Wasted In Frankfort: KYFREE flags $294.1 million in state spending
2026 analysis targets seven programs, from Kentucky Wired to a $17 million bank payout tied to a failed battery-plant deal
The Kentucky Forum for Rights, Economics & Education (KYFREE) released its first-ever “Wasted In Frankfort” spending analysis today. Seven state-funded programs totaling $294.1 million have been put under the microscope, ranging from the well-known Kentucky Wired broadband fiasco to a state loan necessitated by a failed economic development deal in Hopkinsville.
“These seven programs share a pattern: big promises, weak oversight and taxpayers left holding the bill,” stated Andrew McNeill, KYFREE’s President and Senior Policy Fellow. “Each one deserves hard questions from the General Assembly before another dollar goes out the door.”
The seven programs on the inaugural list are:
- Kentucky Wired $81.8 million
- Kentucky Science & Technology Corporation $77.7 million
- Kentucky Entertainment Incentive Program $75 million
- Center for Rural Development’s Dark Fiber Lease $35.2 million
- The Planters Bank Payout $17 million
- Dataseam $6 million
- Teach For America $1.4 million
Kentucky Wired began as a plan for an eastern Kentucky “I-Way.” It grew into a statewide fiber-optic network, promising high-speed internet access for rural Kentuckians. Hundreds of millions of dollars have been wasted. It is almost certainly the biggest waste of public money in Kentucky’s history: a fiber-optic “bridge to nowhere.”
The Kentucky Science and Technology Corporation (KSTC), a Lexington-based private nonprofit, has received hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars to grow new tech businesses in the state. In the last two years alone, it held state contracts worth more than $77 million. KSTC would say things are going well. However, a 2026 University of Kentucky report found Kentucky still lags most states in high-tech businesses. Lawmakers should demand an independent review of what taxpayers are getting back, especially in new tech jobs and new companies.
Kentucky’s film subsidy program carries a $75 million annual cap, paying out cash with little to show as a return on the investment. One example: the state paid $2.9 million for a film that earned just $564,000 in ticket sales. In addition, the film council that approves subsidies includes studio owners that are benefiting from the subsidies the group approves.
The analysis also shines a light on a $17 million interest-free state loan that paid off Planters Bank in Hopkinsville after the Ascend Elements battery plant went belly up.
It covers Dataseam, whose no-bid contracts and high overhead drew criticism in an earlier state audit, and Teach For America, a program whose lobbyists get the General Assembly to keep funding while other school districts across the nation have ended contracts with due to poor teacher retention and lack of preparation for the classroom.
“Lawmakers can’t fix what they can’t see,” stated McNeill. “It’s time for the General Assembly to demand independent reviews and competitive bidding, and to end funding where the results don’t justify the cost.” READ FULL SPENDING REPORT
