Attention Investors:
Governor Beshear Unveils Legislative and Budget Priorities
Kentucky Governor Beshear delivered his annual State of The Commonwealth at the Thomas Moore Kentucky Historical Society on Wednesday to members of the legislature. The address has historically been delivered in the Capitol to a joint session of legislators, however the building is closed for renovations until 2029. In his address the governor detailed several priorities including Pre K for All, housing affordability, and budget supplements to offset changes made at the federal level in the One Big Beautiful Bill (OBBA). His $900 million biennial budget proposal includes $500 million in one-time spending including:
- $150 million for the Affordable Housing Trust Fund, a pool of money that the Kentucky Housing Corporation manages to subsidize housing projects.
- $125 million for hospitals to support the transition from federal supplemental funding changed in the OBBA.
- $100 million to help cover the increase of health insurance costs from expiring tax credits for Affordable Care Act plans, called Kynect in Kentucky.
- $75 million to create a “Utility Assistance Fund” to be distributed by community action agencies and provide assistance for Kentuckians facing rising utility bills.
- $50 million to go to Feeding Kentucky, a network of seven food banks across the Commonwealth.
The governor also expressed support for the following changes in in the biennial budget:
- $101.5 million over two fiscal years to cover increased administrative costs shifted to states for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) due to the OBBA.
- $420 million from the General Fund for fiscal year 2028.
- $40.8 million for launching “Pre-K for All,” or universal preschool for 4-year-olds in Kentucky.
- $158.8 million for schools, outside the Support Education Excellence in Kentucky (SEEK).
- A 3% salary raise to full-time school personnel in fiscal year 2027.
- 2% salary raise to state workers as well as fully funding state pensions.
A full transcript and recording of the address can be found here. GLI’s staff will be on the ground in Frankfort throughout the 2026 legislative session and will keep you apprised of action on the business community’s top priorities. To stay up to date on our team’s work, follow us @GLIAdvocacy on X.