Monday, February 17, 2014

Day Twenty Eight of KY's 2014 Session In Review

HB 332, sponsored by Rep. Graham and Rep. Kay spells out how, and who, will play a role in developing a quality-based early child care and education rating system with help from around $44 million in federal grant funds passed the House last Friday 79-11. The $44.3 million in federal funds to carry out HB 332 will come from the federal “Race to the Top” early learning challenge fund grant.
HB 332 sets out how early care and education providers would work with the state, family resource centers, Head Start, and others statewide to develop a quality-based graduated early care and education program rating system for licensed child care and certified family child-care homes, state-funded preschool, and Head Start.  Full implementation of the rating system for those entities would be required under the bill by the end of June 2017.
Rep. Jim DeCesare, filed an amendment that would have required the rating system be discontinued after the Race to the Top grant funds are depleted. It was narrowly defeated by a vote of 42-47. DeCesare expressed concern that program could end up being an unfunded mandate after the grant funds run out.
Supporters of the legislation and the grant said the legislation would lay a foundation. Rep. Graham said “properly-trained child care providers would then train those coming into the system from that point on.”
“This legislation will give Kentucky families a system to clearly show the quality of early childhood programs across the Commonwealth of Kentucky,” Graham said. “We are not changing the requirements for the programs—what we are doing is providing additional support to those who want to achieve at a higher level of quality. The end goal is that more children will be in a high-quality early childhood program, and, as a result, they will be ready for kindergarten when the time comes,” Graham said.

LEGISLATIVE TRACKERS BY INTEREST

Click on the links below

    LINKS TO SOME OF TODAY's HEADLINES:


    UPCOMING MEETINGS:

    Monday, February 17th is a legislative holiday.

    Tuesday, February 18, 2014

    Noon, Annex Room 125
    HOUSE BUDGET REVIEW SUBCOMMITTEE ON JUSTICE AND JUDICIARY
    Agenda: pending
    1:00pm, Annex Room 169
    CAPITAL PROJECTS AND BOND OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE
    2:00pm, Annex Room 129
    HOUSE STANDING COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
    Agenda: Consideration of HB 202, HB 279 and HB 341
    4:00pm, House Chambers
    House Convenes (Orders of the Day)
    4:00pm, Senate Chambers
    Senate Convenes (Orders of the Day)

    SOME OF THE LATEST POLITICAL STORIES:

