Kenny Colston

Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear's agenda for the next legislative session is a mix of old and new priorities.  Beshear plans to work with leaders in both chambers on pension and tax reforms, but he’s unsure how much progress can be made during the 30-day session.

The governor also plans to renew his pushes for expanded gambling and several education initiatives.

“I want to pass the graduation bill if we can, very important to me, so there’s a number of issues like that that we’ll need to be addressing this year," says Beshear.

Advocates for raising the dropout age in Kentucky have a new hope heading into the next legislative session. Currently, Kentucky law allows 16-year-olds to dropout of school with parental permission. And education advocates have pushed to raise the minimum dropout age to 18.

Dropout bills have consistently failed in Frankfort, but advocates are emboldened this year now that former Senate President David Williams is no longer in the General Assembly.

But new Majority Floor Leader Damon Thayer says that doesn't mean the bill is a sure thing.

“Because there are legitimate policy concerns we have had with raising the dropout age to 18," the Georgetown Republican says.

Governor Steve Beshear's legislative priorities for the coming year are a mix of old and new.

With the next session’s first days weeks away, Gov. Beshear is ready to push some old initiatives and help lawmakers solve pressing issues like the state's flailing pensions.

Beshear says he will once again try to find enough votes to pass expanded gambling legislation. And he wants to raise the school dropout age to 18 as well. In addition to those old reforms, Beshear says he wants to work with lawmakers to address recent reports from task forces that studied pensions and tax reform.

With Kentucky actively setting up its health insurance exchange, the final piece of compliance with the Affordable Care Act is a decision on Medicaid expansion.  Kentucky is ahead of most of its neighbors in complying with the ACA.

The only major decision left for state officials is whether to expand Medicaid beyond the poverty line, which is optional.  The federal government will pay the full costs of an expansion for the first three years, and Governor Steve Beshear has been considering it.

“I’ll need to make that decision sometime in the first four of five months of next year," say Beshear.

After three years, the feds will pay 90% of the Medicaid expansion. Beshear says he’s weighing whether the state can afford that, though some studies have shown expansion can save states money in the long-term.

In the wake of last week's shooting death of 26 people at a Newtown, Conn., elementary school, Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear is joining a chorus of public officials who say a national debate on gun control and mental health is needed.

Beshear is typically friendly to the National Rifle Association -- and he wouldn't comment Thursday on specific proposals. But Beshear said Thursday that he's keeping an open mind about the gun control issue.

“And I think it says to all of us, whether you’re in public office or in the private sector, that we all ought to be open to looking and thinking about any and all options out there to protect our children,” he said.

The governor also says the issue must be discussed on a national level, because state-by-state regulations would have a weak effect.