Tuesday will be day 47 of the 60-day legislative session. The session was cancelled for Friday and Monday due to the COVID-19 virus. Changes have been made to lessen the crowds and visitors in meeting rooms and the gallery.
The biennial budget is the one bill that must pass both chambers by April 15. No decisions have been made yet to determine if legislators will continue to meet for these last 14 days.
Construction projects and the employment of our members will surely be impacted more as this crisis unfolds. With Kentucky’s unemployment rate below 4 percent just a couple of weeks ago, no one expected unemployment insurance to be a major concern in 2020.
In the 2018 and 2019 legislative sessions, we were able to beat back dramatic reductions in the unemployment benefits our members rely upon during downturns. Our neighboring states were held as the goal to match. In 2018, there was a proposal to drop the 26-week limit to 16 weeks. In 2019, there was a move to drop the 26-week limit to 20 weeks with steep reductions in the maximum weekly benefit. Collectively, we were able to defeat these measures.
Kentucky’s maximum weekly unemployment benefit rate is $552. Tennessee’s maximum weekly rate is $275 and Indiana’s rate is $390.
I would like to thank several groups that were instrumental in research, testimony and contacting legislators to stop these UI cuts. The Kentucky State AFL-CIO, Kentucky Center for Economic Policy, Kentucky Equal Justice Center, numerous other allies and the affiliates of Kentucky’s Building Trades unions were each critical to defeat these bills. These benefits will be important to our families as we weather this unprecedented time.
Please stay safe!
Bill Finn
State Director
Kentucky State Building and Construction Trades Council