A priority measure for Kentucky counties cleared the General Assembly Wednesday evening. HB 596, the compromise annexation bill, passed the Senate 36-0 and now heads to the Governor's desk. 

"HB 596 is one of the most significant pieces of legislation affecting counties in a generation," said KACo Executive Director Jim Henderson. KACo appreciates the countless hours spent by Rep. Jonathan Dixon and Sen. Robby Mills, who co-chaired the annexation task force. We are also grateful for House Speaker David Osborne, Senate President Robert Stivers and key legislators who helped make this happen.

"Counties and cities are stronger when we work together; this legislation seeks to create an environment where both counties and cities thrive as our communities grow," Henderson said.  

From LRC Public Information: Senate Budget Chair Sen. Christian McDaniel gives an update on changes made in the state’s budget during Tuesday’s budget conference committee.

Thursday marks the 58th working day of the 60-day 2024 regular legislative session. There’s been a flurry of activity this week as the General Assembly works to pass legislation before the veto period begins on March 29.

Legislators will reconvene on April 12 for the final two days of the session. Keep an eye out for KACo’s full breakdown of legislative activity, including analysis of the proposed budgets, next week. 

Fiscal courts levy property taxes on real property, such as land and buildings, and tangible property, such as motor vehicles and equipment. 

• All 120 counties levy property taxes. 
• Real property makes up the largest source of property tax revenue: real property tax revenue in FY 2022 was $225.2 million while total property tax revenue was $290.4 million.
• In 2023, fiscal court real property tax rates ranged from 3.2 cents/$100 of assessed value to 44 cents/$100 assessed value, with a median rate of 10.6 cents/$100 assessed value.

Board members of the Kentucky Public Pensions Authority (KPPA) have named Ryan Barrow as its next executive director. The board voted unanimously to appoint Barrow during a special called meeting Wednesday.

Barrow currently serves as executive director of the Kentucky Office of Financial Management.

Gov. Andy Beshear announced that beginning April 1, the Department for Local Government (DLG) will begin taking applications for funding from Kentucky’s 2022 Disaster Recovery Program.

This program is helping communities impacted by the flooding of 2022. Applications will be accepted for projects addressing housing, infrastructure, economic development and resiliency planning from the $297,994,000 allocated to Kentucky by the federal government to respond to the flooding of 2022.