Legislative limbo: Gas tax, teachers’ pensions among issues still hanging as veto recess begins
03/12/2015 08:55 PM
FRANKFORT — Lawmakers advanced a number of bills to Gov. Steve Beshear’s desk before adjourning for the veto recess on Wednesday, but a number of high-profile measures remained unresolved after midnight struck. Addressing the Kentucky’s heroin epidemic remains chief among legislators’ priorities, yet others have had their share of the limelight this session. Lawmakers have tussled over bills on bonding for the Kentucky Teachers’ Retirement System and whether the General Assembly should freeze the floor on the wholesale price of motor... Read more 
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
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