On Wednesday, the Senate passed its3 version of the state’s next two-year state budget through committee and on the floor.
The budget bill, House Bill 1, passed through the House earlier this session and was amended by the Senate in committee. It includes some changes and focuses on a 10 percent pay raise for state workers, increased funds for schools to allow flexibility for districts to hand out their own raises, and money for the state park system.
The proposal also includes more than $1 billion to the state’s “Rainy Day” fund and funding for an audit of the state’s workforce programming.
Highlights of the Senate budget proposal include:
- Provides a $4,500 raise for state employees in FY 23. Also provides a raise in FY 24 but requires Personnel Cabinet to conduct a study that they are properly funding the state employee workforce across the board.
- State Police gets a $15,000 raise per trooper.
- Social workers receive a $4,800 raise in FY 23 and 10% raise in FY 24.
- Funding for Urgent Need Schools. Did not fund inflationary increases and requiring different requirements in order to receive funding.
- Adding $62 million for LAVECs and Career & Tech Education which is on top of the $65 million base.
- SEEK per pupil is $4,100 in FY 23 and $4,200 in FY 24. Funding transportation at 70% but fund it through existing formula which is different than the House version.
- Add $87 million to the Performance Based Funding for universities.
- Fully Funded Bucks for Brains and fund Asset Preservation pools for universities in the amount of $300 million.
- $75 million for a not-for-profit grant pool. Each grant is capped at $75,000.
- Provided $25 million for online voting machines.
- Directing the State Fair Board to conduct a study in FY 23 of the fairgrounds and then allocated $200 million in FY 24 for comprehensive overhaul of the facilities.
- $5 million for child advocacy centers, $3.5 million for domestic violence shelters and $1.5 million for rape crisis centers.
- Senate Budget has $1.75 Billion put into the Rainy Day Fund and keeps $1.3 billion in unappropriated funds.
House Bill 1 now goes back to the House to be considered for concurrence and then will likely go to conference committee.