State’s Mental Health System Has Experienced Severe Funding Shortfalls
Discussion of the news that Seven Counties Services, a community mental health center in Louisville, plans to file for bankruptcy...
Budget & Tax
Pension Revenue Bill Provides Modest Resources to Address Budget Challenges
The pension revenue bill that passed the General Assembly this week provides only an estimated $31.7 million in net new state revenue to help address Kentucky’s budget needs. House Bill...
Ryan Budget Would Mean Substantial Funding Cuts in Kentucky
House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan’s budget—which the House passed by a slim margin last week—would cut funding to state and local governments in Kentucky by an estimated $301 million...
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 the pension payment or dig into the rest of the...
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...