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Post by ClayLive on Mar 8, 2011 19:57:40 GMT -5
FRANKFORT – Senate Majority Floor Leader Robert Stivers, R-Manchester, speaks at a conference committee meeting over Medicaid funding.
Transparency legislation awaits governor's signature
FRANKFORT -- Details of all government spending would be available online under legislation headed to the governor for his signature. Senate Bill 7, sponsored by Sen. Damon Thayer, R-Georgetown, requires all three branches of government to update the online database monthly with links to actual bills, purchase orders, and other documentation when possible. Information in the state's online accounting system would be updated weekly. Most state offices already post the information online, Thayer said, but SB 7 will be binding on future officials rather than relying on their goodwill. The Senate unanimously concurred in slight House changes to the bill earlier in the day, which sends the bill to the governor’s desk. The preceding was a press release from LRC eNews. For more information on items before the Kentucky Legislature contact your local senator Robert Stivers (left) and/or representative Tim Couch (right).
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Post by ClayLive on Mar 9, 2011 5:19:31 GMT -5
Study on 911 emergency communication funding approved
FRANKFORT -- Legislation that will direct a legislative committee to study funding for 911 emergency communications in the state is on its way to the governor's desk. The Senate voted this evening to concur with changes the House made to the legislation earlier in the day. “Believe it or not, all the various elements have come together and agreed on this bill. It’s a miraculous thing,” said Rep. Tanya Pullin, D-South Shore, who presented the bill on the House floor. SB 119, sponsored by Sen. Tom Buford, R-Nicholasville, would direct a legislative study using information gathered by the state Commercial Mobile Radio Service Emergency Telecommunications Board, communications providers among others. The study would be reported to the Legislative Research Commission by Dec. 1. The bill would also require that data collected by the CMRS Board be reported to the General Assembly’s Interim Joint Committee on Veterans, Military Affairs and Public Protection yearly no later than Aug. 1. The preceding was a press release from LRC eNews. For more information on items before the Kentucky Legislature contact your local senator Robert Stivers (left) and/or representative Tim Couch (right).
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Post by ClayLive on Mar 12, 2011 12:13:36 GMT -5
FRANKFORT -- Senate President David Williams, R-Burkesville (right), and Senate Majority Floor Leader Robert Stivers, R-Manchester (second from right), speak with reporters in Williams' Capitol office about plans to end the 2011 Regular Session of the Kentucky General Assembly on March 9, 13 days earlier than originally scheduled.
2011 legislative session adjourns
FRANKFORT — The Kentucky General Assembly's 2011 regular session came to a close Wednesday as the 30th and final day permitted by the state constitution expired. The session ended without an agreement on changes to the state budget to make up a $166.5 million shortfall in the state’s Medicaid fund. The governor has called a special session to begin Monday on the issue. More than 650 bills were filed during the session, ranging from comprehensive criminal code reform to government transparency. In all, 100 bills and a handful of substantive resolutions were sent to the governor’s desk for his signature or veto. Because the chambers will not re-convene, any gubernatorial vetoes will stand and cannot be overridden. In addition, lawmakers sent a constitutional amendment to the November 2012 ballot. If approved by a majority of voters, the right to hunt and fish would be included in the commonwealth’s bedrock document. Among the issues addressed by legislation awaiting the governor’s signature are the following: African-American Heritage. Senate Bill 64 creates the Kentucky Center for African-American Heritage and outlines its board membership. Businesses. SB 8 creates a one-stop online portal for businesses to conduct their transactions with state agencies and gather information on potential economic development incentives. An advisory committee will issue recommendations on the portal’s operations by the end of the year. Carbon dioxide. SB 50 includes pipelines for captured carbon dioxide in the eminent domain process, allowing such a pipeline to be constructed through Western Kentucky. Consumer protection. House Bill 382 prohibits businesses and attorneys from soliciting car accident victims as clients until 30 days following the accident. Courts. SB 108 increases the jurisdiction of district courts in civil cases from $4,000 to $5,000 and the jurisdiction of small claims courts from $1,500 to $2,500. Criminal code. HB 463 alters the state’s drug laws, putting an emphasis on treatment, community supervision, and other diversion programs for those convicted of simple possession and eliminating harsher penalties for repeat offenders of those crimes. The bill also requires treatment and other anti-recidivism programs to show evidence they work before being adopted by the state. Diabetes. SB 63 creates a collaborative group to identify goals and plans to reduce incidences of diabetes and improve diabetes care. SB 71 creates a licensing process for diabetes educators. Doctoral programs. SB 130 allows the state’s six comprehensive universities to offer certain advanced practice doctoral programs within limits. Drugs. HB 121 bans possession and sale of a new class of street drug sold over the counter and marketed as bath salts, plant food, and other everyday items. Economic development. House Joint Resolution 5 creates a study of the state’s economic development programs and their effectiveness. Education. HB 425 allows out-of-state veterans to qualify for in-state tuition at public colleges and universities. Elder abuse. HB 52 prohibits anyone convicted of abusing, neglecting, or exploiting an elderly or vulnerable adult from being placed in a position of trust such as guardian or power of attorney. The bill also prohibits such people from inheriting or otherwise benefiting from the person they abused. Eye care. SB 110 