Westerfield files constitutional amendment to protect victims' rights
02/08/2016 09:56 PM
Senate Judiciary Chair Whitney Westerfield is making a push to amend Kentucky’s Constitution to afford victims of crimes the same rights afforded to the accused. Westerfield’s legislation is named “Marsy’s Law” and is part of a national effort to codify victims’ rights in the state constitution. If passed and ratified by the people of Kentucky, Marsy’s Law would grants a “Victim’s Bill of Rights” guaranteeing victims’ constitutional rights to receive notification of proceedings and developments in the criminal case and... Read more 
House Speaker and House Minority Floor Leader team up to pass campaign contribution bill
02/08/2016 09:30 PM
FRANKFORT – A bill that would double individual campaign contribution limits in Kentucky has passed the Kentucky House by a vote of 71 to 22. House Bill 147, sponsored by House Speaker Greg Stumbo, D-Prestonsburg, would double the limit on individual campaign contributions from $1,000 to $2,000 as of this July and double the annual limit on individual contributions to a party’s state executive committee and affiliates from $2,500 to $5,000. The legislation would also double from $10,000 to $20,000 the overall... Read more
House committee discussion leads to accusations and defense of Bevin Administration
02/08/2016 08:45 PM
FRANKFORT – Democratic and Republican lawmakers got into a heated debate over leadership in the administration of Republican Gov. Matt Bevin in a committee meeting on Monday. Democratic members of the House Budget Review Subcommittee on Human Resources questioned cabinet officials about why there are no specifics on how their department would be affected by the 4.5 percent cuts in the current fiscal year and the 9 percent cuts in the upcoming biennium. Rep. Jim Wayne, D-Louisville, criticized Bevin’s administration... Read more
Rep. Jim Wayne, outside groups advocate for tax reforms as legislature faces austere budget
02/08/2016 03:27 PM
Gov. Matt Bevin’s budget has met early opposition in the state House as lawmakers ponder just how postsecondary institutions and other cabinets in government will handle another round of budget cuts In an effort to endure $650 million in budget cutbacks, and better fund the state pension systems, Rep. Jim Wayne, D-Louisville, is once again advocating for tax reforms, which he says could generate $570 million annually. In a floor speech on Friday, Wayne announced that 14 House members had... Read more
The first 10: Most interesting (primary) races to watch
02/07/2016 01:08 PM
For yet another election cycle the collective minds at Democratic and Republican Party headquarters will be spent trying to outwit and outlast their opponents for control of the state House. Outside of the March 8 special elections, parties will be watching the May 17 primary to see how the races unfold so they can determine which recruited candidates will emerge from the primaries, the flow of capital in the general election and which incumbents can outlast internal challengers. The roster... Read more
After positioning pro-life bills for floor votes, don't expect the same on right-to-work legislation from House GOP
02/06/2016 08:55 PM
Republicans in the state’s House of Representatives have maneuvered one priority bill on pre-abortion informed consent toward a compromise resolution, and they look to be moving another aimed at limiting funding to Planned Parenthood closer to a floor vote this week. But one issue that’s been at the center of many GOP political campaigns and one of the Republican-led Senate’s top pieces of legislation likely won’t get the same treatment, according to House Minority Floor Leader Jeff Hoover. Hoover said Friday... Read more
Push for pro-life bills continues in 2016 legislative session
02/05/2016 01:26 PM
FRANKFORT — With one pro-life bill already passed and signed by Gov. Matt Bevin and another having received its first reading in the House, the climate has changed in the Kentucky General Assembly when it comes to pro-life legislation. For years, the Senate had worked on pro-life legislation, but it usually stalled in the House. This year, Senate Bill 4, which allows real-time telemedicine consultations between doctors and women seeking an abortion, already has been passed by both chambers and signed by... Read more
A major shakeup has occurred in the Kentucky Department of Juvenile Justice, less than a month after 16-year-old Gynnya McMillen died in a state-run detention center. Commissioner Bob D. Hayter, who had run the agency since November 2014, is gone, according to sources and an employee in Hayter’s former office. Hayter had been with the department since 2006, first as a regional director, later as deputy commissioner of support services. Stacy Floden, the department’s director of communications program services also has left, WFPL’s Kentucky Center for Investigative Reporting has learned. Sources and an employee in her former office confirmed her exit. Bob Hayter Hayter’s [...]
Tue, Feb 09, 2016 3:36:00 PM, Continue reading at the source
Federal officials say Kentucky could have to return more than $57 million in unused grant money because of Republican Gov. Matt Bevin’s decision to dismantle kynect. The federal government gave Kentucky a $289 million federal grant to plan and establish kynect, a health exchange where Kentuckians can purchase private insurance plans with the help of a federal subsidy. State officials have spent all of it except for $57.5 million. Related Story [...]
Tue, Feb 09, 2016 3:03:00 PM, Continue reading at the source
The Kentucky Harm Reduction Coalition will distribute and train people on how to use a medication that reverses the effects of overdoses from heroin and other opioid drugs. The coalition will offer Naloxone, also known as Narcan, Feb. 10 at the Department of Public Health and Wellness, located at 400 E Gray St. Training will take place between 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. Russ Read, cofounder of Kentucky Harm Reduction, said the Naloxone kits will be given free of charge to anyone affected by opioid addiction. “We think it’s possible for anybody who has heroin or opioid addiction in their lives to have one of [...]
Tue, Feb 09, 2016 1:00:00 PM, Continue reading at the source
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