Presentation: Kentucky’s Budget Outlook
Kentucky lawmakers will begin assembling what Speaker Greg Stumbo recently called a "destructive" two-year state budget when it reconvenes in...
Research
State Must Begin Meeting Responsibility to Teachers’ Retirement or Pay More Later
The state has not been making full required contributions to Kentucky teachers' retirement since 2009, and the impact of not making those payments has a compounding effect—meaning more costs for...
Testimony: Local Option Sales Tax
Interim Joint Committee on Local Government Thank you for the opportunity to speak with you today. My name is Jason Bailey and I am director of the Kentucky Center for...
Improving Reentry in Kentucky through Education and Supports for Inmates and Ex-Offenders
With nearly 31 percent of Kentucky’s former inmates recidivating—returning to prison—within two years, a new policy report from the Kentucky Center for Economic Policy (KCEP) recommends that the state invest...
Presentation: The Coal Severance Tax in Appalachian Kentucky
Diversifying the economy of Appalachian Kentucky will require financial resources to pay for needed new investments. The coal severance tax is one of the largest pools of economic development resources...
Sharp Decline in Coal Severance Tax Revenue Underscores Need for Economic Plan
New data showing that eastern Kentucky lost 4,000 coal jobs last year should raise alarm among public officials about the longstanding need for an economic transition plan. So should the...
Medicaid Expansion Would Benefit Workers Across Kentucky’s Economy
If Kentucky moves forward with the Medicaid expansion, uninsured workers across Kentucky's economy could gain health coverage. Workers at restaurants, construction sites, grocery stores and child care centers are among...
Thousands of Kentucky Veterans Could Get Health Insurance Under Medicaid Expansion
9,500 uninsured Kentucky veterans and thousands of their family members could gain health insurance coverage if the state makes the right decision to move forward with the Medicaid expansion now...
Cash Balance Plan Likely to Increase Costs, Impact the Quality of Public Services and Reduce Retirement Security
While the primary pension challenge Kentucky faces is how to find the revenue to pay back the existing unfunded liability, much of the attention has instead focused on moving new...
Proposed Cash Balance Pension Plan for New Workers Projected to Increase Costs
The cash balance plan for new workers proposed in Senate Bill 2 would make paying Kentucky’s unfunded pension liability harder by adding approximately $55 million in state costs over the...