KENTUCKY — During the recent extraordinary session of the Kentucky General Assembly in Sept. 2021, the state legislature approved a bill that appropriates $410 million to help lure a billion dollar economic development project to vacant property in Hardin County.

Senate Bill 5 easily passed the Senate with a 32-3, and then it cleared the House by a 91-2 vote. Gov. Andy Beshear signed SB 5 into law soon after the legislature sent it to his desk and he later called it a quote “game-changer” for the Commonwealth.

State Senator and Senate Majority Caucus Chair Julie Raque Adams of Louisville (R) was the primary sponsor of Senate bill 5.

During this In Focus Kentucky segment, Sen. Adams discusses the impact this investment from Ford Motor Company will have in Kentucky.

"Well you know, I agree with the Governor, this is transformational for our state. I mean, it really is a game changer. I think this just solidifies our dominance and in the region in the automotive industry. So it's really significant for our state. Back during the 2021 session, the Governor called several of us over to his office and had us sign a nondisclosure agreement, and basically said that we were in the running. We were one of the long list of people in the running for this opportunity. We didn't really have any details at that time. But then he continuously kept us and those who had signed a nondisclosure agreement up to date on the progress that we made. We made the next cut. We made the next cut, we made the next cut and so we knew the whole time. So right at very end, we clearly had to do the extraordinary session for COVID related matters, but the timing couldn't have been better for the Ford announcement because we were able to put in that economic development bill during the extraordinary session. And I think one of the most important things about that bill, is because we had so many COVID dollars that we used to pay for general fund expenditures during the pandemic. We had quite a well stocked rainy day fund. So what we did is, we front loaded those incentives that were currently on the books for Kentucky, we didn't pass any new legislation. We just front loaded that money that we had there in the rainy day fund. So the timing wise, money wise, opportunity wise, it was like a perfect fit. Everything just came together perfectly," explains Sen. Adams.