Senate committee reconsiders and approves release of previously appropriated funds for Kentucky State University

The Senate committee voted to reconsider its earlier action and gave a favorable expression to House Joint Resolution 53, clearing the way for the release of previously appropriated design funds for a health sciences facility at Kentucky State University.

President Kofi Akapo, president of Kentucky State University, told the committee the university has made rapid improvements and asked members to approve reconsideration. "My name is Kofi Akapo, president of Kentucky State University. I just wanna thank you all for reconsidering this, resolution for KSU," he said. He told the committee that fall enrollment was up 30 percent and spring enrollment up 32 percent, and that in his first year he balanced the university budget and "put $5,000,000 in fund balance."

The move to reconsider passed and the committee then recorded a roll call on HJR 53. The chair announced the result as "there being 9 aye votes, 2 nay votes, the measure passes with favorable expression." The committee’s recorded outcome was a favorable expression; the committee did not announce further conditions in the record.

Why it matters: Committee members framed the vote as enabling the university’s capital planning while noting continued work remains. Chair McDaniel cast a recorded "no" vote while praising the president’s work; members who supported the measure said they expect the funds to be used for design of the health sciences/health services center and urged continued institutional progress.

Details and context: President Akapo said the university had been in a multi-year financial crisis before his arrival and that accreditation review teams visited campus in October. A committee member asked what the effect of the vote would be; the chair answered that the funds allocate money for the design of what he called the "health sciences center" or "health services center." The transcript does not record further specific dollar amounts tied to HJR 53 beyond previously appropriated funds, nor any subsequent conditional language attached to the committee’s favorable expression.

Action recorded: The committee passed a motion to reconsider its earlier vote on HJR 53; on the roll call that followed the committee recorded 9 ayes and 2 nays and adopted a favorable expression on the resolution.

What’s next: The committee’s favorable expression is a committee-level action. The transcript does not record the bill’s next procedural step or a floor date in this hearing.