Income Tax Cuts Are a Way to Sink the Economy, Not Grow It
Wealthy interests and corporate lobbyists are ramping up efforts to pass major tax cuts this legislative session that could leave...
Research
HB 4 Would Slash Unemployment Benefits, Harming Economy and Deepening Hardship for Kentucky Workers
Working Kentuckians have faced widespread, unprecedented layoffs during the pandemic that worsened existing hardship and inequities. Despite extreme difficulty in navigating the outdated unemployment insurance (UI) system, unemployment benefits have...
Kentucky Has an Opportunity to Continue Steps to Reducing Incarceration by Addressing Harsh “Persistent Felony Offender” Laws
Kentucky’s Persistent Felony Offender (PFO) law is a punitive sentencing policy that emerged during the beginning of the so-called War on Drugs. While originally intended as a measure to deter...
House Budget Provides Only Modest Reinvestment Despite Strong Revenues
Despite billions of additional dollars from both one-time surpluses and stronger recurring revenues, the proposed House budget provides only modest funding increases in certain parts of government while leaving $1.1...
3 Ways New Legislation Would Make Kentucky’s Unconstitutional Voucher Program Even Worse
During the 2021 Kentucky General Assembly — as public school advocates were prevented from being in the Capitol by the COVID pandemic — lawmakers passed legislation to fund private schools...
Governor’s Budget Includes Substantial Reinvestment in Education and Other Areas
The governor’s proposed budget uses the unprecedented recurring and surplus dollars available to reinvest in a range of areas with a focus on higher core funding for K-12 and higher...
A Decade Without Raises and Weakened Benefits Have Created a State Workforce Crisis. Addressing it Adequately Should Be a Top Priority in the New Budget
Updated on Feb. 2, 2022 Fundamental to providing services like P-12 education, legal defense and child welfare is the state workforce that delivers them. Despite these workers’ critical roles, Kentucky’s...
Our Commonwealth: A Primer on the Kentucky State Budget
Go here for a PDF version of KyPolicy's Primer on the Kentucky State Budget. Every two years, the Kentucky General Assembly passes a budget in the form of four separate...
A Time To Invest: Preview of the 2022–2024 Budget of the Commonwealth
The General Assembly faces a critically important opportunity with the 2022–2024 Budget of the Commonwealth. The state has a historic budget surplus and unspent federal aid that provide the resources...
What the Legislature Can Do to Improve the Return Home for Kentuckians Leaving Incarceration
Despite the harms to people, families and communities, Kentucky incarcerates 40% more people than the U.S. average. In addition, existing state and federal policies strip people reentering society of certain...