News

The 2024 Kentucky General Assembly is underway. The legislature has been busy in the first two weeks with roughly 370 bills filed so far. Among the legislation passed this session will include the biennial budget bills. The House of Representatives introduced House Bill 6 (HB6), the Executive Branch biennial budget on Tuesday, January 16. HB6 includes additional funding to WKU’s base appropriation to offset inflationary increases in expenses. HB6 also includes $160 million in state bonds to construct a new Academic Complex and $28.6 million for asset preservation. Funding for the Gatton Academy and the Kentucky Mesonet remained unchanged from the previous biennial budget.  You can view HB6 here.

It is important to note that this is the first step in a long road to adopting the budget. In the coming weeks, HB6 will receive a committee hearing for approval to go to the floor of the House for passage. Then, it will move to the Senate for the Senate version of the budget and will go through the same process. Ultimately, HB6 will end in a conference committee where the two Chambers will work together to come to agreement on a final biennial budget. This endeavor is a marathon, not a sprint; I will keep you updated on HB6 and other bills that WKU is tracking.

To view all legislation WKU is tracking please click here, or visit www.wku.edu/govrelations. Legislative tracking sheets are updated every Friday along with a weekly recap of session on the Government Relations website.