The House committee charged with overseeing the budget has taken its first official steps in the process. The House Appropriations and Revenue Committee took reports from subcommittees and accepted their recommendations at a meeting today. The House plan deviates slightly from Governor Steve Beshear’s proposal. It delays the start of substance abuse programs in Medicaid and the creation of an Adult Abuse registry, saving more than two million dollars in the process.
Lawmakers have reached a compromise on a proposal to create more educational opportunities in eastern Kentucky. House Speaker Greg Stumbo has been advocating to move the University of Pikeville into the state university system. But that proposal doesn’t currently have the support to become reality, which forces supporters to adopt a compromise.
The House committee charged with overseeing the budget has taken its first official steps in the process. The House Appropriations and Revenue Committee took reports from subcommittees and accepted their recommendations at a meeting today. The House plan deviates slightly from Governor Steve Beshear’s proposal. It delays the start of substance abuse programs in Medicaid and the creation of an Adult Abuse registry, saving more than two million dollars in the process.
One Central Kentucky lawmaker is spearheading an effort to create a middle school athletic association in Kentucky. State representative Bob Damron is the sponsor of House Concurrent Resolution 155, which holds the force of law if passed. The resolution would require the Legislative Research Commission to start a task force on middle school athletics. Damron says a new athletic association is needed so as to not add pressure to already-established entities, like the Kentucky High School Athletic Association.
A bill regulating the amount of certain cold medicines consumers can buy over the counter has passed the State Senate. The bill is intended to crack down on meth users, who use cold medicine to make the illegal drug. Senate Bill 3 passed after an amendment raised the monthly pseudoephedrine allotment to seven point two grams per month—or the equivalent of two boxes of medicine. Previously the bill had been prescription only, then limited over-the-counter purchase to three point six grams a month.
A bill dealing with pseudoephedrine usage could be in trouble for the second straight legislative session. Supporters of restricting PSE use thought they had a compromise. Previous bills have attempted to make the drug available by prescription only. The latest measure would allow the drug to remain over the counter but limits consumers to three point six grams per month and fifteen grams per year. The bill gained an extra vote in committee today to send it to the Senate floor.
A supposed compromise on a bill aimed at cracking down on meth production in Kentucky is once again making its way through the state Senate. The bill passed committee quickly this morning. The bill’s sponsor, Senator Robert Stivers, says the bill could be voted on the Senate floor as soon as this afternoon. The compromise will allow pseudoephedrine—a key ingredient in meth—to continue to be bought over the counter, but will limit consumers to only three point six grams, which is equivalent to one box of cold medicine, a month.
For the first time in Kentucky, a legislative committee is considering a move to abolish the death penalty. The bill received a hearing in a Senate committee today. Senate Bill 63 would abolish capital punishment in the commonwealth, a move few other states have accomplished by statute.
The Kentucky House Judiciary Committee has overwhelmingly passed two bills to overhaul the state’s fight against drugs. One bill deals with synthetic drugs. It would ban the manufacture of any drug that simulates an illegal substance or that contains certain chemical compounds.
State Auditor Adam Edelen has released ten recommendations for a more efficient Medicaid Managed Care system in Kentucky. For weeks, the MCOs, lawmakers, health care providers and patients have tussled over the new system, which was implemented quickly to plug a budget gap.
A deal to help Kentucky repay a federal loan is officially on the table. During the recession, the commonwealth borrowed more than $900 million from the federal government to shore up the unemployment insurance fund. In 2010, the General Assembly approved a plan to repay the debt over time. But when that measure passed, lawmakers and the governor believed the federal government would defer interest payments. That didn’t happen, and the state was left on the hook for millions of dollars in interest. If Kentucky doesn’t make the interest payments, employers will face government fees and the loss of federal tax credits on unemployment insurance.
Proposals to allow the Amish to use reflective tape on their buggies instead of state-mandated orange triangles have passed both Kentucky legislative chambers. The House voted today in favor of a bill that requires the Amish to put 200 inches of red tape on their buggies. The bill passed overwhelmingly, 90-9, despite objections from lawmakers in areas where the bill would matter the most. Among the no votes was Representative Martha Jane King of Logan County.
A bill creating an alternative diploma for special needs students in Kentucky is just a signature away from becoming law. Senator Dennis Parrett's bill soared through the General Assembly. It passed the state Senate 36-0 last week and cleared the House 100-0 Tuesday.
Governor Steve Beshear says he won’t back down on efforts to bring casino gambling to Kentucky, despite another defeat on the issue last week. Since his first term as governor in 2007, Beshear has made expanding gambling his main priority. This year, he attempted to pass a constitutional amendment dealing with the issue through the state Senate. The bill fell seven votes short of passage in a vote that critics say should be the end of the issue.
Kentucky Tea Party groups are joining others around the country in complaining about inquiries from the Internal Revenue Service. Many of the groups are not-for-profit 501(c)(4)s. Such organizations may engage in elections and political campaigns, but the activities must primarily promote social welfare. The IRS has sent several groups questionnaires about their activities. The surveys ask about the groups’ fundraising activities, political rallies and candidate endorsements.
