Last night, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear unveiled his budget to the General Assembly. This is the first step in a long and arduous process that is required to finalize and approve a budget for our government over the next two fiscal years. This proposed budget now goes to the General Assembly, where many details and differences will be worked out, voted on, and eventually passed into law.
We applaud Gov. Beshear’s fiscally responsible decision to continue full funding for the Teachers’ Retirement System (TRS) in his proposed budget. We also commend him for fully funding the Commonwealth’s obligation to pay the full amount it owes to the TRS Medical Insurance Trust Fund during the next two fiscal years.
By prioritizing full funding to both the Medical Insurance Trust Fund and TRS, the solvency of these funds will continue to improve and it will ensure that our teachers continue to have dignified retirements with access to affordable healthcare.
While this is great news, our fight isn’t over. This proposed budget is far from being finalized. As legislators now begin budget negotiations in earnest, they still have plenty of opportunities to reduce or even remove funding that has been proposed for both TRS and the Medical Insurance Trust Fund.
For this reason, we ask you to
Leave a message encouraging them to follow the governor’s lead and fulfill the state’s legal obligations by fully funding both the Teacher’s Retirement System and the Medical Insurance Trust Fund in this budget.