FRANKFORT, Ky. — In Frankfort, Gov. Andy Beshear, D-Ky., delivered his fifth State of the Commonwealth address and first since winning reelection in November. The governor, in front of both the House and Senate, laid out his goals for this session and his second term and touted the successes of his first four years.

It was a familiar-sounding message from Beshear — putting politics aside for the better of Kentucky. Beshear’s biggest priorities remain the same for this budget; universal pre-K and raising public school employee wages by 11% as part of this session’s budget.

Beshear told the Republican majority and viewers at home that it’s long overdue for Kentucky teachers to get a raise. The governor stated Kentucky ranks 44th in starting teacher pay and 40th in average teacher pay.

“To support themselves and their two kids, Matthew and Jamie Oates are both working two jobs, our public-school employees deserve better than that,” Beshear said.

The governor said wages for school employees in Kentucky have fallen behind. He said border states like Tennessee gave teachers raises and Indiana looks to do the same soon.

“Folks, that’s our competition, not each other. We can choose to beat Indiana or beat up on each other. Our competition in the north and south are showing us the way,” Beshear said.

The Democratic governor also touted his accomplishments in rebuilding efforts in western and eastern Kentucky. Beshear pointed to hundreds of millions of dollars in state and federal funding that have helped rebuild homes, roads and bridges in both regions. But Beshear says more help is needed.

In his budget proposal, the governor added $75 million to the Eastern Kentucky Safe fund and $10 million to affordable housing trust fund.

“Our communities need these additional funds and with our record setting economy, we can and we should be there for them,” Beshear said.

Beshear also boasted about the state of Kentucky’s infrastructure, pointing to the Brent Spence Companion Bridge project, expanding the Mountain Parkway to four lanes and improvements along the I-69 corridor.

“To build this better, stronger, Kentucky I am also seeking $300 million to speed up the Mountain Parkway in the east and the I-69 river crossing in the west as well as $50 million to repair local bridges,” Beshear said.

Beshear also said the economy is stronger than ever with over 51,000 jobs created and nearly $29 billion in private investment.

He also called for additional funding for health care and mental health care needs. He also wants $35 million to provide body armor to law enforcement.

Prior to the governor’s address, Republican leaders from the senate and house outlined their goals for the 2024 legislative session.

Senate President Robert Stivers, R-Manchester, and Speaker of the House David Osborne, R-Prospect, said the biggest priority for this session is passing the state’s budget for the next two years.

Much like the governor, the two majority party leaders say education will be a priority for their respective chambers. However, Osborne said there is not much appetite for the governor’s plan of universal pre-k and mandated raises probably wouldn’t be included either.

“I believe those are decisions best made at the local level, but I do think that you’ll see us again contribute significant funding that local officials will have the ability to utilize that money and I certainly believe and hope that they will use that money to give teacher raises,” Osborne said.

Stivers and Osborne said there will be an emphasis on abortion and public safety in the legislation they hope to get passed this session. One of those bills includes the Safer Kentucky Act. It’s a 68-page bill that includes expanded criminal charges and a three strikes law.

Osborne said some revisions are still to be made to the act, but told reporters he expects the bill to be introduced in a few days.

Stivers said the Senate and House will work together on the budget, however the draft will be done in the House per the state’s constitution. Both men said they expect to have a larger rainy day fund than necessary.

“We want to continue to work to create the most competitive tax code because if you want to know why people want to locate here, it is because a lot of the things we’ve done related to the tax code and I give this as an example; why did one of the richest men in the United States, not the sole exclusive reason, but one reason he moved off the west coast to the east coast, because tax code and places that are going the fastest are those that can be competitive in that area,” Stivers said.

Osborne said the rainy-day fund should be exclusive to onetime funds and not recurring expenses.