The chamber voted 28-8 to cap the state's debt at 6 percent of its general fund revenue. The bill exempts the state's road fund, specific state agency debt and it also provides an exemption in case the governor declares an emergency.
The bill had bipartisan support and dissent, with a handful of Republicans and Democrats voting against it. Republican Sen. Tom Buford of Nicholasville said it was hypocritical to vote for a debt limit and then vote to borrow about $130 million for a new cancer research building at the University of Kentucky, which the Senate is scheduled to do next week.
Republican Senate President Robert Stivers said the debt limit would prompt future lawmakers to consider things differently.
