FRANKFORT, KY (Feb. 11, 2022) — A busy week in Frankfort concluded Friday with the Kentucky House of Representatives advancing a bill that will give most Kentucky State Police troopers raises.
House Bill 259 was approved by an 87-2 vote. The measure would permanently codify the salary increases allocated in House Bill 1, the proposed executive branch budget, for state police troopers and commercial vehicle enforcement officers.
Primary sponsor Rep. Scott Lewis, R-Hartford, said the bill ensures a $15,000 pay increase for troopers ranked below sergeant and a 10% pay raise for troopers ranked at and above sergeant.
“House Bill 1 and House Bill 259 would increase the starting pay of KSP troopers from the current $40,898 per year to $55,888 per year, making KSP the top five law enforcement agency when compared to other departments across our Commonwealth,” Lewis said.
Rep. Chris Fugate, R-Chavies, a retired KSP trooper, is also a co-sponsor of the bill. He said HB 259 would be “life changing” for troopers and the agency.
“We are allowed to have 1,150 troopers, and we are all the way down to 750,” Fugate said. “This will help in recruitment and retention.”
Rep. Susan Westrom, D-Lexington, said HB 259 is a “wonderful” bill, but she would like to see raises for teachers, social workers and judicial branch staff.
“If we can find the dollars for this, I hope we can find the dollars for them,” Westrom said.
Rep. Jim DuPlessis, R-Elizabethtown, also spoke on the House floor in favor of HB 259 while advocating for a different group of state employees to receive a raise: the state police officers who protect the state Capitol building.
“The state troopers who protect this Capitol are not part of this, and I like to think that maybe we can add them down at the Senate and bring it back here to have them get a raise as well,” DuPlessis said.
HB 259 will now go before the Senate for consideration.
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