Budget & Taxes (State Budget)

Create a new section of KRS Chapter 160 to establish the calendar and procedures for a district superintendent and local board of education to adopt a school district budget; require that a budget must include a reserve of not less than 2%; amend KRS 156.200 to authorize the commissioner of education to examine the expenditures, business methods, accounts, financial accounts, and educational records of a local board of education to enforce state law, and to take certain actions upon reason to suspect waste, fraud, fiscal mismanagement, or inaccurate accounts; establish parameters for the commissioner of education when considering an examination; authorize the commissioner of education to require additional training or financial reports to correct issues; provide for oversight by the Kentucky Board of Education; amend KRS 157.440, 160.390, 160.460, 160.470, 160.473, 160.530, 160.550, and 424.250 to conform.

Create a new section of KRS Chapter 151B to require no less than 85% of general fund appropriations to the Office of Adult Education to be used for programs fulfilling the adult education mission and goals of the office; amend KRS 151B.403 to require a qualifying test to obtain a High School Equivalency Diploma to offer a written or paper test administration.

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.

Create a new section of KRS Chapter 6 to define "fiscal note"; require fiscal notes to be filed with the clerk in the chamber of the General Assembly for each bill or resolution that is filed; establish requirements related to fiscal notes for the director of the Legislative Research Commission; require fiscal notes to contain specific information; amend KRS 6.950, 6.955, 6.960, 6.965, and 6.970 to rename fiscal note to local government mandate statement; amend KRS 13A.190, 13A.230, 13A.250, 13A.280, and 13A.320 to rename fiscal note to fiscal note on state and local government.

Direct the Legislative Research Commission to establish the Property Tax Relief Task Force to study and review the taxation of property and make policy recommendations to address affordability issues; require the task force to seek input from other groups in the development of policy recommendations and strategies; outline task force membership; require the task force to meet monthly during the 2026 Interim; require the task force to submit its findings and recommendations to the Legislative Research Commission by December 1, 2026.

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.

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.

This bill establishes Kentucky's official 2026-2028 Biennial Highway Construction Plan, authorizing specific road projects across the state. It grants the Transportation Cabinet authority to spend funds on these projects with flexibility for bid variations or unexpected circumstances. The bill also requires the Transportation Secretary to create a single document detailing both the 2026-2028 construction program and the 2028-2032 preconstruction program. An emergency declaration ensures the bill takes effect immediately upon becoming law, allowing the state to proceed with planned road improvements without delay.

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.