News

The 2022 General Assembly wrapped up their work in Frankfort last night (April 14). Among the bills they passed are the executive branch biennial budget, tax reform, compensation for student athletes name, image and likeness, and pension legislation for the universities and quasi-governmental agencies. Below is an overview of several bills WKU worked on throughout the sixty-day session.

House Bill 1

House Bill 1 (HB1) is the executive branch biennial budget. The budget includes substantial investments in postsecondary education for the first time in over a decade.

• WKU will receive $74,400,000 to construct a new Gordon Ford College of Business building—the first capital project allocation WKU has received from the General Assembly since funding for Ogden College Hall in 2014. 
• The budget provides $34,040,000 each year of the biennium to address deferred maintenance on campus, with a commitment by the University to match at 15 percent.
• The higher education performance funding pool will increase by $97,307,100 each year for the next two years.
• In the first year of the budget, our pension subsidy for the Kentucky Employee Retirement System (KERS) is funded at 100 percent and at 90 percent in the second year.
• LifeWorks at WKU will receive $2,800,000 from the State Fiscal Recovery Fund of the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021.
• The General Assembly set aside a total of $10,000,000 for the Bucks for Brains initiative at comprehensive universities.
• The budget adds $1,000,000 to the Kentucky Mesonet, bringing total state funding to $1,750,000 each year.

Governor Beshear did not veto any items in the postsecondary education budget.

View HB1 here.

House Bill 8

House Bill 8 (HB8) is the revenue and tax reform bill. HB8 proposes to gradually lower the personal income tax from 5 percent to 0 percent if the state hits certain economic growth goals. HB8 also proposes new sales and use tax on several new sectors including electric vehicles. Governor Beshear vetoed HB8, but the General Assembly overrode the veto.

View HB8 here.

House Bill 663

House Bill 663 (HB663) requires the president and chair of the governing board of each postsecondary education institution licensed or overseen by the Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education to jointly execute a signed, sworn financial disclosure statement by June 30 of each year for the previous fiscal year. HB663 became law with Governor Beshear’s signature.

View HB663 here.

House Bill 668

House Bill 668 (HB668) makes a technical change to KRS 61.5991 to exempt contracts for independent contractors providing non-core services for a public university or quasi-governmental employer from the reporting requirements established by House Bill 8 during the 2021 Regular Session. HB668 exempts the non-core services from the calculation for the Kentucky Employee Retirement System pension subsidy WKU receives from the General Assembly. HB668 became law without Governor Beshear’s signature.

View HB668 here.

Senate Bill 6

Senate Bill 6 is known as the Name, Image and Likeness bill. SB6 sets a framework for student athletes to profit from their name, image and likeness. This bill codifies the language that Governor Beshear used in an Executive Order last summer. SB6 became law with Governor Beshear’s signature.

View SB6 here.

Senate Joint Resolution 150

Senate Joint Resolution 150 (SJR150) terminates the Covid-19 emergency declaration. Governor Beshear vetoed SJR150; however, the General Assembly overrode the veto.

View SJR150 here.

Senate Resolution 208

Senate Resolution 208 (SR208) confirms the reappointment of Dr. Phillip W. Bale to the WKU Board of Regents for a term expiring June 30, 2027. The Senate adopted SR208 unanimously.

View SR208 here.

Senate Resolution 209

Senate Resolution 209 (SR209) confirms the appointment of Doris C. Thomas to the WKU Board of Regents for a term expiring June 30, 2027. The Senate adopted SR209 unanimously.

View SR209 here.

Over the course of the legislative session, WKU representatives worked closely with legislators and staff as well as members of the executive branch and our colleagues from other state universities and KCTCS.  In total, we tracked 83 different pieces of legislation. If you have any questions about specific bills, please contact Jennifer Smith at Jennifer.Breiwa.Smith@wku.edu. 

The complete bill tracking report is available here.