Legislation proposed by Governor Matt Bevin to provide relief to quasi-governmental agencies facing a spike in their pension contribution rate made it back to his desk following Senate passage Wednesday morning.
It passed on a 27-11 vote, with senators Whitney Westerfield and Stan Humphries in favor and Senator C.B. Embry casting a ‘no’ vote.
Senator Westerfield is hopeful more work can be done in the 2020 session to make the pension predicament more palatable for health departments, regional universities and other agencies.
He points out there are unique issues facing the Pennyroyal Center and two other mental health facilities in Kentucky that must be addressed through additional legislation.
Westerfield had reservations about supporting the bill, but says he ultimately did so to allow agencies more time to consider their options and to not have to immediately begin paying much larger payments to the pension system.
The General Assembly approved a similar measure during the regular session, but Governor Bevin vetoed it and called the special session after finding issues he felt were deal-breakers.
The special session has now concluded with no other matters of consideration included in the governor’s call. Governor Matt Bevin signed House Bill 1 into law Wednesday afternoon.