allows optometrists to perform certain types of laser surgery, including treatments for glaucoma and cataracts. Firearms. HB 308 establishes a program for people who have been banned from purchasing a firearm due to mental illness to recover that right. HB 302 allows military reenactments to include swords and firearms. Fireworks. HB 333 expands the types of fireworks that can be sold in the state, including bottle rockets and Roman candles. Flu shots. SB 40 allows pharmacists to give flu shots to children ages 9-13. Government publications. HB 33 bans state agencies from mailing most publications to the public unless they are requested by the recipient. Government transparency. SB 7 requires the three branches of state government to put all available spending records in a searchable online database with public access. Homelessness. SB 26 reduces the fee for ID cards for the homeless from $12 to $4. Homestead exemption. HB 244 allows certain disabled people to document their disability when they apply for a homestead exemption on their property taxes and not have to re-file for the exemption annually. Horse racing. SB 24 makes Kentucky the first state to join an interstate horse racing compact that would develop joint rules for horse racing and wagering. State officials would reserve the right to opt out of any rules adopted by the compact. Kentucky will become the first state to join the compact, which takes effect once six states sign on. HB 387 allows the state to track out-of-state wagering on Kentucky races so incentive funds can get their proper share. Hunting and fishing. HB 1 places a constitutional amendment on the November 2012 ballot to place protections on hunting and fishing. HB 173 exempts active-duty military from having to obtain a license to hunt or fish on state- owned military property. License plates. HB 187 creates an “I Support Veterans” license plate. Occupational and physical therapy. SB 112 limits health insurance co-pays on occupational and physical therapy sessions to no higher than that of regular doctor’s visits. Prescriptions. HB 311 allows Schedule II prescriptions, including oxycodone and hydrocodone, to be transmitted electronically or by fax. The bill also allows Schedule III-V drugs to be transmitted by fax; those can already be transmitted electronically. Principals. SB 12 authorized local school superintendents to appoint principals after consultation with the school-based decision making council, a reversal of the current procedure. School board elections. HB 228 increases the contribution limits for school board candidates to $200 for individuals and $1,000 for organizations. Traffic laws. HB 289 adds fines for driving over the 70 miles-per-hour speed limit and clarifies that vehicle-integrated GPS units are exempt from the state’s ban on texting or using other communications devices while driving. Voter registration. HB 192 requires high schools to provide seniors information on how to register to vote and related information. Wellness programs. SB 114 allows private health insurance plans to offer incentives and awards for wellness programs. The preceding was a press release from LRC eNews. For more information on items before the Kentucky Legislature contact your local senator Robert Stivers (left) and/or representative Tim Couch (right).
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Post by ClayLive on Mar 12, 2011 12:29:37 GMT -5
This Week in Frankfort March 11, 2011
FRANKFORT — Each session has its surprises. And this session, at the end, had a couple of doozies. Each session also has its object lessons. The abruptly ended 2011 regular session of the Kentucky General Assembly had at least three: How splendidly the process can work to write and pass a far-reaching bill of considerable depth and complexity, a bill that shows wisdom and deep sanity in how it treats a hard problem. How profoundly the process can seem to break down when honest philosophical differences between parties and chambers enter a difficult discussion, and time and the simple will to find common ground run short. And how both extremes — cooperation and conflict — are just fine, democracy writ large, the Founders’ vision at work two centuries later. It’s become almost customary in recent years to see lawmakers head home for their 10-day veto recess with at least one huge bill hung up in conference committee, nowhere near resolved and with both sides looking entrenched and determined. Not infrequently, that bill is the budget. This session, that issue was only one part of the budget — the part that funds Medicaid. The hang-up was, how to plug a nasty little $166-million funding shortfall in the state-federal program that provides health coverage for about 800,000 low-income Kentuckians. But the usual session’s end scenario took an unexpected turn this year: There is no veto recess. The General Assembly used all 30 allotted days. The Senate convened March 9, using the last day, even though the House had already adjourned for the veto recess. Since any day on which either chamber convenes is counted as a legislative day, the Senate move ended the session. You could almost see most of this coming, if you’d been listening closely. But the true dimensions of the House-Senate impasse didn’t become clear till the short session entered its final few days last week. The House had earlier passed a plan proposed by Gov. Steve Beshear that would bring forward enough money from next year’s Medicaid budget to bridge this year’s gap. Under the original House Bill 305, the money brought forward would be made up for next year through new ‘managed care’ initiatives designed to save money in Medicaid, state government’s fastest-growing expense. Medicaid money would fix Medicaid. The Senate strongly questioned that assumption from the beginning. Leaders said savings of that magnitude in such a short time-frame were pie-in-the sky, highly unlikely to materialize. They said the failure of the governor’s proposal would lead to crippling shortfalls in future budgets. The only question was: What would they propose instead? Last week, we found out. The Senate amended House Bill 305 to fill the budget hole next year with a share-the-pain-fairly strategy it has endorsed in past budget showdowns. It cut state spending more-or-less equally across the board. The Senate plan started with a cut of 0.525 