Work is well underway to prepare for the 2023 Regular Session, which we will convene on Tuesday, January 3 at Noon. Constituents often ask me about our priorities for session. While we have worked throughout the summer and fall to prepare, I generally think the best way to know what we are going to do is by looking at what we have already done. I am extremely proud of the budget we approved in 2022 because it was fiscally responsible and placed a strong emphasis on investing state resources in areas that will pay off for Kentuckians for generations. The $31 billion budget includes record-breaking investments in education, workforce development, health and family services, and public pensions. For example, the two year spending plan includes more than $525 million in new money for public schools in the first year alone, and even more in the second year.

While I am extremely grateful that we were able to prioritize all of these needs, I am equally happy to share what we did not spend. For the first time in modern history, the legislature chose not to spend every available tax dollar and instead placed $250 million in the budget reserve trust fund. This not only prepares us for difficult times like the tornados in Western Kentucky and flooding in Eastern Kentucky, but also to take advantage of opportunities. One such opportunity can be found in HB 8, legislation that will gradually eliminate the state individual income tax and modernize Kentucky’s tax structure. As a result of HB 8, an estimated $600 to $650 million will remain in Kentuckian’s pockets when the first decrease takes place and the rate is lowered from 5% to 4.5% next year. The timing of future decreases depends on requirements set by HB 8, but we are already on track to see the individual income tax lowered again in 2024.

While the majority of state government is funded through the budget, separate bills provide for the judicial and legislative branches and state road projects. With HB 242, we allocated more than $2.9 billion for the maintenance and construction of state roads over the next two years. The measure also includes $370 million for the rehabilitation and construction of bridges. Another measure we passed into law created the Office of Broadband to not only help speed up the delivery of the $300 million in broadband funding we allocated in 2021, but also to access additional federal funds to continue efforts to reach unserved and underserved areas of the state. We also provided an additional $250 million in funding to local governments to continue upgrading aging and inadequate water infrastructure statewide.

We also continued our work to help build Kentucky’s workforce. Over the past several years we have enacted policies to create jobs and build our economy. As a result we continue to see record-breaking figures for economic investments and available jobs. This is great news, but before we can celebrate we have to make sure we have workers for those jobs. Our efforts there include funding for job-training programs and scholarships, but also retooling our public assistance programs to better help Kentuckians find a path to consistent employment.

Our work will continue this session as we build on these and other measures we passed during the 2022 Regular Session. If you are interested in following along, please visit the legislature’s website and email me to be added to a list for regular updates.