The Kentucky House has passed a bill that would allow the University of Kentucky to use $132.5 million of taxpayer money to build a new cancer research building. The measure cleared the House on an 83-9 vote Friday.
The bill now goes to the Senate. Senate President Robert Stivers has endorsed the bill.
UK President Eli Capilouto has said the school has run out of quality space for researchers at its Markey Cancer Center in a state with one of the highest cancer rates in the country.
Kentucky lawmakers approved the state's $9.6 billion spending plan last year, and it is unusual for lawmakers to vote to amend that plan in a non-budget year.
