The Kentucky General Assembly is in its veto recess with one major priority left undone and only one day left to do it.
Lawmakers will head back to Frankfort for one last day near the end of the month, when they can override any vetoes from Governor Matt Bevin and to concur on any final bills.
One of those will likely be some type of relief for quasi-governmental agencies such as health departments and Sanctuary Inc., which will see their required employer contributions to the pension system nearly double in July without action by lawmakers.
Senator Whitney Westerfield of Christian County is frustrated no conference committee was called Thursday when the two chambers couldn’t agree on a solution and he is concerned the governor could veto a bill they pass on the session’s final day.
One proposal is freezing the current contribution rate for a year to give those agencies time to review their options—including some possibly leaving the state pension system. Representative Myron Dossett expects something to pass on the final day to prevent agencies from having to lay off staff and cancel services.
A priority that was addressed was a tax bill to clarify tax reform measures from last year’s legislature and to give relief to non-profit agencies in Kentucky who were being subjected to new sales tax policies after a recent court decision. The part of House Bill 354 that got the most discussion was the repeal of the state’s Bank Franchise Tax. Representative Walker Thomas says banks will begin paying the corporate income tax instead, which lawmakers believe will be a relief to Kentucky-based institutions.
You can hear local lawmakers discuss these topics and others during our weekly Legislative Update Program Sunday morning at 9 on Lite Rock 98.7 and online at lite987whop.com.