music >> With that, we are in recess.

>> The veto break begins.

So what's been done by the Kentucky General Assembly?

[MUSIC] >> You name it, we've done it.

>> Strong opinions about whether the new budget makes the grade.

[MUSIC] And less than two months to go.

A new poll shows who's ahead and who's behind for the U.S.

Senate.

>> Production of Kentucky edition is made possible in part by the KET Millennium Fund.

>> Good evening and welcome to Kentucky edition for Thursday, April the 2nd.

I'm Kelsey Starks here in Louisville filling in for Renee Shaw.

Well, it was a long night in Frankfort.

Lawmakers passed dozens of bills before midnight, which starts a ten day veto period.

They also delivered on one of their constitutional duties, bypassing a two year state budget.

House Bill 500 allocates more than $31 billion in general fund revenue to maintain state services like education and health care.

The bill received unanimous support in the Senate, but it was a different story in the House.

Our Mackenzie Spink kicks off tonight's legislative update.

[MUSIC] >> House Democrats say they want more funding for school mental health services, pre-K expansion and the foster care system.

They also say the funding for Medicaid falls short in the face of steep federal cuts.

The Kentucky Center for Economic Policy, a progressive think tank, says Medicaid in Kentucky is underfunded by $691 million.

Democrats referenced several hospitals that have already downsized or closed in the state, concerned that more could face the same outcome.

>> There's no backup hospital down the street.

There's no hospital on the other side of town.

And so if these systems are hollowed out, what we're telling families in rural communities, the people that we represent, you're on your own.

>> What we continue to do is satisfy our desires about how we think the world ought to be versus what the world really needs.

And Kentuckians are saying, I need health care.

>> Speaker Pro Tem representative David Meade says the Medicaid funding is adequate and that the House Democrats are misleading the public about hospital closures.

>> First of all, Fleming County, an extremely small hospital, had nothing to do with Medicaid.

They made that choice on their.

There.

They're moving forward with their company and how they were going to operate.

The other hospital in Moorhead was bought out by.

UK did not close.

The comments of my hospital in Stanford are completely misleading and basically false, which was said on this floor.

These tactics of half of half truths and fear tactics are getting a little absurd.

Mr.

Mr.

speaker, and they really need to stop.

>> Education spending was also debated.

Some Democrats were happy with the 2% increase in SEEK funding, while others felt it didn't go far enough.

One of the only Democratic yes votes on the budget came from Representative Tina Bojanowski, a Louisville educator.

>> SEEK funding is increasing and with the current inflation rate of 2.4%, I think we're kind of keeping with inflation, at least from last year through the next two years.

I really appreciate the full funding on the actual Actuarially required contributions to the teacher retirement system.

>> Many state agencies are facing a 7% reduction in funding, meaning that the executive branch will have discretion in what areas they choose to make those cuts.

Some of the agencies excluded from the cuts are Veterans Affairs, juvenile justice and a handful of universities.

One, Democrat, says he's heard harsh criticism on the budget from the other side of the aisle as well.

>> You know, last night I had a conversation with one of your majority party colleagues, and he told me that this is the worst budget that he's seen since he's been up here.

You know what, folks?

He's right.

We do cut Medicaid dramatically.

We cut senior Mills.

We cut various critical areas of basic government services that protect our seniors and the folks who need our help the most.

We failed to even seriously consider pre-K for all or any real significant investment in affordable housing.

>> Chair Petrie says restraining growth is not the same as making cuts.

>> Now, we do have a liberal contingent of the United States that believes with all its soul, mind and heart that if you don't keep growing government at the fastest pace you can, with the most money you can, and borrow every bit you can through debt, then you are falling behind.

That is false.

And this budget doesn't follow that falsity.

And we continue to fund the things that are priority in this Commonwealth.

We have stuck with Medicaid, we have stuck with pensions, we have stuck with K-12, we have stuck with higher education.

You name it, we've done it.

