How will Kentucky pay for flood recovery? Beshear asks legislature to commit more money
Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear and members of his administration are asking the Republican-controlled state legislature for additional funding to address extensive damage from last month’s deadly floods.
At least 23 people died because of storms that struck Kentucky over Valentine’s Day weekend, and recovery efforts are expected to cost “hundreds of millions of dollars,” Beshear has said.
President Donald Trump approved a major disaster declaration for the state, with 11 counties eligible for FEMA aid. But Beshear and members of his administration say more financial relief is needed — and they’re looking to the General Assembly for help.
The House and Senate Appropriations and Revenue committees hosted a joint meeting Monday, where State Budget Director John Hicks testified on the status of flood recovery efforts alongside representatives from the Kentucky Emergency Management Center and Kentucky Transportation Cabinet.
Hicks said that while the damage is still being assessed, the administration feels “pretty certain” it will hit a $50 million cap on emergency spending, set by state lawmakers, and asked legislators to increase funding that’s appropriated in the state budget for natural disasters.
When the legislature passed last year’s biennial budget, it included a provision labeled as a Necessary Government Expense relating to responses to natural disasters and the activation of the Kentucky National Guard, which is limited to $50 million each year.
Hicks also proposed creating a State Aid for Emergencies, or SAFE, fund — similar to those set up in response to the 2021 tornadoes in Western Kentucky and 2022 floods in Eastern Kentucky.
Hicks said the fund be used for debris removal, county road and bridge repairs and water and sewer utilities.
He also pointed out that lawmakers could potentially move remaining funds set aside for damages from the 2022 floods, which struck the same region as this year’s floods.
“We set aside some funds to the Transportation Cabinet for repair of state roads and state bridges from the Eastern Kentucky flooding disaster,” Hicks said. “… They’ve got about $20 million that is unneeded, and we’d like to put that $20 million toward the state road and state bridge repair that is resulting from this disaster. So just directing it from that prior disaster to this one.”
Senate President Robert Stivers told reporters last week that the Senate met with Hicks and the Kentucky Emergency Management Center director, saying the conversations were “productive” and gave “quite a bit more insight and understanding.”
“I think what they showed us was probably a preliminary on what they had, but we understood what they were talking about,” Stivers said.
Meanwhile, House Speaker David Osborne told reporters last week that information about the flood damage “is just not adequate” because “people still don’t have a good grasp around what they’re dealing with.”
“We’re going to do the best we can before we leave here, knowing that you can’t get into a situation where you just start issuing blank checks,” Osborne said of passing legislation before the current session ends. “But at the same time, we need to make sure that every need is being addressed as closely as possible and just do the best we can and get the best information we can.”
Reporter Lucas Aulbach contributed to this report. Reach reporter Hannah Pinski at hpinski@courier-journal.com or follow her on X, formerly known as Twitter, at @hannahpinski.
This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Kentucky floods 2025: Legislature weighs options to fund recovery
