As the first week of the 2024 session of the Kentucky General Assembly comes to a close, legislators have a lot of bills to consider in the coming weeks, and that’s including a budget.
It’s possible we could see the first versions of a budget bill filed in the House in the next couple of weeks, but that is very likely not the version that will pass the Assembly and head to the governor. Constitutionally, the budget starts in the House, and from there Senator Whitney Westerfield says it heads to the Senate, where they will undoubtedly propose some changes and then they’ll have a conference to come to a compromise.
He says that while a bill about a budget may get filed quickly, it seems to be tradition that it is only of the last things to actually get passed, though he hopes that won’t be the case this year.
Representative Myron Dossett says he’s hopeful it will go smoothly, as work has been happening in the interim to craft a budget.
There are technically four budgets to be considered—the Executive budget, which is the big budget that people typically think of when there’s talk of a spending plan, but also the Road Plan, the Legislative budget and the Judicial budget.
All four must be voted on and approved before the session convenes on April 15 and most legislators have their own wants and priorities for a budget, so it will likely undergo many changes before taking its final shape.