Kentucky General Assembly Mostly Restores Higher Ed Funding

The Kentucky General Assembly has largely walked back the millions of dollars in public higher ed budget cuts it previously supported, The Lexington Herald Leader reported.

The newspaper wrote that the Republican-controlled Legislature had earlier passed budget legislation, House Bill 500, which would have reduced general funds for universities and for the Kentucky Community and Technical College System by about 2 percent next fiscal year and 3.7 percent the year after that.

But the final version—which lawmakers passed last week after overriding some of Democratic governor Andy Beshear’s line-item vetoes—largely restores the funding, the newspaper wrote. University of Kentucky president Eli Capilouto thanked legislators in a statement, adding that “while some state funds originally anticipated for capital projects, including a planned research building, were removed from the final budget, the legislature provided increased flexibility through agency bonds for several projects including the Fine Arts District.”