Government

All Democrats voted against the proposal and were joined by nine Republicans. The bill could pass out of the Senate by Wednesday, Republican leaders said.

House Bill 1 would allow regional universities and "quasi" state agencies to avoid a massive spike in pension costs and incentivize them to freeze pension benefits for their employees and move them into 401k-type retirement plans.

The attorney general charges that the governor's proclamation calling lawmakers into special session is too narrowly drawn and doesn't allow the General Assembly to consider alternate proposals for dealing with the pension crisis.

Political rhetoric has gotten "way overheated all across the political spectrum," the Kentucky Republican said.

The city had expected to spend $1.4 million in reserve funds to balance the budget but the deficit was much less.

As a candidate in 2015, Bevin initially said he would abolish the expansion, then said he would request a waiver of federal Medicaid rules so beneficiaries would have "skin in the game" through premiums, co-payments, deductibles or health savings accounts. After he was elected, he added "community engagement" requirements including work, but those have been blocked in federal court.

The Kentucky Sports Radio host says he hasn't decided if he'll get in the 2020 Senate race.

The governor touted Kentucky's low unemployment rate and investments made by businesses.

The session would deal with massive increases in pension costs to regional universities, health departments and others.

One improvement project on East Sixth Street is moving ahead and will create new free parking downtown, but another project in the same block has been delayed indefinitely out of concerns about the potential for loitering and vagrancy.

Proponents of raising the legal age to buy tobacco to 21 say McConnell's bill doesn't go far enough but add it could be the opening bid to change.

Gov. Matt Bevin and his Democratic challengers, Attorney General Andy Beshear, will share the stage Aug. 3 at Fancy Farm.