SB 4 Would Limit No-Knock Warrants and Reduce Harm, but New Amendments Undermine Positive Impact
On the one year anniversary of the killing of Breonna Taylor by police in March 2020, public officials, community organizations...
Research
Legislature To Pass Austere Budget, Prevent Governor From Using New Federal Aid Without Authorization
The legislature is set to pass an austere budget that does not include the employee raises, targeted budget increases and one-time investments the governor had proposed using surplus monies available...
Kentucky Saw Small Uptick in Jobs in January, But Major Jobs Gap Remains
Kentucky’s economy experienced slight improvement in January, new monthly jobs data shows, but the employment situation remains far weaker than it was before the pandemic hit a year ago. Thankfully,...
Last-Minute Tax Giveaways Threaten Budget — and Will Force Kentucky to Pay Back Aid Money to Feds
The final days of the Kentucky General Assembly are a time when last-minute tax breaks are sometimes slid quietly into legislation and made law. Corporate lobbyists prefer this approach, because...
What’s in the American Rescue Plan for Kentuckians
The new COVID relief bill, known as the American Rescue Plan (ARP), will soon become law. It will send billions in aid to Kentucky’s families, communities and state and local...
Kentucky Among Worst States in Nation for Higher Education Cuts, Harming Students Who Already Face the Greatest Barriers
After more than a decade of cuts to the state’s public colleges and universities, college affordability in Kentucky has continued to worsen according to a new report by the Center...
HB 413 Provides Poorly Targeted Tax Break that Will Add Costs Later and Stress Unemployment System
In June 2020, Kentucky had to request a line of credit up to $865 million from the federal government in order to continue paying unemployment insurance (UI) claims during the...
10 Ways the Kentucky General Assembly Can Advance Race Equity and Shared Prosperity
The last year has brought much-needed new attention to issues of racism across the country and in Kentucky, spurred in large part by the killings of Breonna Taylor, George Floyd...
Banning Food Assistance for Parents Behind on Child Support Is Harmful to Families and Costly to the State
A provision in Senate Bill (SB) 65 would disqualify parents who are behind in making child support payments from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP or food assistance). Such a...
HB 406 Modernizes Unemployment Insurance and Prepares Kentucky for the Next Downturn
The COVID-19 economic crisis has created enormous strain on our unemployment insurance (UI) system and made clear how outdated and inadequate the system was going into the pandemic. House Bill...