percent in the final quarter of this fiscal year and a cut of about 2.26 percent in the 2011-12 fiscal year, which begins July 1. Basic public-school funding (the so-called SEEK formula) and postsecondary education would be exempt from the cuts in the last quarter of this fiscal year, but would face reductions in the second year, including a cut of about 1.3 percent for K-12 education. The House refused to go along with the Senate amendments. House leaders objected particularly to the education cuts. They said cuts in school funding should be a last option, not a first. They insisted the governor’s cost-containment approach deserved at least a chance to succeed before more cuts are imposed on state agencies and schools, who have suffered round after round of cuts in recent recessionary years. School districts around the state said further cuts could lead to layoffs. The two chambers thus went into conference committee to negotiate an agreement far apart in their basic approach, with three short days left in the session, and only two to pass a veto-proof bill before the 10-day recess built into the session calendar for that purpose. Few expected a swift agreement. There was none. Through two days and six meetings, conferees re-stated their positions, floated compromises the other side showed no interest in, sat in silence for long minutes, and in the end broke down in an impasse that looked unbreakable anytime soon. It was the session’s 29th day, its next-to-last day. The House adjourned, as is customary, for a ten-day recess giving the governor his Constitutional days to ponder vetoing bills he found vexing but preserving a day for the Legislature to override. The Senate, however, had a surprise — a move it had warned was coming, but historically unusual nonetheless. It convened the next day, the 30th day, and effectively brought the 2011 session to an end, since any day on which at least one chamber meets is counted in the tally of legislative days. The Senate said it saw no key bills under threat of veto, wanted to give the House one more day to resolve the Medicaid impasse quickly, and saw no reason to spend nearly $800,000 of taxpayers’ money by letting the session tab run for another 12 days. The Senate said it preferred that the two chambers’ leaders keep working toward consensus informally, then have the governor call a quick special session, for likely the minimum five paid days, when a solid agreement had been reached. But the governor immediately uncorked the session’s second surprise: Wednesday afternoon, with the Senate still in session, he announced plans to call an extraordinary session dealing with Medicaid for this coming Monday. The governor said he was obliged to call a special session almost immediately because failing to resolve the issue by April 1 would require the state to slash reimbursement fees drastically — 30 percent, he said — for hospitals, doctors, nursing homes and others on that date. He raised the specter of rural hospitals being forced to close. Senate leaders warned that, with no agreement in place, such a special session would likely prove unnecessarily long, costly and unproductive. Given the robust tenor of the public discussion on both sides that followed the Senate adjournment and the governor’s session call, next week’s special session may well see a few surprises of its own. It will certainly bear watching, as this continuing debate unfolds. All this messy democracy at work in Medicaid — with stormy contending ideas and divergent approaches in play — is certainly a far cry from the signature legislative achievement of the 2011 session: The quiet, near-unanimous passage of the Corrections Reform Act of 2011, a visionary piece of legislation that will rein in budget-busting corrections costs while taking a more sensible approach to how we deal with low-level, non-violent drug offenders who now clog Kentucky’s prisons expensively and, many now concede, needlessly. The bill passed with little notice and absolutely no drama. But both bills — prisons and Medicaid — are at polar extremes of one unified process: settled consensus and lively contention, brought forward into the middle arena of people’s self government. In that sense, the real legacy of the 2011 session may boil down to one simple thing: Not the bills it passed or didn’t pass, but the American civics lessons it taught. The Kentucky Legislature encourages citizen involvement in its work. Its website — www.lrc.ky.gov — is a comprehensive resource for legislative information, including meeting schedules and bill status. It’s updated daily during sessions. Anyone who wants to leave a message for a legislator can call toll-free, 1-800-372-7181. The preceding was a press release from LRC eNews. For more information on items before the Kentucky Legislature contact your local senator Robert Stivers (left) and/or representative Tim Couch (right).
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Post by ClayLive on Mar 15, 2011 15:47:55 GMT -5
FRANKFORT -- Rep. Jeff Greer, D-Brandenburg, explains a bill to raise the school dropout age during a meeting of the House Education Committee.
Dropout bill clears House committee
FRANKFORT – Legislation passed by the Kentucky House during the 2011 Regular Session that would have changed the state’s dropout age from 16 to 18 was revived by the House Education Committee today. House Bill 2, sponsored by Rep. Jeff Greer, D-Brandenburg, would work just like 2011 HB 225—sponsored by Greer and passed by the House in regular session last month—by raising the dropout age to 17 in July 2015 and 18 in July 2016 and improving the state’s alternative education programs. HB 2, like HB 225, would also clarify the General Assembly’s intent relative to career and technical education. Greer said supporters of HB 2 “realize (the bill) gives a young man and a young lady a better opportunity to succeed in life.” Students with a high school diploma earn considerably more than those without, Greer explained to the committee. High school dropouts earn about $6,800 less per year than workers with a college degree, he said. HB 2 now returns to the full House for consideration. The preceding was a press release from LRC eNews. For more information on items before the Kentucky Legislature contact your local senator Robert Stivers (left) and/or representative Tim Couch (right).
