Republican lawmakers tout Louisville projects approved by General Assembly

(The Center Square) – Two top Kentucky Republican state lawmakers said they wanted to send a clear message about Louisville.

Speaking at an event Tuesday in the state’s largest city, they reiterated Louisville was not excluded from the recently enacted state budget nor was it a target for vindictive legislation during the recently concluded General Assembly session.

Senate President Robert Stivers, R-Manchester, and Senate Majority Caucus Chair Julie Raque Adams, R-Louisville, held a press conference at Greater Louisville Inc., the regional chamber of commerce, to discuss some projects and bills the GOP-led General Assembly approved for Louisville this year.

Much of that funding will go toward the University of Louisville. Kentucky’s second-largest public university will get $82 million to maintain its facilities across its campuses. That includes work that needed to be deferred due to COVID-19.

The state’s also providing $65 million for a new building at UofL’s J.B. Speed School of Engineering. The school’s also getting $10 million toward “Bucks for Brains,” a state program to match private donations for research initiatives.

Norton Healthcare will receive $6 million for a pediatric center to deal with child abuse issues. Maryhurst, a local nonprofit, will get $3 million to help young girls who have suffered traumatic abuse. Another $2.5 million will go to UofL for pediatric cancer research.

“The Senate was committed to investing in areas where progress is desperately needed, most notably in Kentucky’s children,” Raque Adams said.

Elsewhere, there are plans for long-term property improvements at the Kentucky Exposition Center, the state’s fairgrounds facility and the sixth largest convention center in the country.

Stivers said there are millions of dollars of marketing dollars for tourism promotion as well. The hope is that the state’s largest city becomes a hub for the Bourbon Trail, which consists of several distilleries across the state and has become popular with tourists in recent years.

Louisville, Stivers said, provides opportunities and services in such sectors as health care and recreation for people outside of the metropolitan area. It also serves as the front door for many people who visit the state.

“That’s what Louisville has,” he said. “It goes beyond the geographic boundaries of Jefferson County. It has a statewide mission, and we have to make sure it stays strong for the whole state.”

While there was significant investment in economic development projects in what many call the state’s “the economic engine,” some felt Republican lawmakers passed bills that would hinder the Democratic-majority government in Louisville. Among the bills passed included one that would restrict the city’s mayor to just two terms and another that would allow additional small cities to be established. Some critics say that would weaken the merged city-county government that has been operating for two decades.

However, Raque Adams, a former Metro Councilwoman, told reporters many of the policies lawmakers enacted were agreed upon by Republican and Democratic Metro Council members.

Besides the Louisville-specific issues, GLI President and CEO Sarah Davasher-Wisdom said there were other policies the legislature approved that the group believes will help the Louisville area grow.

That included the income tax reduction initiative that could eventually lead to Kentucky completely doing away with the personal income tax in a matter of years.

“We as the business community greatly appreciate the General Assembly making pro-growth tax reform a priority,” she said.

Disclaimer: This content is distributed by The Center Square