>> The House also finally passed the judicial budget for the next two years, which includes increases in salary for judicial branch employees.

>> In previous years, this General Assembly had allocated some new judges, and we funded those judges to the tune of about $5 million in this budget.

Those were funds that the judicial branch was having to come up with on their own.

>> The transportation budget also made its final passage with a last minute amendment, removing the ability for transportation cabinet employees to work from home.

Democrats were split on the final vote.

>> While I don't agree with forcing folks back into the office if they're successfully doing their jobs in a different setting, I am so pleased that we've chosen to put into place three new regional driver's license offices.

The people of Kentucky have asked, and it's good when the General Assembly can respond.

>> Thank you.

The General Assembly is now adjourned until April 15th, and this time the governor will have the chance to sign bills into law or veto them.

He has the ability to line item, veto individual aspects of the budget for Kentucky Edition.

I'm Mackenzie Spink.

>> A fiscal conservative group, is also weighing in on the budget.

Andrew McNeill is with the Kentucky forum for rights Kentucky Forum for Rights or KYFREE.

He said, quote, HB 500 spends too much, contains too many earmarks and short changes.

The hard earned gains we've realized from a consistent commitment to building strong budget reserves, this budget didn't meet the moment by delivering a fiscally disciplined final product.

End quote.

Well, today, Governor Andy Beshear was also critical of the budget, saying it spends less on Medicaid than experts say we should be spending.

>> Well, the legislature cut $2.8 billion out of the number that the experts who put this together said that it will cost over the next two years, $2.8 billion less going through rural hospitals, going through clinics, going through doctors and and others.

And remember, this is on top of the president's big, ugly bill, which cut trillions of dollars in Medicaid going through our rural hospitals.

In fact, before even this cut, the Kentucky Hospital Association estimated 35 rural hospitals could close each one, the largest payroll in their community.

We lose 20,000 jobs just directly, but then coffee shops, restaurants, banks and insurance companies, all supported by that largest payroll in the community, are also threatened.

>> But he says he agrees with some things in the budget.

>> A couple of good things.

The CBS out of home care, we needed some extra funding.

They provided that behavioral health came in and provided that to US state police.

We wanted to change things from comp time so they can actually get overtime for their jobs.

That money was put in, and while we asked for six additional drivers testing locations, we got three.

So good for the three that we got the three regions we didn't.

We hope we can get there soon.

>> There's more.

Lawmakers also set aside nearly $2 billion to fund dozens of one time projects, and they agreed to changes to Kentucky's tax policies.

Our Toby Gibbs continues our legislative update.

[MUSIC] >> Along with appropriating nearly $32 billion from state coffers to various government programs, agencies and services.

State lawmakers signed off on plans to fund special one time projects to the tune of more than $1.7 billion that would come from the state's Budget Reserve Trust Fund, often called the Rainy Day Fund.

From economic development initiatives and projects to infrastructure, talent, recruitment and development, health and educational endeavors, communities across the state stand to benefit.

The Vice Chair of the House Appropriations and Revenue Committee has this to say about House Bill 900.

>> When we spend less than we bring in, it frees up money for one time investments to return to the Commonwealth.

And that's what these are.

These are investments, investments in economic development, higher education, housing, infrastructure, parks, quality of life projects.

These are things that we will see a return on an investment from this $1.7 billion in House Bill 900.

>> House Bill 900 was overwhelmingly endorsed by state lawmakers yesterday and is awaiting review by the governor.

The state CEO will also have on his desk a revenue measure sent to him by lawmakers that addresses a raft of tax policy updates and changes some of the provisions, establishing a tax on fantasy sports operations and limiting participation to those 21 and older.

Decoupling Kentucky from most federal tax changes, creating a tax on prediction market platforms, providing sales tax exemptions for major golf tournaments, requiring public notice for school tax increases, and raising the population threshold required for a county to gain authority to increase a school board occupational license, which would limit it to Jefferson County.

