Revenue Recovery from Great Recession is Slow
The debate over pensions in Frankfort hinges in part on whether the state should raise additional revenue to help make...
Budget & Tax
Not Paying Pension Bills Adds Up
A major contributor to Kentucky's pension funding problem is the legislature's failure to make the full required contribution to the retirement system in recent years. Shortfalls in payments started as...
Retirement System’s Investment Return Assumption is Reasonable
One concern being raised in Frankfort about the existing defined benefit pension plan is that if the retirement system does not meet its expected rate of return of 7.75 percent...
New Projections Say Senate Pension Bill Is $206 Million More Expensive than House Plan
The Senate version of pension legislation will cost $206 million more than the House version over the next 20 years according to analysis of the new actuarial projections for Senate...
Lottery Funds Not Adequately Supporting State Financial Aid Programs
The House has recently identified new lottery funds as a potential source of revenue to help pay down Kentucky’s pension liability. Whatever happens with that proposal, it’s important to understand...
Gambling Revenues Are No Substitute for Tax Reform
The House has proposed generating new revenues for the state pension system by expanding the lottery and utilizing revenues from instant racing. However, the plan generates only a portion of...
Income Tax Cuts No Way to Grow Small Businesses
The claim that cutting state income taxes is an effective strategy to help small businesses create jobs is discredited in a new report released by the Center on Budget Policy...
Bill Would Be a Step Toward Greater Accountability for Tax Breaks
Legislation introduced in the House proposes new reporting requirements for some economic development incentive programs, and is a step in the right direction toward greater scrutiny of these costly financial...
Debt Limit Could Increase Costs for Kentucky
A Senate committee approved legislation today to limit debt service (the annual payments made on debt the state owes) in future years to six percent of the state's revenue. Yet...
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...