Income tax elimination has LOST in a total landslide. Urban and rural Missouri voters alike buried the idea 2/5

Just this week, news of 2 more proposed data centers in KY totaling $22 billion. Most of that cost is equipment, which the state exempted from the 6% sales tax. Do the math on what that tax break is worth and you get a huge $--money that doesn't go to Medicaid, housing, schools, etc.

New @kypolicy.bsky.social report identifies the counties at greatest risk of poorer health and economic loss from state and federal cuts to Medicaid:

Kentucky ranks 2nd-worst of all states in the share of unemployed workers getting unemployment benefits at an astonishing 10.6% 🧵

Op-Ed on the Lee Specialty Clinic: Behind budget numbers are real and sometimes extraordinary people doing work no one else can

A 2022 law passed by the General Assembly deeply cut the weeks of unemployment benefits laid-off workers could receive. Now with hiring frozen and no net job growth statewide, jobless workers are rapidly running out of benefits. See link to new @KyPolicy piece in next tweet

New @kypolicy.bsky.social dive into the recent 5-year KY population trends. The data tells a story of an aging baby boomer population and the spike of COVID deaths in a state with low life expectancy, the importance of immigration and more. 1/2

The year-long debate about the Fayette County Public Schools budget is missing how state funding cuts created the context for shortfalls 1/2

The jobs boom has come to a halt, with federal data now showing that Kentucky has had *no* net new job growth over the last two years 1/2

The huge Budget Reserve Trust Fund balance that the legislature built up using COVID-related surpluses will diminish dramatically because of the spending on local projects and programs contained in the new budget. 1/

The spike in gas prices from the U. S. war in Iran is costing Kentuckians $175 million a month. That's more per driver than all but 3 states. 1/2

The recent run-up in gas prices is costing Kentuckians $175 million a month. That's $46.69 each month for every Kentuckian, the 4th-worst among states.

The Senate budget eases some cuts proposed by the House by spending $ that the House put into the already huge rainy day fund. It also includes a 13th check for retirees. But it includes less in K-12 SEEK than the House budget and continues 7% cuts for many agencies.

For more than 20 years, the legislature has suspended its own law and funded school transportation at a lower amount than required. That continues in the House budget that passed last week, but it can and should end this session. New @kypolicy.bsky.social analysis in the link below

Who is hurt by the health insurance cap in HB 500? Rural counties are more likely to have KEHP members in their community, in part because school systems and public employment make up a larger share of the jobs. Link to new analysis below

kypolicy.org/35-kentucky-...

The award-winning Fort Logan hospital birthing center in Stanford is shuttering. Fort Logan is one of 35 Kentucky rural hospitals identified at risk of closure from the Medicaid cuts passed in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act that passed Congress last summer.

As introduced, the House budget bill doesn't just propose major cuts to the health care of school and state employees. It also includes over $100 million in cuts to the SEEK payments to school districts. See the link below for the potential cut to your local schools.

Kentuckians want better pay, a voice on the job, and policies that make life more affordable. What they don’t want is policies that make that harder—including tax cuts for the wealthy

Here is the legislation in which these transfers were made:

If the General Assembly had not taken this money out to balance the state budget, it would stay in the fund to be used for its purpose identified above: "to pay medical claims"

In the most recent year, those employee premiums--money contributed by workers and retirees-- totaled $308 million auditor.ky.gov/Auditreports...

As that law also makes clear, the money in that fund comes in part from “employee premiums”:

The legislature has used KRS 18A.2254(3) to make these transfers. They’ve relied on its “unless authorized by the General Assembly” language to pull the funds out and away from their intended purpose: employee health care apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes...

This practice of taking money out of the employees’ health fund is no secret; here are news stories from the Herald-Leader and Courier-Journal. kentucky.com/news/politic... courier-journal.com/story/news/p...

Here's an important issue related to the proposal to cut employee health insurance in the House budget. The legislature has taken $1.017 billion from the KY Employees Health Plan in recent years to balance the state budget. That money would otherwise be there to help cover costs.

Health insurance premiums for state and school employees could explode by *78%* because of language added to the House budget, having a "devastating impact on all...members and their dependents," according to a new letter from the Personnel Cabinet & reported by @austin-horn.bsky.social 1/

Some state lawmakers want to take away the authority of the JCPS board of education to govern the local schools. But in recent decades, the state has taken less and less responsibility for actually funding JCPS. See more in our new analysis at the link below:

As introduced, the House budget cuts over $100M from SEEK payments to KY school districts. That means $25M less to JCPS ($37M less counting inflation), and up to 12% cuts in state/local SEEK by district. Find out how your district fares in the new @kypolicy.bsky.social analysis, link below:

The state's next 1/2-point income tax cut has gone into effect, & the total cost of these cuts is now a stunning $2.1B a year. But in a new poll, only 9% of Kentucky voters say these cuts are helping them, 8% say they actually hurt, 40% say the cuts haven't affected them & 43% are "not sure."