The Kentucky General Assembly on Thursday approved a biennial budget that provides increases in school funding, raises for state employees, and allocations for public safety and health care as well as water and broadband initiatives.
House Bill 6 allocates more than $128 billion toward the operation of the executive branch for the next two fiscal years. The Kentucky Senate gave final passage to the measure Wednesday by a 36-1 vote. The House approved the measure Thursday by a 72-26 vote.
Senate President Robert Stivers, R-Manchester, spoke highly of the spending plan.
“This is a solid budget,” he said. “It is the best budget that has been proposed or passed by the General Assembly.”
On the House floor, Rep. Jason Petrie, R-Elkton, said HB 6 addresses the continuing expenses of the commonwealth while making key investments in education, public safety, state pensions, and more.
“I think this is a good product that will deal with the ongoing, recurring costs and services of the Commonwealth of Kentucky,” Petrie said.
Among the provisions, HB 6:
- Increases the funding formula for schools, known as SEEK, to $4,326 per pupil in fiscal year 2025 and $4,586 in fiscal year 2026.
- Increases funding for school safety by allocating more than $34 million toward a school resource officer reimbursement program and $2 million in each fiscal year to the Center for School Safety.
- Fully funds and meets actuarial requirements for each state pension plan.
- Appropriates $7.3 million in each fiscal year for a new Student Teacher Stipend Program.
- Funds 45 new staff positions in the Office of Unemployment Insurance and 100 new social worker positions.
- Provides millions for child care and foster care-related programs, including $19 million over the next biennium toward kinship care reimbursement.
- Allocates an increase of $548.1 million toward Medicaid benefits
- Increases funding by $20 million in fiscal year 2026 to support medical and mental health care at all juvenile justice facilities.
- Includes $7.8 million toward alternative detention programming for juvenile offenders.
- Allocates millions toward clean water and broadband initiatives.
- Gives state employees a 3% raise in each fiscal year.
Lawmakers in both chambers debated the appropriations for schools and juvenile justice along with spending caps for when the executive branch responds to natural disasters.
On the House floor on Thursday, Rep. Josie Raymond, D-Louisville, said the budget does not invest enough in K-12 public schools, early childhood education, or child care. She also said she would have liked to see a one-time bonus check for retirees, more funding for housing, and more.
“This budget does have a lot of good stuff in it … it is still not good enough,” Raymond said.
In explaining his “yes” vote on HB 6, Rep. Timmy Truett, R-McKee, said he’s spoken to several superintendents who had positive things to say about the provisions for education.
“They’re very excited that with these significant increases that they’re going to be able to maintain their staff and also give some sort of a raise,” Truett said.
In the Senate on Wednesday, Senate Minority Whip David Yates, D- Louisville, said budgeting involves intense work, but it’s the most important thing lawmakers do in the General Assembly.
“It is not everything that we all want,” he said of the bill. “But I think that we have done tremendous work and improvements. This came over to us, and piece by piece, it got better and better. I think that’s from the open dialogue.”
HB 6 was not the only budget-related bill that was sent to the governor’s desk on Thursday.
The legislative budget, judicial branch budget, and transportation cabinet budget – House Bills 263, 264, and 265 – also advanced from both chambers on Thursday.
The General Assembly also passed House Bill 1, which makes historic, one-time investments in infrastructure and special projects by allocating nearly $3 billion from the budget reserve trust fund.
The governor has 10 days to sign, veto, or let the legislation become law without his signature. The governor can also implement line-item vetoes in the budget.
Information from the Kentucky Legislative Research Commission.