HB 757 also bans the sale of kratom products, an herbal substance that's come under heavy scrutiny for side effects and overdose dangers.

What's equally as notable in the bill?

It would add a statue of Kentucky's senior U.S.

senator, Mitch McConnell, to the state Capitol Rotunda when renovations are complete.

>> Our Capitol Rotunda contains the lions of Kentucky Life Ephraim McDowell.

Alvin Barkley, Henry Clay, Abraham Lincoln.

And this item.

Takes up the fourth corner of the rotunda with a statue of Senator Addison Mitch McConnell.

While he is obviously a much more modern figure than any that I named, he no doubt has earned a place in the rotunda.

He will go down as one of the most influential Kentuckians ever to grace the halls of Frankfort, in the halls of the United States Senate in Washington, DC.

The effects of his leadership of the Senate and of our party here in the Commonwealth are absolutely unparalleled, and it's a distinct honor for this Commonwealth to be able to claim.

Senator McConnell is one of our own and to.

And to forever enshrine him in the rotunda of the Capitol.

>> Lawmakers also approved a traditional biennial measure of the honorary naming of roads and bridges in Kentucky.

But one name stirred debate on its inclusion the late conservative activist Charlie Kirk.

Here's some of the floor commentary about Senate Joint Resolution 139.

>> And in my opinion, Mr.

President, he was a polarizing podcaster who on public record included rhetoric that many communities experience as hostile and harmful.

And I believe that naming a road after him asked the public, including the very people targeted by that rhetoric, to celebrate him with their hard earned tax dollars with public infrastructure.

>> It was 18 years old when he created Turning Point USA, and he began a movement on our college campuses to stop the left leaning indoctrination from one perspective and enter into their space and debate and discuss and get people to think and and reach different discoveries about their opinions.

It was a really beautiful thing to watch him have those discussions, and he never came in anger.

He came in love.

He came with his faith out in front of him and stood for family values.

He stood for life.

He stood for the principles that that Kentuckians stand for.

>> The resolution earned minimal opposition by roll call vote in both the House and Senate last night, and is now waiting for the governor to approve or reject for Kentucky edition.

I'm Toby Gibbs.

>> Now.

The governor must also consider an omnibus bill dealing with the state's gambling laws.

In addition to raising the legal sports betting age, House Bill 904 bans some prop bets on college athletes in Kentucky and introduces fixed odd horse racing.

The bill also seeks to put some guardrails on prediction markets and includes explicit language prohibiting wagers on elections.

And it calls for a regulatory framework for fantasy sports.

House Bill 904 underwent a number of changes before clearing both chambers last night.

Well, Voters could have more than just candidates to decide on in the fall.

The legislature passed Senate Bill ten yesterday.

This calls for putting a constitutional amendment on the ballot concerning how close to an election a governor can issue a pardon.

Senator Chris McDaniel sponsored the bill.

Here he is explaining a change made to the bill through a House floor amendment.

>> House Floor amendment one removes the ability of the governor to pardon people specifically for dealing with some of the confusion we've seen on constitutional amendments lately, and the fact that that simply is not really a thing anymore.

I think it's a very wise amendment to have on there.

>> Because the bill deals with a constitutional amendment.

It does not go to the governor's desk.

Instead, it is sent to the Secretary of state.

Education has been one of the top priorities during the 2026 legislative session yesterday, lawmakers passed a slew of education related bills, including legislation that would heavily impact Kentucky's largest school districts.

Our Emily Sisk has the rundown as we wrap up tonight's legislative update.

>> It was the top priority measure in the state Senate.

Senate Bill one looks to take some of the day to day operational power from the Jefferson County School Board and give it to the superintendent.

Republican leaders pushed for this measure after the Kentucky Supreme Court found that a passed similar law unfairly targeted JCPS.

As the House Majority Whip explained.

This time, lawmakers spelled out why they want to treat the district differently.

