State Capitol

Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear is recovering from minor eye surgery. Beshear developed a detached retina this past weekend and his office says he had minor surgery on Monday to reattach it. Spokeswoman Kerri Richardson says there was no injury that caused the retina to detach. The surgery will require the governor to limit his travel for the next week.

The first ever Republican state Senate president will end his 12-year reign by taking a circuit court judgeship back home.  David Williams will resign his leadership position and Senate seat next week to start a judgeship that he was appointed to by his chief rival, Gov. Steve Beshear.  It ends Williams' nearly 30-year legislative career, which included more than a decade as his chamber's leader. Williams leaves his party with a "super majority" in a Senate that's part of a divided state government

The state’s leading authority on juvenile justice says he would like to see status offenders kept out of incarceration facilities.  A status offense is something a youth gets in legal trouble for, but an adult wouldn’t. Common status offenses are running away from home or skipping school.  Department of Juvenile Justice Commissioner Hasan Davis says he believes status offenders shouldn’t be held in a detention center for minor offenses.

Kentucky Senate Republicans have established a succession plan in the case their current leader, David Williams, is appointed into an open judgeship in his district.  Williams is considered a leading candidate for the open circuit court judgeship that covers his home county.  Governor Steve Beshear, Williams’s main enemy in Frankfort, has the final say over who is appointed to finish the two year term. And Beshear hasn’t ruled out appointing Williams if his name shows up on the nomination list.

More than two thousand absentee ballots have been sent to Kentuckians in military service and other voters overseas.   With the presidential election less than six weeks away, Kentucky Secretary of State Alison Lundergan Grimes says it’s important to allow for time and distance.  “The process of receiving, filling out, and returning an absentee ballot, whether you are in the middle east or here in the United States, it can take weeks, especially for those active duty military members that I saw,” said Lundergan Grimes.

A second legislative hearing on Kentucky’s federally-mandated health insurance exchange led to a dramatic walkout by Democrats to Wednesday.    For the second consecutive time, the interim joint Health and Welfare committee saw their meeting devolve into arguments over the exchange.  And this time, a motion by Republicans to register a vote of disapproval against the exchange led every Democrat to get up and leave in the middle of the meeting.

Kentucky Republicans have unveiled a new legislative platform to help boost their chances of winning the state House this fall.  The GOP needs to win 9 seats in order to take the House majority.  Wednesday, they unveiled the agenda they'll enact if they win those seats in November.  House Republican leader Jeff Hoover says, among other goals, the GOP wants to change the state tax code.

FRANKFORT —Former state Agriculture Commissioner Richie Farmer's house in Franklin County will be sold at public auction Sept. 24 to help satisfy a foreclosure lawsuit against him. Charlie Jones, master commissioner for Franklin Circuit Court, said Monday that the auction of the house off U.S. 127 North at 113 Cedar Ridge would begin at 11:30 a.m. Sept. 24 at the temporary county courthouse. It is the 19th of 21 properties on the auction block that day, he said. Farmer faces a foreclosure lawsuit on a mortgage of $317,929.22 plus interest, Jones said.

State  Forecasters predicted 3% revenue growth this year, but so far this summer, state revenues have been flat.  While there’s no need yet for alarm, Budget Director Mary Lassiter says steady declines in income and sales taxes is cause for concern.   It’s still early in the state’s fiscal year, and the Commonwealth has until next summer to improve revenues.

Governor Steve Beshear has promoted his deputy chief of staff to the top spot.  Louisville native Larry Bond was named chief of staff today.  He replaces Mike Haydon, who died unexpectedly earlier this month.  Bond was named to the deputy spot two years ago, after spending years in various roles in state government. He also worked in Louisville city government for years, including time as the city’s chief administrative officer.

Kentucky lawmakers will consider a medical marijuana bill in 2013.  The legislation has been pre-filed by Louisville Senator Perry Clark.  It would allow patients with a doctor’s recommendation to use medical marijuana to treat multiple sclerosis, HIV-AIDS, cancer, and other serious medical conditions.  The measure also establishes a network of state regulated dispensaries where patients could purchase medical marijuana.

A second chance for thousands of Kentucky businesses to make required filings with the Secretary of State’s office is about up.  Entities authorized to transact business in Kentucky were required to file annual reports and pay a 15 dollar fee no later than July second of this year.  Those businesses which missed the July deadline were notified they were no longer in good standing with the state.  Officials with the Secretary of State’s Office say they now have until September tenth to remedy the delinquency before being administratively dissolved or having their certificates of authority revoked.

Governor Steve Beshear says he will appoint a new chief of staff soon, despite still being saddened by the sudden loss of his former chief of staff, Mike Haydon. Haydon died suddenly of a heart attack earlier this month. Haydon worked in government for more than three decades, and had been Beshear's chief of staff since 2010.

Agriculture Commissioner James Comer says he is restarting the long-dormant Kentucky Industrial Hemp Commission. The General Assembly created the commission ten years ago to look into hemp's potential in the commonwealth, but it has never met. This morning, Comer announced that he is reforming the commission and, per state law, he will be the chairman.

Two of Kentucky's highest profile Democrats say they are not interested in taking on U.S. Senator Mitch McConnell in 2014. Attorney General Jack Conway, who ran for Senate in 2010 against Republican Rand Paul, says he isn't interested in running for the chamber again.