FRANKFORT, Ky. (WDRB) -- Some Kentuckians are sounding the alarm on a Republican House budget plan they believe would hurt people all over the Commonwealth.
Concerns surround House Bill 500, which is the House Republicans' budget plan.
The bill aims to reevaluate and reduce unnecessary spending and programs that have outlived their purpose, but some believe it will do more harm than good.
"Other people in Louisville rely on that for transportation through Medicaid, doctors, providers. Some of the potential language in this bill could cut some of those services," said director of advocacy for the Center for Accessible Living in Louisville, David Allgood.
Allgood is against HB500 because he himself had Medicaid for 15 years and a lot of the people who he works with daily rely on the service.
"I'm all for preventing abuse of the system, but I don't want to go overreach and make sure we look at the big picture and the broad impacts it could have on the disability community," said Allgood.
Leaders with the Kentucky Center for Economic Policy are also speaking out against the bill.
"There's also a potential cut to health insurance that many state workers, school employees, retirees a spike in their health insurance cost that would really be unaffordable," said the center's executive director Jason Bailey.
They're also looking into how this would affect schools in the Commonwealth.
"School funding is an issue. K-12 school funding has really not kept up with inflation for about 20 years now and there are some potential cuts or freezing of funding yet again in K-12 schools," said Bailey.
State Representative Jason Petrie has been the spokesperson for the bill.
"We always have to fight spending that's out of control and that's what a major theme of this budget is going to be," said Petrie back in January when the bill was filed.
We got this statement from Petrie Wednesday:
“The committee substitute to HB 500 includes $31.5 billion in spending for core services and other state programs. It protects education, FRYSCs, Medicaid, juvenile justice, corrections, and veterans' services. However, it also reflects the need to take a close look at state spending and make sure every dollar serves Kentuckians well. That means trimming outdated COVID-era programs, eliminating duplicate grants and incentives, cutting unnecessary administrative costs and consulting contracts, and ending programs that lack measurable results. It also means recognizing when services can be delivered more efficiently by Kentucky families, businesses, and community organizations.”
The bill was most recently discussed at the House Appropriations and Revenue Committee meeting on February 25.
