Rep. Jeff Hoover’s decision to step down as Speaker of the House and a pending investigation into allegations of sexual harassment in the Kentucky House have thrown more uncertainty into the potential of a special legislative session to be called by Gov. Matt Bevin in this last month of 2017.
Bevin said Thursday he still intends to call a special session on pension reform within this calendar year.
During remarks to Kentucky electric cooperative leaders at the KAECAnnual Meeting on November 21, Bevin said Kentucky’s pension system is “bleeding out.” Without a restructuring of the system, Bevin said it would ultimately be unable to pay obligations to retirees.
“Every dollar that goes in is shoring up a system that’s been ignored, and it is failing,” Bevin said.
The governor shared insights about a meeting he had with Kentucky utility executives on November 20. He said that energy efficiency practices have been a double edged sword, saving money for consumers but “it puts a pressure on providers.”
“I tell you one thing that offsets that is people coming,” Bevin said, “a thriving and growing economy. That’s what offsets it.”
Bevin pointed out that while Indiana and Tennessee are about the same size geographically as Kentucky, the population of both states is about two million more people than Kentucky’s. Bevin said that’s where economic development needs to encourage growth.
“Imagine if we had two million more people, Bevin said. “That’s a whole lot of light switches, a whole lot of heat. that’s a whole lot of production.”
KAEC’sGovernment Affairs team is continuing to monitor potential legislation for the 2018 regular session. Yet, the uncertainty about House leadership and the pending special session continue to absorb much of the attention in Frankfort.