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Post by ClayLive on Mar 16, 2011 20:35:55 GMT -5
Dropout bill heads to Senate
FRANKFORT—A bill aimed at encouraging more students to graduate by increasing the state’s school dropout age to 18 by the 2016 school year passed the House by an 87-13 vote today. House Bill 2, sponsored by Rep. Jeff Greer, D-Brandenburg, would raise the dropout age to 17 in July 2015 and 18 in July 2016. Greer said this fall’s freshman class will be the first high school class affected by the new dropout age requirements. The bill would also clarify the General Assembly’s commitment to career and technical education and improve Kentucky’s alternative education programs by centralizing the alternative education system at the state level, requiring better data collection in alternative ed programs and prohibiting teachers or staff facing disciplinary action and first-year teachers from leading alternative education classes. Greer said the bill could also help decrease the number of Kentuckians on public assistance, adding that 8 percent of the state’s Medicaid budget is used to provide medical care for high school dropouts. House Speaker Greg Stumbo, D-Prestonsburg, a supporter of the bill, said current law allowing students to drop out of school at age 16 was passed in the 1920s. “It’s time to change,” he said in a House floor speech. Some House members doubted that HB 2 would benefit students, or their schools. Rep. David Floyd, R-Bardstown, asserted that “there’s nothing to convince that keeping students in school against their will benefits them.” But Stumbo—who compared students who need encouragement to stay in school to starfish on dry sand that need to be picked up and put back in the ocean where they can thrive—had a different view. HB 2 now goes to the Senate for consideration. The preceding was a press release from LRC eNews. For more information on items before the Kentucky Legislature contact your local senator Robert Stivers (left) and/or representative Tim Couch (right).
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Post by ClayLive on Mar 19, 2011 7:50:49 GMT -5
This Week in Frankfort March 18, 2011
FRANKFORT -- Here’s this week, simple as it gets: The Kentucky Legislature met in special session to plug a hole in Medicaid funding. It reached no agreement. The special session will continue next week. But within those three plain, declarative sentences lies a whole universe of complex public policy, competing personal dynamics, and colliding political storm fronts that have made this winter’s legislative season one of the more nuanced in memory. The 30-day short session began with one chamber breaking tradition and passing 12 major bills during its first, organizational week. It ended abruptly, without taking a customary veto recess. And it went into overtime immediately, called back into special session by a governor who may now be more deeply engaged with this Legislature than he‘s ever been. This winter has not seen normal order of business in the Capitol, for sure. But even setting politics and personalities aside, the Legislature finds itself in something of a pickle, with a serious policy challenge to resolve in not much time: Finding a way to shore up Medicaid to the tune of $166 million by April 1, when the governor has said 35-percent reimbursement cuts to providers will have to be imposed to balance this year‘s budget. Such cuts, he and providers themselves warned, could have drastic consequences, including closure of some rural hospitals and clinics. Medicaid, the state-federal program that provides health coverage for about 800,000 low-income Kentuckians, is the fastest-running drain on our chronically overburdened state budget. In this, Kentucky is not unique. State governments nationwide are in fiscal crisis. In many if not most of those, you can peel to the core of the problem and find a spinning black hole of Medicaid costs sucking money from the state Treasury. The governor early on proposed, and the House endorsed, a plan to bring forward enough money from next year’s Medicaid budget to bridge this year’s gap (the $166-million figure includes some additional state money to capture significant additional federal funds). Under the original House Bill 305, the shifted money would be made up next year through new ‘managed care’ initiatives designed to save money in the program. The idea was to confine the problem to its source. Medicaid money would fix Medicaid. The Senate strongly questioned that assumption from the beginning. Senate leaders said savings of such scope were highly unlikely, given a tight time frame and the failure of other promised ‘savings‘ to bear fruit in other short-money budget agreements. They warned that failure of the governor’s proposal would lead to crippling shortfalls -- even a felt need by some to raise taxes -- in future budgets. Better to stop the bleeding now, they said. The Senate amended House Bill 305 to fill the budget gap next year by cutting state spending more-or-less equally across the board. The Senate has tended to favor this share-the-pain-fairly strategy in past budget showdowns. The House refused to go along with the Senate amendments. House leaders of both parties objected particularly to education cuts that were included in the Senate plan. The general House sentiment was that cuts in school funding should be a last option, not a first. Leaders insisted the governor’s cost-containment approach deserved at least a chance to succeed before more cuts are imposed on schools and state agencies, who have suffered eight rounds of cuts in the last three years. School districts around the state said further cuts could lead to layoffs. A House-Senate conference committee tried and failed in six attempts to find compromise, and before sundown on the regular session’s last day, with the Senate not even formally adjourned, the governor announced the special session -- which convened Monday, took up where the conference-committee impasse left off, and hasn’t publicly moved the ball much downfield at this writing. Still, talk of compromise continued. Proposals were floated, some said to be carried over from the failed conference committee negotiations. Some nibbled around the edges of the actual percentages the across-the-board cuts might be, or the total amount of managed-care savings that might reasonably be accepted as predictive enough to write a sound budget bill on. There’ve been trial balloons about returning money cut from school funding back to schools if the managed-care savings do approach or meet the governor‘s expectations. Conversely, another plan envisions specified contingent cuts that would kick in if the savings promised in the Medicaid program fall short. At week’s end, House leaders were putting the final touches on a formal compromise plan they may introduce in bill form early next week. The Senate, meanwhile, was asking the House to expedite its work, since the session’s daily tab was ticking along with nothing concrete accomplished. But at least so far, no proposal has truly resonated with both sides, let alone one that satisfactorily addresses the House-drawn line in the sand: No cuts to education. So the special session ended its first week with no breakthrough.-- a breakthrough that seems necessary if the threatened dire consequences apparently in store for April 1 can be avoided, fourteen days from today. The Legislature encourages citizen involvement in its work. Its website -- www.lrc.ky.gov -- is a comprehensive resource for legislative information, including meeting schedules and bill status. It’s updated daily during sessions. Anyone who wants to leave a message for a legislator can call toll-free, 1-800-372-7181. The preceding was a press release from LRC eNews. For more information on items before the Kentucky Legislature contact your local senator Robert Stivers (left) and/or representative Tim Couch (right).
