During his Wednesday night address to the nation, 47th U.S. President Donald J. Trump touted an “inherited mess” from the Biden administration, and urged citizens that affordability is within grasp.
During his Thursday morning “Team Kentucky” update, Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear disagreed — noting while the state’s economy continues to improve, prices on goods aren’t.
Beshear said his “State of the Commonwealth & Budget” address, planned for 4:30 PM local time January 7, “will be a very different address.”
As for the current budget, Beshear said the Consensus Forecasting Group has been called in, and tasked with determining projected set revenues for the Commonwealth and its biennium budget.
While a recently reported shortfall has legislators and tax analysts on standby, Beshear said some good news has arrived.
The primary portion of his new plan, Beshear said, is to meet that with a $77.7 million reduction of the Executive Branch’s portion of the General Fund, and for many agencies, he added this a “3% reduction to their enacted budgets” — much of it being absorbed by vacancy credits and unfilled jobs.
Beshear said both he and the Lieutenant Governor’s office are “personally” taking part in this 3% budget reduction, but others many not be.
Efforts like this, Beshear closed, will balance the budget — in preparation for January’s gavel and coming two-year blueprint.
In other state news:
+ Beshear called this the second-best year on record for economic investment in the state, which is now valued at more than $10.5 billion through 185 new location and expansion projects, and more than 9,600 jobs created.
+ Kentucky has seen a 7% decrease in highway fatalities from 2024 to 2025, as well as a 2% reduction in crash-related injuries. Over the last 12 months, there have been 636 fatalities and 2,647 injuries. Beshear credited infrastructure improvements and better driving habits as key reasons why, and asked for holiday motorists to “slow down, buckle up, and put the phones away.”