>> One of the things the Kentucky Supreme Court did was it said, if you're going to regulate for just JCPS, you need to tell us why.

And so the.

Whereas clauses which begin the bill identify all the ways that.

A number of ways that Jefferson County Public Schools is very different than the rest size.

It has a $2.3 billion budget, 93,000 students, and a lot of other things.

>> JCPS Superintendent Brian Yearwood told a committee earlier in the session that he didn't want the additional authority.

However, after major financial difficulties in the district, some members of the General Assembly said they needed to take action.

Senate Bill one was awarded final passage Wednesday evening despite objection from Democratic lawmakers.

Another sweeping priority measure was Senate Bill four, which underwent many changes throughout the session.

Originally, the bill established a principal leadership program for new school principals.

Additions to the bill make changes to the school boards in Jefferson and Fayette County's.

One highlight is that the JCPS school board would be reduced from seven elected members to five.

>> Which is what it is in every other jurisdiction, every other school district in the state.

And we're doing that for a number of reasons.

Most importantly, the Kentucky Supreme Court has said that's required recently when they said the JCPS must be treated the same.

So we're going from 7 to 5.

Unlike previous iterations of the bill, there are no appointments.

It's all elections.

Those elections will all be in this coming November.

>> Democrats in the Senate raised concerns about this change, which would require a redistricting done by the General Assembly.

>> It is a serious matter when we mess with people's representations and the way it is distributed, and it is worthy, the more oversight and more conversation than we are doing here.

>> Another provision in Senate Bill four, restricting those who reside in Jefferson or Fayette counties but teach in another district from serving on the school boards of the two largest districts.

This rule would effectively oust Fayette County School Board Chair Tyler Murphy, who teaches in Boyle County.

Murphy has come under fire for financial mismanagement in the district.

A Lexington Democrat said she felt the bill was overly targeted toward removing Murphy.

>> It's just worrisome and concerning that people who are the experts in their field in two of the largest counties may not be eligible to run for their local school board.

>> Senate Bill four was awarded final passage, mostly along party lines, with a few Republicans joining in opposition.

Other education measures that will advance to the governor's desk include House Bill 257, which would make changes to the assessment and accountability model in K-12 schools.

Testing will now focus on individual student growth, and schools can create a local accountability system where the community can give feedback on what's expected of their graduates.

The General Assembly also advanced House Bill 490, which would change employment rules for Kentucky's public universities.

The legislation allows institutions to remove faculty members if the university is having financial difficulties, like low enrollment or a lack of revenue, Democrat's said.

This could undermine University's tenure system.

Still, the bill received final passage on a 75 to 18 vote in the House.

All four of these education bills are now on the governor's desk for Kentucky edition.

I'm Emily Sisk.

>> Nearly five weeks after the U.S.

and Israel attacked Iran, U.S.

Senator Mitch McConnell says he still supports President Donald Trump's military actions in the region.

McConnell spoke to reporters near Fort Knox at the General Patton Museum today.

He says he doesn't know when the war with Iran will end.

>> Now the critics are saying, well, what comes next?

Let me just suggest that whatever comes next, whether it's a regime similar to this one or not, they're not going to have the military capacity to do what they were previously doing routinely for a very long period of time.

>> McConnell says he does not support a ground invasion in Iran.

He says modern warfare doesn't need to be fought with tanks in the streets, but instead with drones.

Last night, in a prime time address to the nation, President Trump suggested both negotiations and escalating attacks are possible in the coming weeks.

[MUSIC] Now to election 2026 and a race to succeed Senator McConnell.

Kentucky's May 19th primary is less than two months away in the U.S.

Senate primary, Andy Barr and Charles Booker have the lead, according to the latest independent poll.

The poll from Emerson College and Wbki-tv in Lexington shows Barr, with 28% of the vote on the Republican side and Daniel Cameron at 21% 15% for Nate Morris, 29% of those voters are still undecided.