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Post by ClayLive on Mar 21, 2011 20:42:51 GMT -5
Medicaid bill passes House, goes to Senate
FRANKFORT — The House voted 94-4 tonight to allow the governor to fill a $139 million state Medicaid shortfall through expanded Medicaid managed care programs. House Bill 1, sponsored by House Appropriations and Revenue Committee Chairman Rick Rand, D-Bedford, would allow the $139 million to be drawn from $166 million that the Executive Branch would be allowed to move from the fiscal year 2012 Medicaid budget to meet this fiscal year’s obligations. Medicaid expenses for fiscal year 2012 would be met through managed care efficiencies, according to the legislation. The governor would also be allowed to use $23.1 million freed up through government transfers, if necessary, to meet next year’s Medicaid budget. HB 1 also includes a provision that Rand said would allow the governor to “take full advantage” of an enhanced federal Medicaid match, saving the state around $12 million. If the governor cannot certify to lawmakers by August 15 of this year—after state Medicaid managed care contracts are signed—that he can meet the fiscal year 2012 obligations through managed care savings and other authorized actions, he would have until Oct. 1 “to demonstrate to us the cuts that would need to be made in order to balance the budget for the remainder of the year,” Rand said. Lawmakers have said those cuts, if necessary, would be made across state government with few exceptions including, but not limited to, K-12 education and state universities. “We have every confidence that the governor can make (the managed care approach) work,” Rand said. “It’s working in other states.” Rep. Stan Lee, R-Lexington, said he understands that HB 1 would create a roughly $420 million hole in Medicaid that would have to be filled in fiscal year 2012. Rand said that is “roughly accurate,” adding that the governor assures lawmakers that he can handle fiscal year 2012 obligations through expanded managed care. Rand explained the House’s intent to allow the governor to manage Medicaid, as has been the custom in the Commonwealth. “We have always let the Chief Executive in this state manage the Medicaid budget, and that is what we are doing now,” he said. HB 1 also limits the governor’s debt restructuring this budget cycle, requires the governor to meet $169 million in already-required efficiency savings next fiscal year through contract reductions and non-merit employee reductions, and orders any surplus state revenue be placed into the state’s “rainy day fund”—or budget reserve trust fund—among other things. A provision that moves $18.9 million in postsecondary education funding from fiscal year 2012 to fiscal year 2011 is also found in the bill. HB 1 now goes to the Senate for its consideration. The preceding was a press release from LRC eNews. For more information on items before the Kentucky Legislature contact your local senator Robert Stivers (left) and/or representative Tim Couch (right).
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Post by ClayLive on Mar 25, 2011 5:27:03 GMT -5
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Post by ClayLive on Mar 25, 2011 19:09:03 GMT -5
FRANKFORT -- (From left) Reps. Rita Smart, D-Richmond; Ryan Quarles, R-Georgetown; and Tom McKee, D-Cynthiana; exchange farewells after the Kentucky House of Representatives adjourned sine die late Thursday evening.
Senate approves own plan for Medicaid budget fix
FRANKFORT — The Senate approved a plan for cuts across state government and requirements for other cost savings as part of a Medicaid budget bill today, setting the stage for a likely conference committee of legislative leaders to iron out a final compromise plan. The Senate’s version, a substitute to House Bill 1, would enact immediate cuts to most state government programs of 0.355 percent. The next fiscal year, which begins July 1, would see 1.74 percent cuts. The cuts are intended to offset a shortfall in the current year’s Medicaid budget. They are smaller than the cuts proposed by the Senate during the special session. In turn, the new proposal assumes that the governor will achieve half of the $139 million savings he set forth in his original plan. State colleges and universities, as well as SEEK funding to local school districts, would be spared until January 30, 2012, but would then be included in spending reductions. If the governor achieves $115 million in Medicaid savings by that point -- 82 percent of his target -- the education cuts could be rescinded by the General Assembly, which will be in session next January. "Education will be held harmless until we can verify" the Medicaid savings, said Sen. Julie Denton, R-Louisville. "This is the most responsible way to address the Medicaid shortfall." Some dedicated funds, including coal severance and assistance to local governments, would be exempt from the cuts entirely. The legislative and judicial branches are included in the cuts, however. The Senate version is in contrast to the House’s plan, which calls on the governor to certify by mid-August the amount of Medicaid savings expected in the next fiscal year. Only if the expected Medicaid savings aren’t certified as being on track would spending cuts be triggered. The Senate plan authorizes an independent evaluation of those managed care savings by an outside accounting firm in coordination with the state's Consensus Forecasting Group. The proposal also restores language in last year’s budget bill — later vetoed by the governor — requiring targeted savings in state contracts, political non-merit appointees, and other operational efficiencies. The new Senate plan also forbids furloughs of state workers immediately. "It is entirely fair and the right thing to do for state employees," said Sen. Damon Thayer, R-Georgetown. Finally, the bill requires lawmakers to forgo their daily pay for any veto period following the special session. The language would allow lawmakers to override any gubernatorial line-item vetoes without much of the added cost of days when the General Assembly doesn't physically meet. HB 1 passed the Senate on a 22-15 vote. If the two chambers cannot agree on one version or the other, as is expected, a conference committee will be appointed to produce a final plan. The preceding was a press release from LRC eNews. For more information on items before the Kentucky Legislature contact your local senator Robert Stivers (left) and/or representative Tim Couch (right).
