Against the backdrop of a national and global economy “possibly as challenging as any” in recent memory, Gov. Steve Beshear today announced several steps his administration is taking to continue building Kentucky’s economy and ensure that basic services and financial institutions are protected.

During a wide-ranging briefing with reporters Thursday morning, Beshear said he is creating an Economic Action Team – composed of senior governmental officials – that will meet and report regularly on efforts to expand the economy, while also ensuring that banks, the housing markets and services such as health care coverage are maintained.

The Economic Action Team is one of several initiatives Beshear unveiled in response to the economic uncertainty that has gripped national and global markets in recent days.

“In Kentucky, we are not immune, obviously, from the tough times confronting the economy in the United States and across the globe,” Beshear said. “In fact, Kentucky’s economy – given our dependence on trade and the importing of jobs, industry and manufacturers – is tied to the rest of the world.”

Measures Beshear discussed today include:

· A one-stop-shop Web site that will be announced soon and will provide readily accessible links to Kentuckians to help them find resources such as health insurance and home mortgage information.

· State government executive branch full-time personnel numbers are already as low as they have been in nearly 20 years, but Beshear said additional savings and efficiencies may be necessary to meet basic needs.

· The creation of two task forces – regarding early childhood education and higher education – designed to continue to improve the “skill level and education of our workforce,” so that Kentucky will be well-positioned to compete as the economy turns around for the better, Beshear said .

· A special cabinet meeting next week where senior administration officials will begin compiling ideas and potential initiatives to help Kentuckians confront economic challenges.

Although Kentucky is not experiencing the severity of problems confronting states such as California and New York, Beshear said economic “storm clouds continue to gather over our economy.” General fund receipts fell by 4.6 percent in September compared to last year at this time. For the first quarter of the 2009 fiscal year, receipts have grown by only .9 percent. The enacted budget requires growth of 2.6 percent to meet budgeted needs.

At the same time, road fund receipts have decreased by 11.4 percent from September 2007 and have declined by 4.5 percent in the first quarter of this fiscal year.

Beshear said that, in the next few weeks, economic forecasters for the state will make projections for the rest of the fiscal year.

However, there are clear signs that Kentucky is fiscally well managed, Beshear said, citing the successful sale this week of nearly $400 million in bonds to finance a host of construction projects, including those at several universities, water and sewer projects and the indoor arena at the Kentucky Horse Park.

Beshear said the ability to get lenders to finance those bonds, even as other states were shelving such projects, is a testament to the state’s financial management as well as the willingness of state government to act boldly to stimulate the economy and create jobs.

The successful bond issue this week may lead the way for other states to move forward with bonding requests as well , a sign that important municipal credit markets may once again open up, Beshear said.

“I want to assure Kentuckians that we are doing everything possible to manage their government as efficiently as possible,” Beshear said. “We must act boldly to use the resources we have – and the experience we possess – to maximize the potential for job growth and investment in Kentucky. And we must – and we will – do more to ensure that Kentuckians are protected during these trying and uncertain times.”