$294 Million General Fund Shortfall Predicted

The state's budget outlook has gone from very bad to even worse.  Despite devastating cuts to funding for after-school programs, environmental protection, community mental health services, and higher education, as well as meager pay increases for teachers and state employees that don't even touch the rising cost of living, and cuts to education that have reduced the number of teachers and staff while class sizes swell, Governor Beshear is warning that even deeper cuts are in our future.

Beshear's warning comes as the state Budget Office predicts a General Fund--the fund that enables us to invest in education, clean water, college affordability, etc.--shortfall of about $294 million for this year.

The legislature failed to pass revenue reforms during the last legislative session; the House passed some provisions, but the Senate failed to follow suit. 

To read about the revenue reforms that KFTC supports, take a look at our Tax Justice pages.  You can read more about the state Budget Office's predictions in these Herald-Leader and Courier-Journal articles.