Among the Democrats, Charles Booker has 36% of the vote to Amy McGrath's 18% and Pamela Stevenson's 3%.

38% of those voters are undecided.

Well, spring break is often considered a time to relax.

But for families with kids who rely on school based meals, the break from school can be stressful.

In Lexington, an initiative called Hunger Doesn't Take a Spring Break is attempting to fill that meal gap.

From April 6th through April 10th, children will be able to get free lunches and daily snack bags at multiple locations all around Lexington.

Organizers say the initiative has been around for three years now, and the number of children being served has grown substantially.

>> Once that the information has spread word of mouth, we've seen that, you know, at all most of our locations that we maxed out, we prepared for about 100 kids per day at each location.

And we've seen at majority of our locations.

Last year, it reached that max each day.

So it shows the need.

It shows that having access to those meals, having access to those snack bags are needed in our community, and that the folks in our youth are taking advantage of it.

So I think having this program is just another resource for our community, another investment for our community, another asset for our community.

During the spring break, thousands of meals going out, thousands of snack bags, programing in our parks, seven locations.

That's exactly what spring break should be.

Our kids smiling in the parks, our kids having access to food, having access to programs, and then as they leave the park, going home to have that snack bag to take home, to be, to make sure they have some food to eat at home and then come back the next day, get a free meal and then get that snack bag refilled throughout the entire week.

And I think that is exactly what community is serving our folks, serving the people, and investing in our people.

Specifically, I'm investing in our youth.

>> Morton says they expect to serve more than 3500 meals to children over this five day break.

Churchill Downs wins in court and a Kentucky Sheriff's office is testing out a new way of conducting drug tests.

Our Toby Gibbs has more in tonight's look at headlines around Kentucky.

>> A federal judge has ruled for Churchill Downs and against Heights, the horse Racing Integrity and safety authority over Heights fee collection process, The Courier Journal reports Heights was about to punish Churchill for unpaid fees until the two reached an agreement a week ago.

Yesterday, Judge Benjamin Beaton ruled Hyzaar is a private corporation, creating fees in an arbitrary and thus illegal fashion.

[MUSIC] [MUSIC] The Sentinel Echo reports.

The Laurel County Sheriff's Office now has new roadside drug testing equipment as part of a national pilot program.

Laurel County and 80 other law enforcement agencies in Kentucky have received a so toxic device, an oral fluid mobile drug testing system that allows drug tests using a swab of saliva from a person's mouth.

It can be used during traffic stops to determine if suspects have drugs in their system.

The army is investigating the motive behind two Army helicopter flights.

Over the weekend, the two helicopters flew over singer and Trump supporter Kid Rock's home in Nashville, Saturday He posted video of himself clapping and saluting.

The two helicopters also flew over an anti-Trump no.

Kings rally in Nashville, Louisville Public media reports.

The helicopters were from the 101st airborne based at Kentucky's Fort Campbell.

In a statement, the US Army says army aviators must adhere to strict safety standards, professionalism and established flight regulations.

[MUSIC] From Lincoln KY Stewart Nutrition of Minnesota is investing millions in a new factory in Erlanger.

The company makes nutritional supplements and wellness products for Walmart, target, Amazon, Walgreens, CVS and others.

It's an $11 million project that will mean 93 full time jobs.

[MUSIC] With headlines around Kentucky.

I'm Toby Gibbs.

>> Well, the General Assembly veto period is now underway.

We're going to get some perspective on the session as things wind down, Renee will talk to McKenna Horsley of the Kentucky Lantern.

Look for that as we go inside Kentucky politics that's coming up Friday here on Kentucky edition, and we do hope you'll join us again tomorrow night at 630 eastern, 530 central for Kentucky edition, where we inform, connect and inspire.

We invite you to connect with us by subscribing to our Kentucky edition email newsletters and watch full episodes and clips@ket.org.

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Thank you so much for joining us here for Kentucky edition this evening, and have a great night.

[MUSIC]