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Post by ClayLive on Mar 25, 2011 19:19:19 GMT -5
This Week in Frankfort March 25, 2011
FRANKFORT -- The second week of the special legislative session on Medicaid funding saw two proposals passed in bill form-- first in House Bill 1, then in a very different HB 1 as amended and passed in the Senate. And toward week’s end the chambers were back near square one, still locked in a familiar dance, once again looking to be consigned to a fruitless conference committee, still butting heads over their fundamentally different approaches to solving the problem that brought them there. Then, late Thursday, a ghostly third bill emerged. Actually it was the Senate version of HB 1, but soon-to-be transmuted back to something resembling its original House form through the pen strokes of promised gubernatorial line-item vetoes. And on that promise the House passed HB 1 as amended by the Senate though it contained spending cuts it found unacceptable, adjourned, and waited for the true outlines of the new/old final bill to emerge from the veto process. So ended the ninth working day of a special session called by the governor immediately after the 2011 regular session adjourned on March 9. So ended the long impasse over how to plug a troublesome hole in Medicaid, and the threat of forced cuts in Medicaid services April 1 if the hole wasn’t patched. It was a fittingly surprising turn in a legislative season ripe with surprises. The special session itself was a bit of a surprise, quick-called by a governor invoking the urgency of closing a $139-million shortfall in Medicaid before April 1 to avoid 35-percent cuts in provider reimbursements to doctors, hospitals and others for the remainder of this fiscal year, which ends June 30. Providers themselves (some in testimony at legislative hearings) warned that any such cuts could have catastrophic consequences. They raised the specter of some small rural hospitals and clinics even shuttering. Medicaid is the state-federal program that provides health coverage for about 800,000 low-income and disabled Kentuckians, and is state government’s fastest-growing expense. The special-session back story is familiar to anyone who follows the news. The governor early in this winter’s regular session proposed, and the House passed, a plan to bring forward enough money from next year’s Medicaid budget to bridge this year’s gap (the larger $166-million figure usually cited includes some additional state money to capture significant additional federal matching funds). Under the original House Bill 305, the shifted money would be made up next year through new ‘managed care’ initiatives designed to save money in the program. The idea was to confine the Medicaid problem to Medicaid, and let the governor manage the program to solvency. The Senate strongly questioned that approach and its underlying assumptions. Senate leaders said no way could the administration recoup that much money in such short-term managed-care savings. The chamber amended House Bill 305 to fill the budget gap by cutting state spending more-or-less equally across the board. Education would share the pain, albeit its share would be somewhat less than the rest of state government. But House leaders of both parties objected to any education cuts whatsoever, and so set the stage for a showdown. The regular session ended with the two chambers at a sticking point similar to this week’s. The chambers’ two formal proposals during the special session, House Bill 1 and its Senate-amended version, inched toward a middle ground, but still failed to resemble anything close to consensus. Early in the week, the House passed its new bill, with solid bipartisan support in that chamber. It attempted to address Senate concerns that cost-savings alone could not, in so short a time frame, cover the shortfall. It did so by imposing a catch: If the governor cannot certify to lawmakers by Aug. 15—after managed-care contracts are signed—that the plan and other actions authorized by the General Assembly will achieve savings sufficient to fill the hole in fiscal year 2012, specified cuts would be triggered across state government on Oct. 1. Exempted from cuts -- and this was all along the House line drawn in the sand -- was education. That included basic per-pupil SEEK funding for grades K-12, and public universities. The amended Senate plan moved toward compromise by accepting the notion that the administration might achieve half the savings it says can come from managed care. But it still required spending cuts, pared-back ones of 0.355 percent in the current fiscal year for nearly all state programs, other than base public school funding and postsecondary education. And it made cuts of 1.74 percent in the 2011-12 fiscal year, beginning July 1, to all areas other than public schools, which would have been cut by 0.812 percent. However, the bill provided that the education cuts be delayed until Jan. 30, 2012. This would allow the 2012 General Assembly to rescind them if the administration could show it had in fact achieved its target for savings through managed-care efficiencies. Adding to Frankfort’s sense of déjà vu all over again, the bill was poised to go to a conference committee of leaders from both chambers to try to finally, this time, iron out a compromise agreement. A similar conference committee, you will recall, met six times at the end of the regular session before adjourning without agreement, with negotiators arguing from substantially similar positions then as later. While a casual observer might think the two chambers’ differences at this point were a narrow creek to bridge, the apparent small gap between them was in fact a genuine rift, philosophical, political and profound. In this most nuanced legislative season in memory, no issue and no dispute had been more nuanced than this. So as another weary weekend approached, Frankfort waited to see if the pressure of April 1 and what that day’s sunrise might bring would connect the dots on a agreement that had so far proven itself to be just plain slippery. Then Thursday evening, the session uncorked one last surprise, as the electric and unexpected news spread that the House was prepared to approve the amended Senate version of HB 1, on the governor’s written promise that he would use his line-item veto authority to basically return the bill to something approaching its original House form, specifically eliminating spending cuts inserted by the Senate. After House leaders explained this unconventional move -- which asked members to vote on faith for a bill they didn’t like on the promise they’d end up with a law they did -- the chamber voted 86-2 to go along. The House then voted to adjourn, effectively removing any possibility of veto overrides, which require both chambers. The preceding was a press release from LRC eNews. For more information on items before the Kentucky Legislature contact your local senator Robert Stivers (left) and/or representative Tim Couch (right).
