Kentucky’s fiscal health is in order, according to the latest report from the Office of State Budget Director with both Road Fund and General Fund dollars exceeding official estimates.

The Office of State Budget Director reported General Fund receipts for Fiscal Year 2024 (FY24) totaled $15.6 million, exceeding FY23 total revenue by $423 million, or 2.8 percent. General Fund revenues narrowly exceeded the revised, official revenue estimates by $16.8 million in FY24, the most accurate revenue forecast since Kentucky’s consensus forecasting process began in 1996. Final General Fund receipts were $1.4 billion more than the original estimate used when the FY24 budget was set in the 2022 legislative session. That estimate was revised in December 2023 and the General Assembly appropriated all of that forecasted revenue surplus to the Budget Reserve Trust Fund in the 2024 legislative session. This is the fourth consecutive year with a surplus over $1 billion.

Road Fund revenues totaled $1.8 billion or 6.9 percent greater than the FY23 total. Road Fund revenues narrowly differed from the revised, official FY24 Road Fund estimate, coming in $7.1 million less. The Road Fund receipts for FY24 were $195 million more than the original estimate used when the FY24 budget was set in the 2022 legislative session. That forecasted surplus was appropriated to the Biennial Highway Plan in the 2024 legislative session.

“The fiscal health of the Commonwealth is apparent when reviewing the FY24 final General Fund and Road Fund revenue totals,” State Budget Director John Hicks said. “Beyond the economic gains underlying the revenues, the emergence of investment income as a significant General Fund revenue source has occurred in a span of just two fiscal years: $300 million in FY24 and $150 million in FY23, due to higher investible balances and favorable rates of return. By way of comparison, for the ten-year period from FY13 until FY22, investment income averaged negative $2.4 million annually.”

Road Fund revenues for FY24 totaled $1.87 billion, an increase of 6.9 percent from the previous fiscal year. Total receipts were $121 million more than FY23 levels as all but two of the major accounts had increases. Both motor fuels and motor vehicle usage revenues were historic highs. Revenue growth was strong in all four quarters. Growth rates for the four quarters were 10.2 percent, 7.4 percent, 5.4 percent, and 5.8 percent, according to the Office of State Budget Director.