Gov. Andy Beshear signed a bill into law that sets up a new state aid fund for Kentucky communities affected by recent floods, though he has said the bill “isn’t enough.”
House Bill 544, which received final passage in the General Assembly Friday with bipartisan support, establishes a new SAFE fund, or State Aid for Emergencies, to respond to widespread mid-February floods. The bill does not appropriate new dollars to respond to the floods.
Kentucky previously started SAFE funds after floods in Eastern Kentucky and tornadoes in Western Kentucky.
Beshear said in a video shared on social media Sunday that he was “grateful” the legislature passed a new SAFE fund on the final day of the 2025 legislative session. The governor said the legislation “is going to help communities, cities and counties” affected by the floods, which took 24 lives.
“After all or any of these natural disasters, the families that are impacted deserve our very best,” Beshear said. “They deserve that promise that we’re going to rebuild every structure and every life.”
Under the legislation, $48 million will be transferred from the previous SAFE funds to the new one created by the bill. With a Senate addition, the bill also allows $100 million to be spent on flood aid from the current state budget on governor-declared emergencies, instead of the $50 million limit per fiscal year set by the legislature last year. Beshear said in February that the $50 million cap for the current fiscal year already had been reached.
When asked about the legislation before the veto period began in March, Beshear told reporters that the bill was “a little bit better from where it originally was” as it would allow funds allocated for next fiscal year to be used now. However, he said, that could be a problem for future natural disasters in Kentucky if funding is still limited. Beshear said that “while the bill isn’t nearly enough, I’ll sign it.”
In a Monday statement, Sen. Chris McDaniel, R-Ryland Heights, praised his fellow senators for taking “strong bill and made it even stronger, doubling the immediate resources available for flood recovery and future disasters.” McDaniel is the chair of the Senate’s Appropriations and Revenue Committee and said the changes to the House bill ensures “relief gets to where it’s needed while maintaining accountability.”
“With this bill, we’re making sure communities in crisis get the help they need—faster and with greater certainty,” McDaniel said.
In other flood-related legislation that was filed this session, Beshear allowed a bill to become law without his signature that gives Kentucky public school districts options to make up or waive days lost to bad winter weather and floods. The Senate added protections for a controversial online school from enrollment caps imposed by state education officials.
Additionally, the Senate passed a resolution that would have created a task force that would review how the state could become better prepared for natural disasters. However, the legislation did not move in the House.
This article is republished under a Creative Commons license from Kentucky Lantern, which is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Kentucky Lantern maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Jamie Lucke for questions: info@kentuckylantern.com. Follow Kentucky Lantern on Facebook and Twitter.
McKenna Horsley covers state politics for the Kentucky Lantern. She previously worked for newspapers in Huntington, West Virginia, and Frankfort, Kentucky. She is from northeastern Kentucky.
