By Bruce Schreiner (AP), includes “Supporters said the measure would relieve some pressure on the state’s troubled public pension plan for teachers without solving its massive unfunded liability. Opponents said the pension changes would become a deterrent in recruiting people into teaching.”

 Despite business closures, job losses and increasing numbers in the COVID-19 pandemic, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear said the state’s budget will balance without any cuts.

The 2020 Financial State of the States report surveys the fiscal health of the 50 states prior to the coronavirus pandemic. This data is released today by Truth in Accounting (TIA), a think tank that analyzes government financial reporting.

Attorney General Daniel Cameron wants to join a lawsuit filed by eight public workers in 2017 that alleges Kentucky’s pension system was cheated on up to $1.5 billion in hedge fund investments by several wealthy corporations, with blame to be shared by some of its own current and former trustees and officials.

The Kentucky Supreme Court decided a lawsuit should be dismissed that accused several hedge fund firms, as well as former officials for the state's public pension system, of breaching their fiduciary duty by arranging super-risky investments.

The economic shutdown caused by the coronavirus will result in a steep drop in tax revenue for state and local governments, forcing them to make difficult decisions about how to fund the state pension systems their employees rely on for their retirement.

How large could the shortfall in state government general revenues be, amidst the coronavirus and related crises? 

Educating children, protecting families, supporting healthy communities and other investments in Kentucky are essential to reducing harm during the COVID-19 crisis and creating a pathway to eventual recovery.

It’s no secret that major law firm bankruptcy practices are ramping up for a historic rise in Chapter 11 filings, workouts and other restructuring work as industries are battered by the COVID-19 pandemic

Ever since he became leader of Republicans in the U.S. Senate, Mitch McConnell has used that post as his most consistent argument to Kentucky voters that they should reelect him, because it lets the state “punch above our weight” to get federal favors.

Apparently, McConnell made his comments out of frustration that the National Governors Association wants $500 billion more in direct federal aid on top of the $150 billion provided in the $2.2 trillion coronavirus relief bill.

By now Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s (R-Ky.) half-baked idea to encourage states to declare bankruptcy so that the federal government is absolved of further responsibility has been widely and roundly condemned on a bipartisan basis.

In an interview with conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt on Wednesday, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell dismissed calls for federal aid to states, saying states’ financial troubles are closely related to reckless decisions about public employee pension benefits and other matters, and that if states need relief from promises they’ve made but can’t keep, they should be allowed to go bankrupt instead of coming to the federal government for a bailout.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s suggestion last week that he’d rather let states go bankrupt than see Congress rescue their coronavirus-decimated budgets raises the question: What would a state bankruptcy look like?

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky might want to rethink his position on federal aid for the states during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) is facing blowback from across the political spectrum after he suggested states should be able to declare bankruptcy as they face severe budget holes sparked by the coronavirus outbreak. 

The governors of New York and New Jersey, two of the states hardest hit by the outbreak of the novel coronavirus, on Wednesday denounced Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) 

A quasi-government group’s response to Gov. Andy Beshear’s signature of legislation creating a separate board for the County Employees Retirement System (CERS) — which covers local government workers and classified school personnel — illustrates the wrong-headed mindset at the heart of all of Kentucky pension woes.

Local city leaders are concerned with the way a retooled pension system will affect their ability to govern. The mayors of Covington, Erlanger and Independence met with state lawmakers last week to discuss a bill passed by former Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin.

Lawmakers are pushing a proposal to change how the state pension system — and its $14.2 billion unfunded liability — is supported in the future, with some public employers paying less than they presently do and others paying more.