The 2020 legislative session is a pivotal one for Kentucky. The fiscal outlook of the state remains grim, jails remain overcrowded, and students are still denied educational opportunities.

In 2020, Pegasus Institute’s legislative agenda is focused on three major areas—local tax reform, reducing jail crowding, and creating a permanent funding mechanism for Jefferson County Charter Schools.

In 2018, Kentucky began reforming its tax code. Those reforms—created by Pegasus Institute researchers—reduced personal and corporate income tax rates and focused on making the state tax structure more competitive. The next step in this process is doing the same with local governments, who currently rely too heavily on production side taxes to raise revenue.

With an eye towards public safety, Pegasus will also work this session to safely reduce county jail populations by reducing the pipeline into jail and reducing recidivism. Pegasus research has driven much of this conversation for the past two years and will continue to do so this session.

Finally, Kentucky remains one of only a handful of states without charter schools. Though Kentucky passed a charter law in 2017, that law lacked a permanent funding mechanism. Pegasus is committed to changing that this session.