FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) - The Latest on Gov. Matt Bevin’s State of the Commonwealth address (all times local):
8 p.m.
Republican Gov. Matt Bevin said some people will have to pay more under a proposal to overhaul the state’s tax code.
Bevin said during his annual State of the Commonwealth Address that he will call a special session of the state legislature later this year to change how the state collects taxes. Bevin said the proposal will not be “tax neutral.” He said the state needs more money to pay off its public pension debt, which he estimated to be more than $80 billion.
Bevin also vowed to bring charter schools to Kentucky, reward publicly funded colleges and universities for turning out more graduates for engineering and manufacturing jobs and appoint a “czar” to oversee the state’s foster care and adoption system. Bevin, who has four adopted children, said he wants Kentucky’s foster care and adoption system to be a model for the nation.
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3:50 p.m.
Republican Gov. Matt Bevin says Kentucky is in a position to lead the nation from “a moral and a spiritual perspective that is desperately needed.”
Bevin’s comments came Wednesday during a massive “Rally for Life” in the state Capitol rotunda and just hours before he was set to deliver his annual State of the Commonwealth address. Hundreds of people packed the rotunda to watch Bevin ceremonially sign two bills that ban abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy and require a woman to have an ultrasound before an abortion.
Bevin asked the crowd to applaud state lawmakers for passing the bills, one of which has been challenged in court by the American Civil Liberties Union.
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4:45 a.m.
Republican Gov. Matt Bevin is preparing to deliver his State of the Commonwealth address.
Bevin is scheduled to speak to a joint session of the state House and Senate on Wednesday beginning at 7 p.m. EST. KET will broadcast the speech live.
This will be Bevin’s second address to a joint session of the General Assembly. Bevin, who took office in December 2015, spoke to lawmakers last year when he unveiled his budget proposal. But it will be his first speech since Republicans took control of the House of Representatives.
Republican House Speaker Jeff Hoover said he hopes Bevin will focus on “all of the positive things that are going on.”
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