Kentucky Lawmakers Put Pensions First in ‘Pessimistic’ Budget

The Kentucky General Assembly on Wednesday passed an unusual one-year budget package, adopting the most “pessimistic” forecast created by state economists while still prioritizing payments to the struggling pension funds for state and local government workers.

The legislators decided to mostly re-adopt a roughly $11.6 billion budget modeled on fiscal year 2020, state Sen. Christian McDaniel (R) said during floor debate Wednesday, out of concerns that the novel coronavirus will decimate tax revenue.

However, despite the austerity of the legislative package, the state will fully fund the annual required contribution for Kentucky’s struggling pension funds. The package provides roughly $3 ...