LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Gov. Andy Beshear said he expects to call a "short, targeted" special session this year so lawmakers can address a revenue shortfall in the road construction budget.
The Consensus Forecasting Group determined Friday that the state's general fund will shrink by $457.6 million given the economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.
That represents about a 4% cut, and Beshear said he will ask state agencies to trim their current budgets as a result. Constitutional officers will also be asked to cut their budgets accordingly, he said.
Expected revenue shortfalls in the road fund are expected to be greater than 5%, meaning Beshear will need to call lawmakers back to Frankfort to cut that budget.
"We'll have to be talking to our legislative leaders about a short, targeted special session," he said. "It's mainly about adjusting the overall number in that budget. With a couple of months left, there's not much else you could do inside of it."
Without federal aid, Beshear said the pandemic will "devastate" the budgets of states and local governments throughout the U.S.
Beshear and Secretary of State Michael Adams also reminded voters that they can cast absentee ballots in the June 23 primary during the pandemic.
Absentee ballots can be requested through county clerks or online at govoteky.com.
Adams said clerks will match signatures from applications with those on absentee ballots' envelopes to verify voters' identities.
"We'll have a process in place to notify voters if there's a mismatch," he said. Usually it's innocent, but not always."
Five more Kentuckians who fell ill with COVID-19 have died, Beshear said Friday.
In all, 391 Kentuckians who tested positive for COVID-19 have died since the pandemic began.
Beshear identified 141 new COVID-19 cases Friday, putting the state's total at 8,426.
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