Kentucky Can Reform Property Taxes While Protecting Residents, Schools and Other Public Services
The property tax is essential to how Kentuckians fund schools, public safety and other vital local services, and is the...
Budget & Tax
How Data Centers Could Skirt Local Taxes
As Kentucky's local governments weigh whether to welcome hyperscale data centers, supporters point to a tempting promise: a surge in local tax revenue from property taxes and school district utility...
Is Kentucky About to Give Billions in Tax Breaks to Data Centers?
The massive surge in proposed data centers is prompting intense debates about their costs and benefits. One question emerging across the country is whether and to what extent states should...
Medicaid Cut Vulnerability Index Shows Which Kentucky Counties Are Most at Risk
The Kentucky General Assembly recently enacted a new state budget that underfunds Medicaid relative to the agency’s request, resulting in the administration announcing 4% cuts in the payment rates to Medicaid providers. In addition, the One Big Beautiful Bill...
Threat to the Lee Specialty Clinic Revealed the Heroes at Work
For several years starting in 2015, Bruce Perfect's son Greg was in and out of hospitals and "wasting away." The regular medical system could not figure out what was causing...
Questions Grow About Who Will Pay the Cost for Big Data Centers in Kentucky
Large “hyperscale” data centers are spreading nationwide, and questions have grown about their true costs and benefits. These projects often move quickly and with limited transparency, leaving state and local...
On Session’s Final Day, Lawmakers Pass New Tax Breaks for Already-Subsidized Industries
In the final hours of the 2026 legislative session, the General Assembly passed HB 869. This is the second voluminous revenue bill enacted in less than two weeks, pushed through...
Budget Agreement Cuts and Freezes Funding for Most Services, Continues to Underfund Medicaid
The legislative chambers have agreed to a new two-year state budget (HB 500, later amended by SB 197) that includes 7% cuts to many state agencies. The agreement falls $691...
Budget Cuts Will Harm Services That Benefit Children
In the final budget agreement, the legislature passed the deepest cuts in over a decade to the Department for Community Based Services (DCBS), which primarily exists to serve Kentucky’s most...
Last-Minute Tax Breaks Allow Racetracks to Keep Sales Taxes
Update: Key parts of the bill highlighted in this analysis were changed in subsequent legislation explained here. As has become routine in recent budget cycles, the General Assembly added lucrative...