Kentucky lawmakers are doubling down on efforts to fight synthetic drugs. Synthetic drugs are chemically-altered substances meant to simulate other drugs. House Bill 481 would drastically increase penalties for crimes related to synthetic drugs. The measure is the General Assembly’s latest attempt to catch up with increasingly-popular methods of getting high.
Several healthcare groups have come together in a public-private partnership to fight cancer in Kentucky. The newly-formed Kentucky Cancer Foundation is part of a two-million-dollar initiative to help uninsured Kentuckians get cancer screenings. In his proposed two year budget, Governor Steve Beshear earmarked half a million dollars each year for colon cancer screenings. He also proposed raising another million from a public-private partnership.
Eastern Kentucky University President Doug Whitlock is staying neutral on the proposal to bring the University of Pikeville into the state college system. EKU is one of two universities expected to lose students if UPIKE becomes public. The other is Morehead State University, which is actively campaigning against the move.
Kentucky’s junior senator is encouraging his supporters to get involved in the reorganization of the state Republican Party. The Republican Party of Kentucky holds its reorganization every four years to coincide with presidential elections. During the process, party members elect individual precinct leaders and the head of the RPK.
Legislative leaders in Kentucky say the issue of redistricting is over for the current session. Lawmakers drew new maps of their districts earlier this year to reflect the latest census data. But the state Supreme Court ruled that the maps were unconstitutional and threw them out. House Speaker Greg Stumbo says there’s no need to redraw maps this year because,after this November, there are no legislative elections until 2014.
The leader of the Kentucky House of Representatives says his chamber will make few changes to Governor Steve Beshear’s budget. Beshear released his two-year budget plan earlier this year. It calls for cuts of more than eight percent to most state agencies. And it includes roughly six percent cuts for higher education. House leadership has been reviewing the plan for the last few days. Speaker Greg Stumbo says they plan to pass it off to the Senate by the beginning of March.
Although two major issues have been nearly resolved, Kentucky lawmakers still have a full agenda this session. Redistricting and expanded gambling dominated the first half of the session. The gambling bill was defeated last week and redistricting was settled by the Kentucky Supreme Court. But that doesn’t mean the legislative work is over. Lawmakers still have a two-year budget to pass. Senate President David Williams says that's just one of several pressing issues.
A new bill in Kentucky would allow students to go to school outside of the district they live in, as long the new district allows it. State Senator Ken Winters is sponsoring the bill because of concerns he's heard from parents in his district. He says the measure isn’t aimed at getting students out of low-performing schools, but is instead tailored to parents who commute outside their home county.
The Kentucky Supreme Court has ruled that the latest maps of state legislative districts are unconstitutional. Lawmakers approved new lines for state House and Senate districts earlier this year. But a circuit court judge declared them unconstitutional, citing a precedent that districts can’t be more than five percent larger or smaller than their ideal size. Lawyers for the Legislative Research Commission promptly appealed the ruling on behalf of House and Senate leadership.
The fight over redistricting has moved to the Kentucky Supreme Court. Lawmakers approved new lines for state House and Senate districts earlier this year. But a judge declared them unconstitutional, citing a precedent that districts can’t be more than five percent larger or smaller than their ideal size. Lawyers for the Legislative Research Commission promptly appealed the ruling.
A Senate bill that would have made pseudoephedrine available by prescription only has surprisingly been killed by its sponsor. State Senator Robert Stivers withdrew Senate Bill 50 Thursday, to the objection of several of his colleagues. Pseudoephedrine, or PSE, is a key ingredient in both over-the-counter cold medicines and meth. The bill was meant to curtail meth production by restricting pseudoephedrine sales.
The Kentucky Senate has rejected a measure that would amend the state constitution to legalize casinos in Kentucky. The issue has long been a legislative priority of Governor Steve Beshear, and this year was the first in which he attempted to expand gambling by amending the constitution. The bill cleared committee yesterday, but failed on the Senate floor with a vote of 16-21.
Kentucky’s junior senator says it would be an honor to be considered as a possible running mate for Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney. Senator Rand Paul first discussed his higher aspirations at the beginning of this year. He said he wouldn’t close the door on being a Vice Presidential candidate. After a speech in Louisville today, Paul held that door firmly open, saying he wants to be part of the national debate.
Kentucky lawmakers are once again ready to approve a bill capping the state’s debt at six percent of revenues. The issue has been in and out of committee multiple times this session. It started as a constitutional amendment, then changed to a regular bill. And state Senators have renamed the measure to show their commitment to it. It is now called Senate Bill 1.
Governor Steve Beshear’s constitutional amendment to legalize casinos in Kentucky has cleared its first legislative hurdle. The bill passed the Senate's State and Local Government committee 7-4 today. The measure would allow up to seven casinos in Kentucky. But the committee changed the bill, dropping language that requires five of the casinos to be at horse racing tracks. The measure still requires a 60-mile buffer zone between tracks and independent casinos.