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Post by ClayLive on May 11, 2011 19:39:04 GMT -5
County-level ag programs give farming a boost
FRANKFORT – Ten years and nearly $348 million later, Kentucky agriculture in communities that receive tobacco settlement dollars, and agriculture statewide, is looking up. “Our communities are more stable because of the extra dollars coming to the communities,” University of Kentucky Extension Agent for Lincoln County Dan Grigson told the Tobacco Settlement Agreement Fund Oversight Committee today. “We feel like the Agricultural Development Board has had tremendous benefits to Kentucky agriculture and Kentucky’s general economy.” The 2000 General Assembly created a state board and county-level framework to distribute millions of dollars from a multi-billion-dollar national tobacco settlement between states and cigarette manufacturers. County extension agents like Grigson are responsible under that law for administering the distribution of that money at the county level. Some estimate that every tobacco settlement dollar spent returns $1.85 to $2 to the state economy, said Grigson. Then there’s the improvement in cattle sales to feed lots in the Midwest which used to refuse Kentucky cattle. “Today, the folks in the feed lots in the Midwest, they want our cattle,” Grigson said. Today, Kentucky is the largest beef cattle state east of the Mississippi River, he added. “I feel like the county programs have had a great impact.” The committee also heard from county extension agents like Jeff Smith of Fleming County, Doug Shepherd of Hardin County and Ted Johnson of Lee County, all who have seen growth in their county’s agricultural infrastructure over the past decade. Smith said 19 of the 20 counties in the county extension district that includes Fleming County have farmers markets because of investment in tobacco settlement funds, and 10 of the counties have plots of switchgrass, a plant that is an important component in production of biofuels. The number of beef cattle is up by over 12,500, and farm acreage is on the rise, Smith said. Similar stories were shared by Johnson and Shepherd. “The basic infrastructure on our farms has definitely changed,” said Shepherd. “You see new barns out there, you see cattle handling facilities.” The purpose of the state and county level funds distributed under the 2000 law is to help once tobacco- dependent counties diversify their agricultural base. Now, with new agricultural infrastructure for hay storage, goat production, cattle handling and other needs, the agents explained that counties are finding it easier to cope with the loss in tobacco income. Johnson said around 85 percent of the approximately 7,000 people living in the community he serves are involved in agriculture, and that having tobacco settlement dollars for that purpose is helping. Some lawmakers on the committee suggested that the state and counties look at new funding sources, cautioning that tobacco settlement dollars might not always be there. “I think we need to be mindful of planning ahead,” said Sen. Joey Pendleton, D-Hopkinsville. Kentucky’s county extension agents seem willing to adapt. As University of Kentucky College of Agriculture Dean Scott Smith told the committee, “the agriculture development programs at the county level have changed the jobs of the county agents,” adding that there have been over 100,000 “teachable moments” because of the 2000 law. “I know from experience that we could not have done it without that partnership (with county extension agents),” Committee Co-Chair Sen. Paul Hornback, R-Shelbyville, said. “It took the leadership of Extension to bring people together to get this done.” The preceding was a press release from LRC eNews. For more information on items before the Kentucky Legislature contact your local senator Robert Stivers (left) and/or representative Tim Couch (right).
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Post by ClayLive on Jun 3, 2011 21:31:19 GMT -5
Obama environmental regulations will raise electric bills another Twenty Percent
FRANKFORT— Electric rates across Kentucky would likely increase as utilities prepare to spend around $9 billion over the next five or six years to comply with proposed or pending federal environmental regulations, a state legislative committee heard today. John Voyles with LG&E and KU Energy told the Interim Joint Committee on Natural Resources and Environment that his company applied June 1 to the Public Service Commission for a rate increase of up to 12.2 percent for KU’s nearly 546,000 customers by 2016 and up to 19 percent for LG&E’s 397,000 electric customers to help recoup its costs. Wholesale rates could increase 40 percent by 2015 for customers of Big Rivers Electric in Henderson to help that company recoup expected costs, said company spokesman John Talbot. Big Rivers Electric, which distributes electricity and other services to more than 111,000 customers, estimates it will pay $785 million initially to develop equipment necessary for compliance with new federal regulations, Talbot said. “It’s a grave concern to our country and the western Kentucky economy,” Talbot said, adding the increase would affect industrial employers such as aluminum smelters that pull much of Big Rivers’ customer load. “Anyone who has a job here may not have that type of job when these increases go through,” said committee co-chair Rep. Jim Gooch, D-Providence, who chaired today’s meeting. East Kentucky Power Cooperative official Nick Comer said his company—which supplies power to 519,000 Kentucky customers—estimates compliance with the proposed regulations could cost his company at least $700 million while forcing EKPC customer rates to rise by more than 20 percent. The company has already spent over $1.8 billion in the past five or six years on clean coal technology and retrofitting, Comer said. Similar reports of likely rate hikes were shared by officials from Kentucky Power, which serves around 175,000 customers throughout eastern Kentucky, and Duke Energy which serves approximately 4 million customers in Kentucky, Indiana, Ohio and the Carolinas. Sen. Joe Bowen, R-Owensboro, asked officials from the utilities what role state environmental officials play, as opposed to the federal Environmental Protection Agency, in the regulatory process. Voyles said the federal rules are given to the states to be carried out, although states can approve regulations that are more, not less, stringent that the federal rules. When asked by another lawmaker if utilities have taken action to extend the compliance deadlines, company officials said that their employers are taking such action. Rate increases requested by regulated utilities must be approved by the PSC before they can take effect. The preceding was a press release from LRC eNews. For more information on items before the Kentucky Legislature contact your local senator Robert Stivers (left) and/or representative Tim Couch (right).
