This week the Senate approved its version of HB 6, the proposed executive branch budget, and HB 1, a one-time investments bill.
Both bills also passed the Senate floor on Wednesday and will likely go to a conference committee where the House and Senate will negotiate the differences and produce a final budget to send to the Governor prior to the veto period set to begin March 29.
"We started by recognizing the great strides the House of Representatives made in House Bill 1," Sen. Chris McDaniel, chair of the Senate Appropriations and Revenue Committee, said in a news release. "We added to that by making strategic decisions on how to invest our resources to help areas in need, create a modern economy, and make our state a great place to live."
The Senate executive branch budget includes some funding changes from the House version, with the following impacts to counties:
- Statewide deployment of Next Generation 911 – the House provides $7.5 million in FY2026 while the Senate provides $5 million each fiscal year.
- Jail catastrophic medical fund – the House provides $851,800 each fiscal year while the Senate provides $1 million each fiscal year.
- Body Armor Grant Program – the House provides $20 million in FY2025 and $15 million in FY2026 while the Senate provides $5 million in FY2025 and $10 million in FY2026.
Commonwealth’s Attorneys
- Additional personnel – the House provides $5 million each fiscal year while the Senate provides $2.5 million each fiscal year.
- Rocket Docket – the House provides $3.4 million in FY2025 and $3.6 million in FY2026 while the Senate provides no funding in FY2025 and $1.4 million in FY2026.
County Attorneys
- Additional personnel – the House provides $5.5 million each fiscal year while the Senate provides $3.5 million each fiscal year.
- School resource officers – the House provides $16.5 million in FY2025 and $18 million in FY2026 while the Senate provides no funding.
- Rural Infrastructure Improvement Fund – the Senate provides $19.99 million for pole replacements while the House provides no funding for this program.
- Juror pay – the Senate provides an increase from $5 a day to $25 a day while the House did not include an increase in the budget bill. Note: there is a standalone bill in the House that would address juror pay (HB 176).
The Senate version also includes new language relating to county jails:
- Requires county jails to cooperate with the Department of Corrections to produce a report determining the cost to transfer and house pretrial defendants who are charged with a capital crime, capital crime with aggravators, Class A felony, or Class B felony sex offense to a state prison after the first 60 days of incarceration in a county jail, by offense. The report is required to be submitted to Interim Joint Committee on Appropriations and Revenue by Oct. 1, 2025.
- Requires county jails to use video arraignment systems when available and if county jails do not use video arraignment systems when available they will be responsible for the costs associated with transporting prisoners to and from arraignments.
The Senate also added additional one-time funding to HB 1.
The one-time investments will be funded out of the Budget Reserve Trust Fund (also referred to as the Rainy Day Fund). The House version included $1.84 billion in one-time investments, while the Senate version includes $3.62 billion in one-time investments. The Senate version retained all funding provided in the House version, including $450 million ($175 million in FY2024 and $275 million in FY2025) for the Government Resources Accelerating Needed Transformation (GRANT) Program, also referred to as the HB 9 program that passed during the 2023 legislative session.
Some of the additional funding provided by the Senate includes $445 million each fiscal year to the Department of Highways for the state supported construction program in high growth counties and $74.7 million in FY2025 for a thirteenth check for KERS and state police retirees.
