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Kentucky governor presents budget plan to legislature

Columbia Basin Herald | UPDATED 5 years, 2 months AGO
| January 28, 2020 4:35 PM

FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — Proposals included in Gov. Andy Beshear's two-year budget plan submitted to the legislature Tuesday evening:

EDUCATION:

—$2,000 salary increase for all of Kentucky's public school teachers.

—1% increase in the state’s school funding formula, known as SEEK.

—Full pension funding for the Teachers' Retirement System.

—$11 million for each year of the biennium for textbook funding.

—$18.2 million in bond funding to finance school building upgrades as part of the 2019 school safety law.

POSTSECONDARY EDUCATION:

—1% increase in funding for all postsecondary education institutions.

—$200 million in bond funds for a backlog of maintenance needs.

—Almost $430 million in agency bond authority for universities.

HEALTH CARE:

—Fully funds the Medicaid program, including the Medicaid expansion.

CHILDREN AND FAMILIES:

—Funding for an additional 350 children's protective services social workers.

—$1 million in state funds each year to pursue full enrollment of KCHIP-eligible children in health care coverage.

PUBLIC EMPLOYEES:

—1% salary increase each year for state employees.

—Full funding for the actuarially determined pension contribution for all state employees.

PUBLIC SAFETY:

—$5.3 million in the first year and $8.6 million in the second year to provide salary increases for Kentucky State Police troopers and other sworn personnel.

—An additional $2.5 million each year for a program to treat firefighters with post-traumatic stress disorder.

—An additional $52.5 million for Phase II of the emergency radio replacement system.

—$3 million each year to improve state police laboratory staff salaries.

—General Fund spending increases by about $109 million for corrections.

LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:

—Returns coal severance tax revenues to counties, after reserving amounts needed for debt service on past capital projects.

—$16.4 million in state bond funds to help repair, replace and improve drinking water and wastewater infrastructure.

TRANSPORTATION:

—More than $4.1 million in the current year and more than $15 million each year of the biennium so the Transportation Cabinet can issue Real ID licenses.

VETERANS:

—$2.5 million for the design of a new veterans nursing center in Bowling Green.

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