    Medical Malpractice Reform - Feb 12, 2014 08:50 pm - It’s time for Kentucky to say “enough is enough” to frivolous medical malpractice lawsuits…That’s what the president of the State’s Chamber of Commerce told the Senate Health and Welfare Committee today. Dave Adkisson was testifying in support of a bill that would establish medical review panels to examine complaints against Kentucky’s health care providers and determine if they have enough merit to proceed to trial. He says the cost of liability insurance is discouraging medical professionals from doing business in the Commonwealth…Read More
    Local Option Sales Tax Proposal Filed in Kentucky Senate as Mayor Greg Fischer Outlines More Details - Feb 12, 2014 08:51 pm - A Kentucky state senator has filed legislation to let residents vote on raising the local sales tax for special projects, but he is already doubting its passage in the 2014 legislative session. Republican Paul Hornback of Shelbyville introduced the bill on Tuesday. It would allow local residents vote on temporary tax increases to pay for special projects. Read More
    States Awash in Cash? Defining a Budget Surplus - Feb 12, 2014 02:54 pm - We’ve heard it in state of the state addresses and in various media stories that many states are projecting budget surpluses. While it is true that state fiscal conditions continue to improve (see NCSL’s "State Budget Update: Fall 2013" for more information), the term “budget surplus” needs a bit of clarification. Read More
    Why local Republican primary races matter to Mitch McConnell - Feb 16, 2014 09:15 pm - In 2010, one out of every two registered Republicans in the heart of southern Kentucky’s “Old 5th” congressional district came out to vote. A contiguous bloc of 14 counties in southern Kentucky boasted the most fertile and efficient ground for gathering Republican votes in that..Read More
    Kentucky legislators take aim at 'zapper' sales tax fraud - Feb 16, 2014 08:24 pm -Hoping to recoup under-reported taxes, Kentucky legislators are taking aim at a little-known tool used to hide retailers' sales from tax collectors. Read More
    This Week in the House Republican Caucus-February 14, 2014 - Feb 16, 2014 01:10 pm - http://www.youtube.com/watchv=kQQb0X1Z2Hs&feature=youtube_gdata..Read More
    Lawmakers Approve Windmill Regulation - Feb 16, 2014 12:59 pm - A bill in Frankfort has been approved to provide for more regulatory review for anyone seeking to start generating power by windmills. The issue surfaced after efforts to pursue two such projects in northeastern Kentucky. Mason County Judge James Gallenstein appeared before the House Tourism Development and Energy Committee..Read More
    After 3 years, overhaul of Kentucky's drug-crime laws hasn't created expected savings - Feb 16, 2014 12:56 pm - An ambitious penal reform law the General Assembly passed three years ago has failed to save as much money as promised, although it is yielding other successes..Read More
    Bluegrass Poll could spell trouble for future Republicans - Joseph Gerth - Feb 16, 2014 12:55 pm - The Bluegrass Poll is supposed to give a snapshot of what was going on at the time the poll is taken and isn't meant to predict what will happen when elections are held months from now. But Stephen Voss, a political science professor at the University of Kentucky, spotted some trends that could suggest problems for Republicans decades from now..Read More
    Gambling bill still 'work in progress,' Beshear says - Feb 16, 2014 12:54 pm - As the 60-day session of the General Assembly nears its halfway point, even proponents of legislation to allow casino gambling in the state are giving it long odds..Read More
    High-profile bills meet reality in Kentucky legislature - Feb 16, 2014 12:53 pm - Smaller bills rolled, but high-profile ones began confronting political reality during the sixth week of the 2014 legislative session..Read More
    Local option sales tax bill filed in House - Feb 16, 2014 12:52 pm - Backers of the local option sales tax amendment claimed momentum Friday when a bipartisan group of 17 House members signed on as co-sponsors of the measure..Read More
    Ky. House Backs Funding for Child Care Rating Expansion - Feb 16, 2014 12:48 pm - The Kentucky House is backing a significant expansion of the early child care provider rating system. It will mean hundreds more child care centers will be able to tap into the “Star Rating” program offered by the state. The expansion will necessitate training paid for by federal dollars through the “Race to the Top” grant program..Read More
    Democrats dream of driving U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell into retirement this year, ridding President Barack Obama of one of his fiercest opponents. Tea partyers have the same dream, but they…Click to Continue » [...]
    Mon, Feb 17, 2014 8:48:00 AM, Continue reading at the source

    The words "Eastern Kentucky" might bring to mind mountains, unemployed coal miners and economic hardship, but Agriculture Commissioner James Comer would like to replace that image with tomatoes, apples, and…Click to Continue » [...] - Mon, Feb 17, 2014 6:09:00 AM, Continue reading at the source

    U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow will be in Kentucky next week to campaign for Alison Lundergan Grimes. Stabenow, of Michigan, will head to northern Kentucky where she’ll take part in a discussion about women’s issues and why she believes it’s important to elect Grimes to the U.S. Senate. The event will be Monday in Bellevue. Grimes has tried to make women’s issues key to her campaign and is often joined on the campaign trail by former Kentucky Gov. Martha Layne Collins, the only woman ever to hold that post. Fri, Feb 14, 2014 8:02:00 PM, Continue reading at the source

    By Sam Youngman syoungman@herald-leader.com By Sam Youngman syoungman@herald-leader.com Tea Party groups supporting Matt Bevin's bid against Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said they are satisfied with Bevin's explanation for signing a document that praised the federal bank bailout of 2008. But lawyers who have worked with and against the Securities and Exchange Commission take issue with the explanation, expressing surprise and dismay that Bevin claimed to not have agreed with the content of a letter to investors that he signed. Earlier this week, Politico reported that Bevin had signed a letter to investors of Veracity Funds in which he and investment manager Dan Bandi wrote that [...]
    Fri, Feb 14, 2014 5:01:00 PM, Continue reading at the source

    Under fire from the tea party for his part in allowing a senate vote to raise the nation's debt ceiling, U.S. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said Friday he had to act in the best interests of the country to avoid default by the United States. [...]
    Mon, Feb 17, 2014 12:02:50 PM, Continue reading at the source

    "My main concern is not what the polls are, but what's the right policy," McConnell said after WHAS11 asked of the political dangers of his position. "And we know for sure that this kind of minimum wage increase is going to be a job killer." [...]
    Mon, Feb 17, 2014 12:02:50 PM, Continue reading at the source

    A group representing small businesses has endorsed Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell's bid for re-election to a sixth term. [...]
    Mon, Feb 17, 2014 12:02:50 PM, Continue reading at the source
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