House budget advances to Senate; closely resembles Beshear’s budget

Thursday, the House of Representatives passed their version of HB 235, the biennial budget bill. It passed largely on party lines as Republicans voiced major opposition to many provisions including the funding of the state’s implementation of the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) and the level of debt included in the budget. After a more than 3.5 hour debate, the bill passed 53-46 and moves to the Senate for consideration.

As we noted previously in our breakdown of Beshear’s proposed budget, the roughly $20 billion spending plan adds funding for P-12 education, state employee and teacher raises, funds a number of construction projects, but cuts higher education funding. The House plan makes a few changes in these priorities, but largely mirrors the governor’s proposal (PDF). For your convenience, the Chamber has prepared a House Budget Comparison summary (PDF).