Local legislators overall happy with state budget

The bulk of the regular session of the Kentucky General Assembly is done—and we have a final version of the two-year budget that’s making its way to the Governor’s desk for a signature.

The spending plan has a lot that local legislators Representative Myron Dossett and Representative Walker Thomas like, including additional money for SEEK funding to support public education, fully funding the pension systems, pay raises for state employees and more.

Representative Dossett did express his displeasure with the Governor’s Office, after numbers that were provided to the legislature to make determinations with the budget concerning school districts proved to be incorrect—luckily, it was caught and they were able to fix it before it became a real problem.

He says they’re also on track to hit the next triggers to continue the lowering of the state income tax, with the ultimate goal to reach zero.

Representative Thomas says he was happy with the budget overall and especially with the Road Plan, saying it included a lot of projects both locally and in western Kentucky that he calls overdue.

The session now heads into the veto recess period, before reconvening on April 14 and 15 to close out the 2024 session of the General Assembly.