General Assembly should strengthen recovery by approving much-needed relief
The 2021 Kentucky General Assembly will reconvene in early February, and the remaining piece of essential business is agreement on a new state budget. The legislature faces a choice: deploy extra resources to build a bridge to the other side of this crisis, or pursue austerity and leave us facing a slower and more treacherous recovery.
Kentucky’s opportunities in this budget are surprising. Given the enormity of job loss when COVID-19 hit last spring, major budget cuts were expected.
But that’s not been the case, thanks to federal aid provided by Congress. The CARES Act and other relief legislation brought over $19 billion in aid that flowed through Kentucky’s economy. States like Kentucky with an income tax are especially bolstered as wealthier people have done well through the crisis and as taxes are withheld from federally boosted unemployment payments.
The result is $613 million extra the state now has to help us through the recession. Governor Beshear laid out a proposal that would use those dollars for three priorities.
Read more: https://forwardky.com/general-assembly-should-strengthen-recovery-by-approving-much-needed-relief/