FRANKFURT, Ky.

Kentucky’s Democratic governor on Thursday presented sweeping budget proposals as “bold investments” to bolster the state’s competitiveness, calling for more spending on economic development, social services and his universal early education plan backed by the state.

With strong state tax collections fueling huge revenue surpluses, Gov. Andy Beshear said Kentucky should seize the opportunity to add nearly $2 billion for state education spending. kindergarten to 12th grade, increase the salary of state employees, prepare more industrial development sites and offer preschool for every 4 years.

“This is a budget that moves Kentucky forward not right or left but forward,” Beshear said hours before his budget speech to lawmakers. “This is a budget built on values ​​that we Kentuckians live by, while making bold investments to continue our record economic momentum.”

But the Democratic governor’s ambitious proposals could end up clashing with Republican plans to capitalize on excess revenue by revamping the state’s tax code. GOP lawmakers have supermajorities in the House and Senate and will have the final say on tax and spending issues.

House Republicans tabled their own budget bill last week that calls for less state spending than Beshear has proposed. And House Speaker David Osborne said this week that Kentucky has a “unique opportunity” to modernize its tax system, though he didn’t provide any specifics. During an appearance on Kentucky Educational Television, Osborne said the House plans to ramp up budget work to allow time to tackle the complexities of tax law during the 60-day session.

The governor said Thursday that an overhaul of the tax code was unnecessary and could be disruptive.

“When people launch something like tax reform, what they always say is that it’s our business climate that we need to improve.” Beshear said at a press conference. “We have just had the best year of economic development in our history.”

Last year, the Bluegrass State posted all-time highs for business investment and jobs created. Strong corporate income tax revenue in Kentucky shows businesses are thriving under the current tax code, Beshear said.

“A lot of the time when you win and win and win, you don’t change your offense,” Beshear said.

Osborne called it a clear “philosophical difference” on Thursday. He said the governor is committed to a “brand of tax and spending policy,” while House Republicans want to update tax laws to propel more growth by allowing Kentuckians to “keep more of their money.” hard earned”.

A governor’s budget speech traditionally begins budget work in a legislative session. This time, Beshear’s speech came after House Republicans broke with tradition to introduce their own state budget legislation without waiting for recommendations from the governor.

Caught off guard by the maneuver, Beshear responded by rolling out different parts of its spending plan this week. Osborne said lawmakers will “fully consider” the governor’s proposals.

A cornerstone of Beshear’s plan is to guarantee preschool learning for every 4-year-old in Kentucky, with the state fully funding the initiative. The cost – $172 million each year of the next biennium – would amount to a fraction of the state’s revenue surplus, he said.

Beshear’s plan calls for a larger increase than the House bill for base per-pupil funding under SEEK, the state’s primary K-12 education funding formula. The governor’s biennial budget would increase the amount to $4,300 in year one and $4,500 in year two. Under the House GOP plan, the amount would increase to $4,100 in the first year and $4,200 in the second. The current amount is $4,000.

To promote economic development, the governor said, his budget plan calls for the use of $250 million to develop a site identification and development program. The goal is to allow corporate recruiters across the state to tout more Kentucky locations that are “shovel-ready” for industry prospects. Kentucky turned one of those mega-sites into a huge boon last year, when Ford and a partner selected tiny Glendale, Kentucky, to build twin factories to produce batteries to power vehicles electrical.

Beshear said he was able to make all of his spending requests while setting aside more money for “rainy days.” He said his proposed budget would add another $250 million to state budget reserves.

The governor admitted he preferred the House Republican plan on at least one issue.

Beshear said Thursday that he supports the size of the salary increase proposed by the House GOP for state employees. The governor said his budget plan, developed before the GOP bill, called for a 5% increase. The Republican spending plan proposes a 6% increase.