement systems for…

April 14, 2016 Louisville Courier-Journal House and Senate negotiators finally reached agreement Thursday morning on a 2016-18 state budget that will infuse the state’s troubled pension funds with more than a billion new dollars but slash funding for state universities by 4.5 percent. The agreement capped three weeks of bumpy on-again, off-again bargaining sessions and…

At nearly midnight last night, the Senate walked away from budget negotiations even though some progress had been made. Here is the statement from House Leadership: “It is unfortunate that the Senate walked away during discussions about changing the calendar.  Because of the late hour, and the considerable amount of work remaining, we recommended moving…

Last week House and Senate leaders announced that budget negotiations had reached an impasse but are committed to reaching a deal before the April 15th deadline.  The House budget proposal has less debt and put more money directly into the pension system and protects public education from devastating and unnecessary cuts. Despite strong economic numbers…

Last week the House of Representatives passed a balanced budget, investing in education and workforce development. All 53 Democrats voted in favor of this budget while Republicans abstained from voting. Highlights of this budget include: Restoring cuts to K-12 and postsecondary education Fully funding ARC for KTRS and KERS retirees Largest rainy-day fund ever Less…

Call to Create Kentucky Workforce Development Task Force Frankfort, KY—This week Representative Larry Clark (D-Louisville) introduced a concurrent resolution to the House Labor & Industry Committee in the House of Representatives to establish the Kentucky Workforce Development Task Force. HCR 97 calls for the establishment of a task force of stakeholders to study and develop…