Kentucky lawmakers got a briefing on state revenue collections announced earlier this month. The state started the new fiscal year with a healthy four-point-four percent increase in tax collections. The growth rate needed to balance the budget is four-point-two percent. Budget analyst Greg Harkenrider says the Road Fund is also showing robust growth. “The Road Fund has taken its hits over the last three or four years. But it’s now starting to get some revenge, because the last three quarters have been positive, and this first quarter was up resoundingly positive,” he said. Harkenrider says Kentucky appears to be emerging from the recession, but cautions it may be 2012 or 2013 before the state returns to peak employment levels seen before the downturn.
Rick Howlett was midday host and the host of LPM's weekly talk show, "In Conversation." He was with LPM from 2001-2023 and held many different titles, including Morning Edition host, Assignment Editor and Interim News Director. He died in August 2023. Read a remembrance of Rick here.
