The budget proposal passed by Kentucky’s House budget committee on Tuesday would restore all funds cut from state universities by Gov. Matt Bevin’s budget.

The Appropriations and Revenue Committee voted to send the budget bill to the House floor where it is expected to be approved by the Democrat-led House on Wednesday.

The bill, House Bill 303, maintains some of Bevin’s proposed budget cuts; however, it also seeks to restore some cuts, including those to state funding for universities.

“I think this budget proposal goes a long way in many parts to advance and enhance Kentucky’s investment in its future and allows us to continue the momentum that we realized over the last number of years in education, which is so important to our future,” Rep. Tommy Thompson said during the bill’s presentation.

I think this budget proposal goes a long way in many parts to advance and enhance Kentucky’s investment in its future and allows us to continue the momentum that we realized over the last number of years in education, which is so important to our future

Bevin’s budget proposal called for a 4.5 percent cut to universities’ budgets by June 30. It also proposed a 9 percent cut that would affect the universities’ budgets for the next two years.

I think this budget proposal goes a long way in many parts to advance and enhance Kentucky’s investment in its future and allows us to continue the momentum that we realized over the last number of years in education, which is so important to our future

In addition to increasing university funding, House Bill 303 also removes any plans for performance-based metrics. In his budget, Bevin suggested that performance-based metrics be used to determine the amount of state funding each university would receive.

Rep. Rich Rand praised the bill for emphasizing the importance of education.

“It was my hope that we could accomplish a few goals with this House budget and the goals I believe this budget will meet, and they are invest in education, and this budget will invest in education heavily,” Rand said during his introduction of the bill.

The bill, which was sponsored by the Democrats, passed despite a majority of Republicans choosing to pass on voting.

Republicans who abstained from voting expressed concern that they had not been given sufficient time to review the 211-page document. Despite this, many of them still praised the bill.

Rep. Steven Rudy, Republican, said the bill shared many similarities with the budget drawn up by his party.

“It looks like something the minority could live with,” Rudy said.

In addition to restoring university funding, the bill also prohibits the Council on Postsecondary Education from cutting funding for students studying veterinary medicine and optometry. A loss of funding would reduce the number of students who could study those topics.

The bill will be presented to the entire House of Representatives on Wednesday and will be passed to the Senate if approved.