FRANKFORT, Jan. 9 – Sen. Jason Howell, R-Murray, (left) confers with Sen. Brandon J. Storm, R-London, before the start of Tuesday’s Senate proceedings.
With Kentucky’s General Fund surplus ahead more than $1.5 billion, and the state’s rainy day fund at a record $3.7 billion, the Commonwealth and its leaders are as poised as ever to maximize on efficient spending measures.
The biggest question is: will they?
Whitney Westerfield, State Senator for the 3rd Senate District, said there is an expectation to keep some monies in the coffer.
Especially as the income tax continues its slow trickle down to zero.
Westerfield, however, believes fiscal movement and change needs to occur in two specific areas.
First and foremost: several state agencies and employees need raises, and retirees need cost-of-living adjustments — something, he said, hasn’t been addressed “in years.”
And, secondly, Westerfield is a main sponsor of Senate Bill 34 — pro-life legislation targeting significant appropriations for mothers and children, while promoting family well-being in the wake of anti-abortion measures.
District 9 Representative Myron Dossett noted that the House and Senate kickstarted their budget discussions in midsummer 2023, and that the bicameral government has to be “very conscientious” of how to spend incoming and saved-up tax dollars.
Looking at the reserves, though, Dossett said one goal has to remain in the forefront of all legislators, and that’s the necessary targets to hit the state’s benchmarks for lowering the income tax.
The GOP, he said, wants Kentucky to shift from a production-type tax, to a consumption-type tax.
District 8 Representative Walker Thomas said that the House and Senate’s look at the budget should come in the next 10-to-14 days, and that Governor Andy Beshear’s framework certainly primed the phones for legislators to hear from their constituents.
One key focus last summer, Thomas added, were two specific veterans issues in Kentucky.
At the top: mental health issues and suicide rates.
And immediately following, the hefty taxation of veteran retirement pensions.
District 1 Senator Jason Howell said there is “a lot of demand, with a limited amount of supply,” and that no one wants to increase taxes to spend more.
But there are two hard things he plans on looking at during session: workforce development alongside child-care costs, as well as drug abuse and access.
Furthermore, he’s expecting this House and Senate to ardently review the state’s need for a veterinary school — one Murray State University would like to host — because it would be “great for Murray State, great for the area, but great for the Commonwealth of Kentucky.”
The House and Senate are comprised of 138 members.
