Budget & Taxes (Appropriations)

Appropriate $43,827,000 from the budget reserve trust fund account in fiscal year 2026-2027 to the Kentucky Public Pensions Authority to fund one-time supplemental payments on July 1, 2026, to recipients of a retirement allowance who have been retired for at least 12 months from the Kentucky Employees Retirement System (KERS) and the State Police Retirement System (SPRS); specify that the one-time supplemental payment shall be equal to the monthly payment received by the recipient in the month of June 2026, not to exceed $1,000; APPROPRIATION; EMERGENCY.

Amend KRS 96A.096 to include voluntary contributions by a Kentucky employer up to 0.05% of the Kentucky employer's total payroll in the Kentucky public transportation development fund; require the fund to be administered by the Transportation Cabinet; require the moneys received from the voluntary contributions to be used for providing public transit for workforce mobility needs; specify how the moneys in the fund for public transit are distributed; require annual reporting to the Transportation Cabinet from each public transit system that receives money from the fund; require annual reporting from the Transportation Cabinet to the Legislative Research Commission; create a new section of KRS Chapter 141 to define "public transportation contribution," "Kentucky public transportation development fund," and "transit authority"; establish the public transportation contribution credit for taxes imposed in KRS 141.020 or 141.040 and 141.0401 for public transportation contributions provided by a Kentucky employer; limit the credit to 50% of the total amount of the public transportation contribution made for the taxable year by the employer; require annual reporting by the Department of Revenue on the credits claimed; amend KRS 141.0205 to order the credits; amend KRS 131.190 to allow the Department of Revenue to report on the credit; appropriate $30 million in general fund moneys in each fiscal year of the 2026-2028 biennium to the Kentucky public transportation development fund; APPROPRIATION; EMERGENCY.

Create a new section of KRS Chapter 15A to create the juvenile services fund within the Department of Juvenile Justice; appropriate money to the fund; APPROPRIATION; EMERGENCY.

Appropriate General Fund moneys from the budget reserve trust fund account in each fiscal year of the 2026-2028 fiscal biennium to various state agencies for miscellaneous projects and programs; APPROPRIATION; EMERGENCY.

Amend KRS 157.615 to define "traditional school building"; amend KRS 157.621 to authorize a school district to levy a $.05 equivalent rate for school districts that meet specific district facilities requirements and other requirements; authorize the school district to levy an additional $.05 equivalent rate if the local board of education determines the first levy is insufficient to achieve facility goals; establishes a termination date for the levies of 25 years; provide equalization of the levy; establish conditions for receiving equalization of the levy; extend equalization of eqeualization funding for critical construction needs levy; amend KRS 160.290 to require a school district to consolidate or modify the attendance zones of a traditional school building with do not meet certain average daily attendance requirements; appropriate $3,500,000 in each year of the 2026-2028 fiscal biennium for the equalization of established levies; effective July 1, 2026; APPROPRIATION; EMERGENCY.

Create a new section of Subchapter 20 of KRS Chapter 154 to establish the rural building and job creation revolving fund; specify uses of the fund to assist with compliance risk mitigation for the New Markets Tax Credits Program, or to issue low-interest loans to assist with construction of new buildings or renovations of existing buildings for lease to target wage economic development projects; require the Cabinet for Economic Development to report on the fund; create a new section of Subchapter 12 of KRS Chapter 154 to require the cabinet to work with the workforce liaison appointed by the president of the Kentucky Career and Technical College System to promote jobs created in the Commonwealth as a result of incentive programs; require the cabinet to conduct a feasibility and impact study on interstate reciprocity between state economic development programming; amend the general fund appropriation authorized in 2022 Ky. Acts ch. 199, Part I, B, 1.,(12) to not lapse and carry forward; APPROPRIATION; EMERGENCY.

Create a new section of KRS Chapter 164 to establish the Kentucky Public Service Student Loan Forgiveness Program fund; require the Kentucky Higher Education Assistance Authority to administer the fund; require the authority to disburse funds for student loan repayment to recruit and retain eligible public service employees that live and work in Kentucky; specify terms and process; establish criteria for the program and applicant evaluation for awards; appropriate $30,000,000 from the budget reserve trust fund account for initial implementation of the student loan forgiveness program; appropriate $30,000,000 from the general fund for support of the student loan forgiveness program; APPROPRIATION; EMERGENCY, EFFECTIVE July 1, 2026.

This bill authorizes the Kentucky state government to pay specific outstanding claims that were previously approved but not paid due to expired or insufficient funding or missing procurement documents. It directly affects various businesses, healthcare providers, and state employees by providing funds from the general, transportation, and federal funds to settle these debts. The legislation includes a detailed list of individual vendors and employees along with exact payment amounts, ranging from small fees to larger contracts totaling tens of thousands of dollars. By declaring an emergency, the bill allows for immediate payment of these claims without waiting for the regular legislative budget cycle.

Amend KRS 164.769 to establish a pilot program to provide scholarships to students pursuing a teaching career in a math- or science-related discipline to be administered by the Kentucky Higher Education Assistance Authority; establish scholarship recipient selection, award, and repayment process; appropriate $4,175,000 in each fiscal year of the 2026-2028 fiscal biennium to support the program; APPROPRIATION; EMERGENCY.

Create a new section of KRS Chapter 158 to define terms; establish the Classroom Library Grant Program; provide that the Kentucky Department of Education to implement the grant program through selection of a program administrator; establish the qualifications and duties of the program administrator; appropriate $5,000,000 from the General Fund to implement the Classroom Library Grant Program; APPROPRIATION.