“I do solemnly swear that I will support the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of this Commonwealth, and be faithful and true to the Commonwealth of Kentucky.”
All one hundred members of the Kentucky House took this oath as we officially convened the 2025 Regular Session on January 10. The oath itself is just 30 words, but they held great meaning as Chief Justice of the Kentucky Supreme Court Debra Lambert delivered them and meant so much as men and women from across the state gathered to consider both the opportunities and challenges facing our Commonwealth. The legislature has spent the last six months preparing for the session and we are excited to get to work on your behalf.
Because this is an odd-year, this a short session and it is divided into two parts. With the first week behind us, we adjourned on Friday until we reconvene in early February for the remaining 26 legislative days. I am happy to report that we hit the ground running during our first week and I am proud to report on the work we have already accomplished.
On Thursday, members of the House voted overwhelmingly to pass HB 1, legislation that would lower the state’s individual income tax another half a percentage point to 3.5% in 2026. Lawmakers have already cut the individual income tax by a third, from 6% to 4% today. While the work to make Kentucky’s tax code more competitive began more than six years ago, this latest step was put into motion with the passage of HB 8 in 2022. That bill lays the groundwork to eliminate the individual income tax entirely, but includes preset triggers that must be met before the legislature can move to decrease the tax in half a percentage point increments. These triggers ensure that the tax cuts do not endanger funding for state programs and agencies. HB 1 now heads to the Senate, where it is expected to pass when we return in February.
In addition to HB 1, members of the House Health Services Committee held an information-only meeting to discuss the impact of the Hospital Rate Improvement Program (HRIP). The program was passed by the legislature in 2019 and updated in 2021 with the intention of increasing the state’s Medicaid reimbursement rate to hospitals at no cost to our budget. Low reimbursement rates are an ongoing issue with Medicaid, as the rate is often significantly less than the standard reimbursement and even the actual cost of the medical care. Simply put, it allows the state to draw down more federal money.
According to testimony, HRIP provides Kentucky hospitals with $2.2 billion in annual funding by paying closer to the average commercial rate for Medicaid services. Members also discussed the federal hospital transparency rules requiring hospitals to publicly post pricing for shoppable and common services. Finally, members considered several Administrative Regulations, differing two related to community mental health center behavioral health services.
I am eager to continue working for the people of our district and make Kentucky a state where people wish to live, grow businesses, and raise families. In addition to filing and passing legislation, legislative committees also began meeting. I am pleased to share that I will be serving on the Health Services, Licensing, Occupations, and Administrative Regulations, Local Government, and Transportation committees.
We already know that this will be a historic session, as it is the last session in the State Capitol Building for several years. The entire campus is undergoing renovations aimed at maintaining the facility’s historic integrity while making it safer and more accessible for those who work and visit. The project also incorporates modern technology. Since the Kentucky Constitution also requires that all sessions be held in the state capital (except in case of war, insurrection, or pestilence, may I add), next session we will meet in a temporary facility on the Capitol campus.
As always, I can be reached anytime through the toll-free message line in Frankfort at 1-800-372-7181. You can also contact me via email at Amy.Neighbors@kylegislature.gov and keep track through the Kentucky legislature’s website at legislature.ky.gov.
(Laura Leigh Goins, Deputy Chief of Staff for Media Relations – House Majority Leadership)