Kentucky lawmakers reach deal on state budget at 2:45 a.m.

Lexington Herald Leader: Kentucky House and Senate leaders produced a two-year, $21 billion spending plan for the state early Thursday morning that cuts university and college budgets by 4.5 percent over the next two years and provides more than $1 billion to cash-strapped public pension programs.

Most state agencies get cut by 9 percent over the next two years, as Gov. Matt Bevin requested, but the plan funds a new scholarship program for students seeking two-year college degrees and creates a path forward for a long-awaited $250 million expansion of the Lexington Convention Center.

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