Gov. Matt Bevin is scheduled to deliver his State of the Commonwealth Budget Address on Tuesday. It likely to include a call for serious belt tightening.
Less than a week before Gov. Bevin presents his formal proposal for what Kentucky’s state budget should look like, Republican Senate President Robert Stivers, Bevin’s ally, gave this ominous prediction:
“I think this budget that will be introduced and proposed by the executive branch will be one of the most austere budgets that I’ve seen in my 20 years in the General Assembly,” said Stivers.
At issue are mounting obligations in the state pension systems and Medicaid program. The Kentucky Teacher Retirement Systems has requested about $1 billion in additional contributions, while the state will have to start paying an increased share of the expanded Medicaid program--$250 million in 2017.
Democrats take a slightly more optimistic position, saying that the state is predicted to rake in more revenue over the next two years.
