Conference committee on heroin bill will consider reopening the budget for $10M treatment provisions
03/12/2015 05:15 AM
After weeks of informal discussions on how to address Kentucky’s heroin epidemic, the state Senate and House formed a conference committee on Wednesday in hopes of overcoming policy divides and drafting a compromise before adjourning sine die March 24. The group will have a new provision to consider as the House amended Senate Bill 192, the anti-heroin legislation, to include $10 million in the next fiscal year for a variety of treatment options, such as funding for community mental health centers,... Read more 
Dinner recess update: House passes bills on dog fighting, school snow days
03/11/2015 07:57 PM
FRANKFORT — Before breaking for dinner on Wednesday, the state House of Representatives approved legislation that would strengthen animal cruelty penalties against dog fighting and allow schools to craft plans in meeting their required instructional hours after heavy snow shuttered many districts this winter. The action on Senate Bill 143, which now carries much of the language in Rep. Joni Jenkins’ House Bill 154, circumvents floor amendments on the original bill pertaining to cockfighting. SB 143 cleared the chamber on a... Read more
Comer turns to UK basketball to make his case for GOP gubernatorial nomination
03/11/2015 05:54 PM
In his second ad of the 2015 campaign season James Comer is pointing to the number one ranked University of Kentucky Wildcats as an illustration of what Kentucky can achieve. Comer points to the poor rankings the state faces and says instead of accepting the rankings state government can learn from Kentucky basketballs teams. “Instead of being forty-six or forty-seven in the nation, we should strive to be number one, just like our basketball teams.” In the ad Comer says state... Read more
Chairman of Senate Transportation Committee optimistic for gas tax will be stabilized this session
03/11/2015 05:26 PM
FRANKFORT — The chairman of the Senate Transportation Committee is “confident” lawmakers will stabilize the state’s shrinking gas tax revenues before the General Assembly adjourns sine die March 24. Sen. Ernie Harris concluded his committee’s legislative work on Wednesday without taking up the tax, but he said a proposal to prevent a $250.4 million shortfall in the current Road Fund budget is in the works. That’s how much the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet expects to lose in gas tax receipts in the... Read more
High school students travel to Frankfort in effort to save bill
03/11/2015 05:24 PM
FRANKFORT – Two West Jessamine High School seniors were at the State Capitol on Wednesday trying to save a bill which would have allowed school districts to add a student member to screening committees for superintendents. The students, Nicole Fielder and Gentry Fitch, who had worked on the bill as part of the Pritchard Committee’s Student Voice Team, spent the day talking to legislators about possibly saving their bill. House Bill 236, sponsored by Rep. Derrick Graham, D-Frankfort, which would have allowed... Read more
Senate committee passes booster seat bill for first time; chairman says he will “urge” floor vote
03/11/2015 12:15 PM
FRANKFORT — Legislation raising booster seat requirements may reach Gov. Steve Beshear’s desk after the Senate Transportation Committee unanimously passed the measure Wednesday. The bill, House Bill 315, has been among Beshear’s priorities for years, and for Rep. Steve Riggs, Wednesday’s vote represented a culmination of five years’ work for the House. HB 315 would mandate children younger than 8 and shorter than 57 inches ride in booster seats, increases of a year and 7 inches, respectively. Advocates say seat belts... Read more
With time running out Senate panel approves 'Day of the Cowboy'
03/11/2015 09:30 AM
Mark your calendars for the fourth Saturday in July as the commonwealth is primed to join other states in recognizing the National Day of the Cowboy. “Mr. Chairman there is a little cowboy – cowgirl in all of us,” said Rep. Tom Mckee, D-Cynthiana on Tuesday. The legislation, Mckee said is a national movement amongst states to honor the buckaroo’s across the country by preserving pioneer heritage and cowboy culture. Sen. Damon Thayer, R-Georgetown, offered a sarcastic nod to the... Read more
The Kentucky General Assembly adjourned late Wednesday night for a week and a half while Gov. Steve Beshear considers vetoes—and no bill addressing the state’s rising heroin problems had been passed. Lawmakers will have two days to pass a final bill: March 23 and 24. Both chambers have selected members for a conference committee, which will now try to hammer out the final details of a compromise. Senate President Robert Stivers remains confident that a heroin bill will be finalized over the course of the break. “I think the discussions when we come back everything would be resolved by that time, because when we get back [...]
Thu, Mar 12, 2015 10:54:00 AM, Continue reading at the source
Bills for the local option sales tax, public-private partnerships and a statewide smoking ban won’t likely win approval during the 2015 Kentucky General Assembly session. On Wednesday, Senate Minority Leader Ray Jones, a Pikeville Democrat, made a last minute petition to force an initial vote on the bills—but succeeded only in delivering the probable eulogies for the Democratic-House’s priority legislation. All of the bills had support from Senate President Robert Stivers and some members of the Republican Caucus at some point during the session. But on the last legislative day before the governor’s veto session, all of the bills were defeated on [...]
Thu, Mar 12, 2015 2:34:00 AM, Continue reading at the source
Kentucky lawmakers approve school snow days bill in last-minute flurry of legislation
from jbrammer@herald-leader.com (Jack Brammer and John Cheves)
from jbrammer@herald-leader.com (Jack Brammer and John Cheves)
Lawmakers worked late into the night Wednesday passing bills before starting a nearly two-week break, but they left several major issues unresolved, including plans to curb heroin addiction and bail…Click to Continue » [...]
Thu, Mar 12, 2015 12:00:00 AM, Continue reading at the source
Bluegrass Poll: Kentuckians remain unsure of a Rand Paul presidential run
from syoungman@herald-leader.com (Sam Youngman)
from syoungman@herald-leader.com (Sam Youngman)
For the past year, Kentuckians have been divided over whether U.S. Sen. Rand Paul should run for re-election to his Senate seat, the White House, both offices or neither office.Click to Continue » [...]
Wed, Mar 11, 2015 10:00:00 PM, Continue reading at the source
Bluegrass Poll: More Kentuckians want local governments to set laws on minimum wage, union dues
from bmusgrave@herald-leader.com (Beth Musgrave)
from bmusgrave@herald-leader.com (Beth Musgrave)
More voters in Kentucky want local governments to set laws on wages and union membership rules rather than the state legislature, according to the latest Bluegrass Poll.Click to Continue » [...]
Wed, Mar 11, 2015 8:59:00 PM, Continue reading at the source
Dr. Sander Florman, Louisville Native and Transplant Expert, on What People Should Know About Organ Donation
from Ja'Nel Johnson
from Ja'Nel Johnson
Louisville native Dr. Sander Florman returns home Thursday evening to talk about organ transplants at the Henry Clay Building. Florman is the director of the Recanati/Miller Transplantation Institute at the Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York City. During his speech entitled “Life Saving Organ Transplants-Ethics, Politics & Techonology,” Florman will discuss organ transplantation and donation and his Kentucky upbringing. Kentucky to the World, an organization that highlights prominent people with ties to Kentucky, will host the event. Florman spoke with WFPL News ahead of his appearance. What should people know about organ donation and transplantation? The need for an organ transplant in the United States continues [...]
Wed, Mar 11, 2015 8:15:00 PM, Continue reading at the source
No comments:
Post a Comment