Kentucky lawmakers send more than $616 million to Louisville in finalized state budget

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Kentucky lawmakers passed two bills, House Bill 1 and House Bill 6, on Thursday addressing the state’s budget. More than $616 million in the new budget will make its way to Louisville, according to Mayor Craig Greenberg’s office.

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“From downtown revitalization to improvements for our parks, support for community and social services, cultural organizations, education and more, every area of our community will benefit from this historic funding,” Greenberg said. “By working together in a bipartisan way, we’re moving Louisville in a new direction toward a brighter future.”

Here’s where the money is going:

• Downtown Revitalization: $100 million for Metro Government to allocate funds to these projects: The Belvedere, Community Care Campus, Vacant Lot Revitalization, LOUMED Campus, Louisville Gardens and Butchertown Sports District.
• Parks and Library Improvements: $7 million for the Shawnee Outdoor Learning Center, $2.5 million for Jefferson Memorial Forest and $2 million for the Fern Creek Library.
• Community and Social Services: $20 million for KentuckianaWorks, $30 million for Home of the Innocents, $5 million for Harbor House and $3 million for the Goodwill West Louisville Opportunity Center.
• Cultural and Educational Organizations: $12 million for Kentucky Center for the Performing Arts, $5 million for the Kentucky College of Art and Design, $4.3 million for the Louisville Orchestra, $4 million for Waterfront Botanical Gardens, $1.5 million for Louisville Central Community Center’s Grand Lyric Theater and $400,000 for the Kentucky Science Center.
• Infrastructure: $5 million for the Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport and $1.5 million for Riverport.
• Early Learning: $410,000 to support Thrive By 5 Louisville, a nonprofit which will create a path to universal pre-K for every 3-and 4-year-old in the next few years.

Funding for UofL:

• $280 million to build the Health Sciences Simulation Center and Collaboration Hub in the LOUMED district.
• $25 million to create the Center for Rural Cancer Education and Research, a new cancer center in Bullitt County to expand treatment access for patients across the state.
• $10 million to support construction, renovation and operations of UofL’s cybersecurity program.
• $10.6 million for the Kentucky Manufacturing Extension Partnership.
• $1.5 million for the Refugee Law Services Clinic.
• $900,000 for the Rural Dental Outreach Program.
• $85 million to support asset preservation and renovation.

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