Gov. Matt Bevin has promised to call a special legislative session on pensions before July 1st, but timing could complicate whether a session even takes place. However, universities and agencies affected by the issue want clarity sooner than that.
The legislature passed a bill this year that would have allowed regional universities and other agencies to avoid massive increases in the amount they have to contribute to the pension systems. But Gov. Bevin vetoed it, promising to call lawmakers back to Frankfort to tackle the issue again.
Universities want clarity on the issue before they start writing their budgets at the beginning of June. That means a session would have to take place sometime in May.
Senate Majority Leader Damon Thayer said on KET’s Kentucky Tonight that Bevin hasn’t been working with the legislature to hammer out a consensus and time’s running out.
“I haven’t spoken to the governor or anyone in his administration about a bill.”
Universities said that without the measure, they might have to cut services or raise tuition.
If a special session takes place sometime in May, it’ll have to deal with other scheduled events--the Kentucky Derby on May 4, statewide primary elections on the 21st and memorial day on the 27th.
