Frankfort, KY (April 2, 2019)—HB 139, the bill seeking to establish the Kentucky Financial Empowerment Commission to bring greater financial empowerment to Kentuckians at no cost to taxpayers, is now law, according to a statement released by Kentucky State Treasurer Allison Ball’s Office.
Treasurer Allison Ball
“The Financial Empowerment Commission is an important step towards improving the financial empowerment of Kentuckians and I am proud to see it become law,” Treasurer Allison Ball said.
The bill received unanimous support in both the Kentucky State Senate and House of Representatives and was signed into law last week.
The Commission is an innovative method of addressing a very important problem facing Kentuckians. Tasked with developing and implementing plans to improve the financial literacy of Kentuckians, the Commission will also provide support to educators teaching financial literacy in Kentucky. The Commission will be a non-profit organization, and the next step is to establish its status as a 501c3. Thanks to a partnership Treasurer Ball reached with the Kentucky Credit Union League and Kentucky credit unions, the Commission will operate without use of taxpayer dollars.
“In a time where money is tight in Frankfort, I have been working hard to address problems looming over Kentucky at no cost to taxpayers,” Treasurer Ball said. “The financial support of Kentucky credit unions is vital to the success of the Commission. Thanks to their commitment to partner with us in addressing financial literacy issues, we are tackling this problem head on in a fiscally responsible way.”
The creation of Kentucky’s Financial Empowerment Commission is the newest element of Treasurer Ball’s persistent work to financially empower Kentuckians. Last year, she was an outspoken advocate of HB132, which made a financial literacy course or program a high school graduation requirement. She also launched Kentucky’s Financial Empowerment Coalition and Database last April, and was recently named Chair of the National Association of State Treasurer’s Financial Education and Empowerment Committee.