News
Auditor Mike Harmon makes run for Kentucky governor official
The first of Kentucky’s Republican constitutional officers seeking election to governor has officially filed to run.? According to the secretary of state’s office, Auditor of Public Accounts Mike Harmon submitted his candidacy papers Friday. He had previously filed a statement of spending intent with the Kentucky Registry of Election Finance. According to quarterly reports, Harmon […]
Criticism greets LG&E/KU plan to replace coal-fired power plants with natural gas, solar
Kentucky’s largest utility, providing power to more than 1.3 million customers, is proposing to build two natural gas plants along with new solar installations to help make up for an energy supply shortfall created by the retirement of coal-fired power plants. It’s a plan that advocates of both coal and renewable energy in Kentucky strongly […]
Kentucky groups urge lawmakers to reject another income tax cut
A coalition of 28 Kentucky organizations is urging lawmakers to reject additional cuts in the state income tax when the legislature convenes Jan. 3. “Record surpluses used to justify the cut are largely a mirage,” says a letter sent Friday to members of the General Assembly and released by the Kentucky Center for Economic Policy.? […]
Kentuckians McConnell, Paul split on one-week spending package
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Senate sent President Joe Biden a one-week government funding bill late Thursday, giving negotiators a few more days to wrap up talks on what is expected to be a $1.7 trillion package to keep the federal government up and running through September. The short-term bill is the second time Congress has […]
Lawmakers ask about understaffing, violence in Kentucky’s juvenile detention centers
After lawmakers questioned administration officials about outbreaks of violence in the state’s understaffed juvenile detention centers Thursday, Senate Judiciary Chairman Whitney Westerfield said he welcomed administration actions but “a lot of it comes a little too late.” In recent weeks, law enforcement responded to a riot at a juvenile detention center in Adair County amid […]
Voters embraced affordable housing initiatives. Advocates say Congress should do the same.
Voters in Colorado approved a statewide affordable housing initiative in November; while voters in nine cities across the country OK’d measures to finance the construction of affordable housing, preserve existing rental properties and support renters. But as housing costs soar, analysts and advocates say more needs to be done and argue that federal action is […]
Louisville mayor-elect Craig Greenberg meeting with Biden administration officials
WASHINGTON — Mayors from throughout the United States will sit down with senior Biden administration officials Friday for a half-day forum on how their cities can access resources within the COVID-19 aid bill, bipartisan infrastructure law and Democrats’ signature health care and climate change package known as the Inflation Reduction Act. The meetings, which will […]
White House again offering free at-home COVID-19 rapid test kits
WASHINGTON — The Biden administration is once again offering Americans the opportunity to order free at-home COVID-19 rapid tests from the federal government, a program that it had shuttered amid an ongoing stalemate with Congress over additional funding to address the virus. The program will allow each household to order four free COVID-19 tests as […]
Kentucky Supreme Court strikes down tax credits to pay private school tuition
The Kentucky Supreme Court on Thursday unanimously struck down a Kentucky law creating a generous tax credit to help families pay for tuition at private schools. The opinion cites a long line of precedent reinforcing the Kentucky Constitution’s ban on the state financially supporting private schools in declaring the Education Opportunity Account Act unconstitutional. The […]
Robust revenue growth forecast, setting stage for GOP to cut Kentucky income tax next month
FRANKFORT, Ky. – Kentucky can expect a big revenue surplus of $1.4 billion when the state’s current fiscal year ends on June 30. That was the prediction Wednesday of a group of experts — called the Consensus Forecasting Group — which is charged with making official forecasts of revenue for budgeting purposes. If the forecast […]
Kentucky’s Comer blames Democrats as Club Q survivors denounce anti-LGBTQ political rhetoric
Survivors of a deadly attack at an LGBTQ nightclub in Colorado Springs and other advocates told a U.S. House panel Wednesday that political rhetoric and policy fights dehumanize LGBTQ people and contribute to such violence. Democrats and Republicans on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee largely sympathized with the survivors, but drew different conclusions […]
Kentucky near top of increases in college completion rate this year
Kentucky was one of just five states to achieve more than a 1% increase in its college completion rate in 2022, according to a national report. The National Student Clearinghouse Research Center tracks the rate at which students entering colleges and universities have earned a degree or certificate six years later. Nationally, progress stalled in […]