The Kentucky state Senate passed a bill Friday that would end guaranteed pensions for new state and local government employees. The Lexington Herald-Leader reports that the bill was designed to address the public pension funds' growing liability. The paper reports:

Kentucky needs to stay ahead of the multibillion-dollar pension liability problem that is forcing tax hikes and painful spending reductions in other states, said Republican senators backing the bill. "It is just not affordable to go forward with our current plan, for state government or for local governments," Sen. Damon Thayer, R-Georgetown, told his colleagues.

From a fairness perspective, taxpayers in the private sector struggle with layoffs, stagnant wages and benefits cuts, yet they're expected to support generous public pensions far better than anything they will get to enjoy, he said.

The Republican-controlled Senate voted 24-13, along party lines, to send Senate Bill 2 to the Democratic-led House, where its future appears grim.