While 2021 saw more than $11 billion in new workforce investments and 18,000 new full-time jobs for Kentuckians, Governor Andy Beshear is eyeing more for the Commonwealth in the next two years.
With a full budget addressing coming at 6 p.m. Thursday, Beshear spent Tuesday again unveiling some of the finer details of his proposed moves — following up Monday’s deft discussion around education reform in the Commonwealth by tackling jobs, tourism, and infrastructure investments he hopes to make.
Among the most impacting choices for west Kentucky include:
*Beshear’s option to invest $50 million from the General Fund to develop Kentucky’s general aviation airports, and another $6 million to specifically support the construction of a new terminal building at Barkley Regional Airport in Paducah.
*And Beshear’s option to direct a one-time infusion of $200 million from the General Fund to pay for sorely-needed work on the state parks system, while dedicating $10 million each in federal ARPA funds for a targeted tourism marketing campaign, a bolster to Kentucky’s travel industry and a lift for Kentucky’s non-profit arts organizations
Ground broke for Paducah’s new terminal November 10, with Beshear, U.S. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and U.S. Representative James Comer among the many noted dignitaries in attendance — and the airport has already secured more than $40 million in federal, state, city and county funding.
With the I-69 bridge in Henderson also among Beshear’s to-do projects over the next two years, the governor noted an improved airport completes west Kentucky’s access to the world of business and commerce.
McCracken County Judge-Executive Craig Clymer added the proposed $6 million from Beshear’s budget helps alleviate some city and county burdens for cost, thus saving some tax revenue.
Kentucky’s state parks, meanwhile, have received little-to-no budgetary embrace in far too long, Beshear said. And for the last two years, they’ve served as bastions for COVID-19 quarantining, as well as home bases for first responders and those displaced by natural disasters like flooding, freezing and fearsome winds.
Locations like and Kenlake State Resort Park, Kentucky Dam Village, Pennyrile Forest State Park, Lake Barkley State Resort Park each have quite specific and easily-identifiable needs that should be met, and with more than $200 million proposed, Beshear’s budget could comfortably be sliced among the 40-plus parks in the Commonwealth.
And in some parts of Kentucky, a state park serves as a community jewel and top-tiered employment location for its workforce.
Kentucky’s Secretary for Tourism Mike Berry added the proposed and combined $30 million in targeted marketing, arts and travel industry is a proper investment for the state’s tourism — which generates billions in local, regional and state revenue each year.
Other proposals in Beshear’s budget:
— $700,000 each year to the Louisville Urban League to train disadvantaged Kentuckians for their CDL
— $2.5 million each year to train Ford workers on robotics and advanced manufacturing
— $10 million each year to fund a “Talent Attraction” media campaign, to develop a globally-competitive workforce talent development system
— $20 million each year to launch a competitive workforce initiative grant program, to aid public and private schools secure funding for new/expanded student-to-workforce operations
— $1.5 million each year to maintain the “Everybody Counts” program in Jefferson County
— Another $200 million over the next two years invested to the Commonwealth’s high-speed internet infrastructure, on top of the $300 million granted by ARPA in 2021
— Another $500 million over the next two years invested in clean water and modern sewer systems statewide
— $100 million to invest in the state’s electric vehicle charging station infrastructure, using $30.5 million from the General Fund, a $17 million notch that meets the state match, and then unlocks a close-to-$70 million federal funding permission through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act
— A $250 million investment from the General Fund for major transportation infrastructure, which includes the Brent Spence companion bridge project, the I-69 Ohio River Crossing in Henderson, and the completion of the four-lane “Mountain Parkway” project, which will involve a $184.3 million allocation over three years to meet a state match to unlock a $774.7 million federal investment from the High Trust Fund
— A $10 million life science lab for Covington
— More than $75 million in agritech research and development, particularly related to AppHarvest’s expansion into Morehead, Somerset, Berea and Richmond, where hydroponic farming continues to take root in the mountains of Eastern Kentucky
— $250 million in one-time funds for site identification and development programs across the state, in order to attract the next Ford, Toyota, or similar-sized project