LINK nky invited our local legislators to share their priorities for the 2025 legislative session, which began Jan. 7 and concludes March 29. Mike Clines, a Republican from Alexandria, represents House District 68.
With the start of a new year comes the start of a new legislative session. I, along with my colleagues in the General Assembly, have been preparing for the 2025 Regular Session throughout the Interim by attending committee and task force meetings and hearing from stakeholders about some of the most pressing issues facing the Commonwealth.
During the 2025 Regular Session, one of my top legislative priorities is lowering the state’s individual income tax. The General Assembly has already successfully lowered the individual income tax from 6% in 2017 to 4% in 2024. We have also met the necessary conditions to further reduce the individual income tax to 3.5% in January of 2026. Earlier this month, my colleagues in the House and I voted on HB 1, a measure aimed at achieving this reduction, which cleared the House and will move to the Senate for consideration. I am pleased that HB 1 was both the first bill the House passed and the first bill I cast a vote on during the 2025 Regular Session. Our ability to do so is a result of fiscal responsibility and the legislature’s commitment to strengthening state revenue policies, including efforts to place a historic level of funding in the state’s budget reserve. As a result, more than a billion dollars have stayed in the pockets of Kentuckians, helping provide relief to our citizens struggling with inflation. Simultaneously, we have been able to provide record funding to K-12 public schools, which leads me to my second legislative priority of further strengthening and supporting our education system.
As a former professional educator, I recognize the foundational role that education plays in a young person’s life and how it shapes both the next generation and future of our Commonwealth. During this upcoming legislative session, I will have the privilege of serving as Vice Chair of the newly formed Primary and Secondary House Education Committee. We’re going to focus on getting more resources into classrooms and building upon the work we’ve already done to support our educators and students. Thus far, we’ve been able to provide historic funding for K-12 public schools and have implemented policies to support educators, recruit and retain teachers, and empower parents.
Another one of my top legislative priorities is exploring ways to address Kentucky’s housing shortage. During the Interim, I had the honor of serving on the Housing Task Force, which examined access and availability of housing in our state. After hearing from stakeholders about the factors impacting the availability of housing in Kentucky, we received several recommendations on how to address the housing shortage moving forward, which we will consider implementing during this upcoming legislative session. One specific recommendation we will further examine is how to modernize state regulations for today’s housing market.
Additionally, some of the legislation I intend to file includes phasing out the state property tax on vehicles over a nine-year period, allowing the insurance regulatory sandbox program to accept applications through December 31, 2030, instead of sunsetting, and creating a drug-free zone around hospitals. Under this measure, a person who unlawfully traffics in a controlled substance classified in Schedules I, II, III, IV or V, or a controlled substance analogue in a hospital, or on any premises located within 1,000 feet of any hospital would be guilty of a Class D felony, unless a more severe penalty would apply.
In the end, our overarching goal, as lawmakers, is to implement policies that will support our constituents and make Kentucky the best place to live, work, and raise a family.