Research that works for Kentucky
Senate Proposes to Ease Some House Reductions, but Austere Budget Reflects Recent Tax Cuts
The Senate’s version of the next two-year state budget eases some of the cuts included in the House budget, which passed in late February, by spending funds the House allocated to the already-large Budget Reserve Trust Fund (BRTF).
Budget & Tax
Senate Proposes to Ease Some House Reductions, but Austere Budget Reflects Recent Tax Cuts
The Senate’s version of the next two-year state budget eases some of the cuts included in the House budget, which passed in late February, by spending funds the House allocated to the already-large Budget Reserve Trust Fund (BRTF).
It Can’t Be All About, Or In, the Base
As the 2027-2028 state budget continues through the legislative process, legislative leaders have repeatedly assured...
Here’s How the House Budget Would Affect Seek Payments to Your School District
The House budget freezes school transportation funding and makes small increases in the guaranteed base...
General Assembly Should Fix Underfunding of School Transportation This Session
School buses are essential to getting kids to and from school. In recognition, the General...
Criminal Justice
Amid Mounting Harms, Kentucky Is Ramping Up Anti-Immigrant Enforcement
More than a year in to the Trump presidency, the administration’s mass deportation effort has resulted in a historic high of 70,766 immigrants locked up in detention, and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is becoming increasingly aggressive in its pursuit of arrests.
ICE Arrests Are Surging in Kentucky as Local Law Enforcement Joins Troubling Mass Deportation Effort
Anti-immigration enforcement has ramped up since the inauguration in January, with Immigration and Customs Enforcement...
FBI Data Shows Violent Crime Dropped in Kentucky Last Year and Is Now Below Pre-Pandemic Levels
New FBI crime data shows violent crime in Kentucky dropped by 6.3% between 2023 and...
One Year Of House Bill 5: Hundreds of Unhoused Kentuckians Have Been Cited for ‘Unlawful Camping’
One year after 2024’s House Bill (HB) 5 went into effect, the harms of the sweeping...
Economic Security
Senate Bill 257 Would Increase State Costs While Taking Food Assistance From Thousands of Kentuckians
The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is Kentucky’s strongest tool in the fight against hunger and has significant benefits for health and our economy.
Affordability Is a Crisis for Kentuckians. Here’s What State Leaders Can Do About It.
Every poll tells us that affordability is the major concern facing hardworking Americans. Many are...
Building a Kentucky Workers Can Afford
Hard work runs deep in Kentucky. Kentuckians dug the coal that powered the 20th century...
Affordability Is a Crisis for Kentuckians
Many Kentuckians are struggling to afford the cost of living. This problem is not new,...
Education
Legislature Wants to Take Power From the JCPS Board While Cutting Funding to Its Schools
Legislative leaders have been critical of Jefferson County Public Schools (JCPS) in recent years on issues ranging from student performance to transportation problems and budget shortfalls.
Here’s How Much the House Budget Would Cut SEEK Payments to Your School District
This analysis is based on the initial version of House Bill 500. See here for...
State Report Shows Educators in Most Kentucky School Districts Received Little or No Raise
The typical Kentucky school district increased salaries for teachers and other certified employees by only...
For the Same Cost as a Half-Point Income Tax Cut, Kentucky Could Meaningfully Reinvest in Public Education
In the 2025 General Assembly, Kentucky lawmakers reduced the individual income tax rate from 4%...
Health Care
State Budget Cuts to Medicaid Are Unnecessary and Would Leave Kentucky Worse Off
As introduced, the upcoming biennial budget includes major cuts to large, state-funded programs as lawmakers contend with falling revenues from recent income tax cuts.
Kentuckians in Every County Will See Health Care Costs Soar Unless Congress Acts
In 2025, more than 90,000 Kentuckians were enrolled in a health insurance plan through kynect,...
The Fight in D. C. Is About Making Life, and Health Care, More Affordable
Getting health care when you need it can be the difference between life and death,...
Make No Mistake, The Big Beautiful Bill Weakens Medicaid
Whether or not you’ve ever needed it, Medicaid forms the bedrock of Kentucky’s entire healthcare...
Jobs & The Economy
HB 732 Would Further Undermine Worker Protections and Job Quality
Kentucky already has a growing problem with worker misclassification, in which employers inaccurately and often unlawfully treat employees as independent contractors.
Kentucky Minimum Wage Now Half its Previous Peak, and Below Poverty Line
As of this week, it has been 16 years since the minimum wage was increased....
Job Corps Closings Raises Question of What Cuts Are Really All About
The budget axe wielded by DOGE and the Trump administration fell on Job Corps last...
Kentuckians Need a New Trade Policy, Not a Chaotic Trade War
Fruit of the Loom apparel plants once dotted the Kentucky landscape, with 11,000 workers at...
