Budget Review Subcommittee on Transportation
On Wednesday, the Budget Review Subcommittee on Transportation heard testimony from the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet (KYTC) on driver licensing regional offices and the Local Assistance Road Program (LARP).
Department of Vehicle Regulation Commissioner Matthew Cole and REAL ID Project Manager Sarah Jackson testified on KYTC’s efforts to expand capacity and improve service at driver licensing regional offices. Kentucky now operates 35 regional offices statewide, issuing approximately 1.3 million credentials annually. Commissioner Cole highlighted service improvements since April, with average walk-in wait times reduced from 49 to 25 minutes and appointment wait times reduced from 25 to 15 minutes. They also provided an update on REAL ID adoption, which has now reached 42.9% in Kentucky.
Department of Rural and Municipal Aid Commissioner Bobbi Jo Lewis updated members on the status of LARP funding requests for FY 2027. As of Sept. 12, 2025, counties and cities have submitted 275 project requests totaling $31.9 million. Counties must submit projects requests to the Department of Rural and Municipal Aid by Oct. 1, 2025. For more information on the application process, click here.
Budget Review Subcommittee on Justice and Judiciary
Also on Wednesday, the Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC) presented their preliminary 2026-28 budget needs before the Budget Review Subcommittee on Justice and Judiciary. The formal budget request will be submitted to legislators later in the fall.
AOC Executive Director Zach Ramsey led staff through key parts of the agency’s testimony. AOC is projecting a $13.5 million budget shortfall in their base budget and have requested a total of $341 million annually for court operations to maintain current services and cover this shortfall. This does not include an additional $9 million needed for flood damage remediation to Franklin and Hardin counties’ court facilities.
Additional items beyond this base request will require approximately $75 to 80 million more. Those items include:
- 15% salary increase, including Circuit Court Clerks, across the Judicial Branch to address pay inequities
- Technology improvements
- Necessary additional positions in clerks’ offices and statewide staff
- Local Facilities Fund requests:
- Add $2.66 million annually to the Local Facilities Fund base
- 10% annual increase in operating cost pass-throughs to counties
- Insurance coverage for courthouse paper records
- Temporary lease space for court operations in Boyle County
- Indirect rate model to compensate counties for managing facilities
AOC also provided capital construction budget requests for facilities in Spencer, Lincoln and Boyle Counties which have significant safety and structural issues.
Ramsey also provided an update on the new case management system (CMS) and e-filing platform that will replace outdated applications and standardize court processes statewide. AOC will start with pilot counties and full statewide implementation is targeted by 2030–31. You can review their power point here.
Consensus Forecasting Group
The Consensus Forecasting Group (CFG) met on Tuesday to make preliminary revenue estimates for the FY 2027-28 biennium and revise the FY 2026 official revenue estimate. The CFG is a statutorily-required group of citizens with economic expertise that operates independent of the state legislature. The General Assembly uses official estimates provided by this group to craft Kentucky’s biennial budget.
Projections show that general fund revenue in the current fiscal year (FY 2026) is expected to be $305 million less than the original estimate. The CFG revised the FY 2026 general fund official revenue estimate to $15.35 billion, an expected 2.3% decline in revenue compared to FY 2025 ($15.703 billion). The CFG also set preliminary estimates for FY 2027 and FY 2028 at $15.706 billion and $16.067 billion, respectively.
The CFG will meet again in December to revisit the FY 2026 estimate and set official revenue estimates for the FY 2027-28 biennium.
