The Senate passed their version of the state’s biennial budget, which was an amended version of House Bill 1, on Wednesday. The proposed $150 billion budget proposal includes funds for state employee raises, school needs, and pension obligations.

The Senate version leaves $1.75 billion in Kentucky’s rainy-day fund and includes $500,000 to audit the state’s workforce initiatives. Senate Appropriations & Revenue Chair, Chris McDaniel (R-23), noted that this proposal prioritizes helping Kentuckians deal with inflation and includes money for one-time tax rebates for Kentuckians.

Other key features of the Senate budget version include:

• $4,500 in raises per state employee with additional raises in the second year
• State Police receive $15,000 raise per trooper
• SEEK funding increase in year one to $4,100 per student and $4,200 per student in year two
• Base funding for public universities and $97 million each year for performance-based funding model for higher education.
• $4 per day diem increase for local jails
• An increase in law enforcement training stipends to $4,300 per year
• $75 million grant pool for nonprofits
• $200 million for renovation of the state fairgrounds
• $200 million transportation project fund
• $50 million from ARPA funding for the Broadband Deployment Fund

HB 1 passed the House earlier this session. The amended version now goes back to the House for consideration of the changes and will likely be assigned to conference committee before being finalized.

Check back to Policy Distilled for more updates and information as the budget progresses in the final weeks of the 2022 session.