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Post by Press Release on Jun 7, 2011 6:57:45 GMT -5
New laws set to take effect June 8
FRANKFORT - Higher dollar amounts for small claims court cases and the approval of wellness rewards for health insurance plans are among the dozens of new laws set to take effect this week. Under the state constitution, most new laws take effect 90 days after the end of the legislative session. Laws passed during the 2011 Regular Session, which ended March 9, will become effective on June 8, except for those with emergency clauses or with specific effective dates contained within the bills themselves. Among the issues affected by legislation taking effect on June 8 are the following: African-American Heritage. Senate Bill 64 creates the Kentucky Center for African-American Heritage and outlines its board membership. Carbon dioxide. SB 50 includes pipelines for captured carbon dioxide in the eminent domain process, allowing such a pipeline to be constructed through Western Kentucky. Courts. SB 108 increases the jurisdiction of district courts in civil cases from $4,000 to $5,000 and the jurisdiction of small claims courts from $1,500 to $2,500. Diabetes. SB 63 creates a collaborative group to identify goals and plans to reduce incidences of diabetes and improve diabetes care. SB 71 creates a licensing process for diabetes educators. Doctoral programs. SB 130 allows the state's six comprehensive universities to offer certain advanced practice doctoral programs within limits. Education. HB 425 allows out-of-state veterans to qualify for in-state tuition at public colleges and universities. Eye care. SB 110 allows optometrists to perform certain types of laser surgery, including treatments for glaucoma and cataracts. Firearms. HB 308 establishes a program for people who have been banned from purchasing a firearm due to mental illness to recover that right. Flu shots. SB 40 allows pharmacists to give flu shots to children ages 9-13. Government publications. HB 33 bans state agencies from mailing most publications to the public unless they are requested by the recipient. Homelessness. SB 26 reduces the fee for ID cards for the homeless from $12 to $4. Occupational and physical therapy. SB 112 limits health insurance co-pays on occupational and physical therapy sessions to no higher than that of regular doctor's visits. Prescriptions. HB 311 allows Schedule II prescriptions, including oxycodone and hydrocodone, to be transmitted electronically or by fax. The bill also allows Schedule III-V drugs to be transmitted by fax; those can already be transmitted electronically. Principals. SB 12 authorized local school superintendents to appoint principals after consultation with the school-based decision making council, a reversal of the current procedure. School board elections. HB 228 increases the contribution limits for school board candidates to $200 for individuals and $1,000 for organizations. Traffic laws. HB 289 adds fines for driving over the 70 miles-per-hour speed limit and clarifies that vehicle-integrated GPS units are exempt from the state's ban on texting or using other communications devices while driving. Voter registration. HB 192 requires high schools to provide seniors information on how to register to vote and related information. Wellness programs. SB 114 allows private health insurance plans to offer incentives and awards for wellness programs. The preceding was a press release from LRC eNews. For more information on items before the Kentucky Legislature contact your local senator Robert Stivers (left) and/or representative Tim Couch (right).
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Post by Press Release on Jun 9, 2011 21:06:42 GMT -5
Medicaid managed care plan reviewed by lawmakers
FRANKFORT — A legislative hearing on a Medicaid cost containment report quickly turned to the upcoming transition to managed care for Medicaid recipients today. Cabinet for Health and Family Services officials were on hand to respond to a Program Review and Investigations Committee report with recommendations for improving the state Medicaid program. With cost containment and fraud prevention a key component of the report — and with the Medicaid budget the subject of a special session earlier this year — lawmakers on the panel were interested in plans for managed care implementation statewide. Acting Medicaid Commissioner Neville Wise said that proposals are currently being reviewed with negotiations with prospective managed care organizations to come in the next few weeks. He said he expected contracts to be signed by July 1. The request for proposals allows different groups to join together to separately provide primary care, pharmacy, and other services, as long as there is a “seamless” experience for Kentucky’s 820,000 Medicaid recipients, Deputy CFHS Secretary Eric Friedlander said. The RFP required prospective managed care organizations (MCOs) to submit details on a statewide network as well as networks for specific regions of the state. Passport Health Plan currently runs a similar program for 165,000 Medicaid recipients in and around Louisville. “We’ve all learned something from Passport, some positive and some negative, that we can use,” Wise said. Once managed care largely replaces the current fee-for-service model, as many as half of all Medicaid staff could shift all or part of their responsibilities toward administrative oversight and related duties, Wise said, although Medicaid eligibility will still be controlled by state workers and not MCOs. “It would seem we’ve just added another layer” of bureaucracy rather than cutting costs, said Senate President Pro Tempore Katie Kratz Stine, R-Southgate. Friedlander pointed out managed care’s traditionally lower costs as another cost savings to the commonwealth at a time of strained budget resources, while CHFS budget director Beth Jurek said Kentucky’s low administrative overhead would help keep costs low. The report cited the lower administrative costs as a potential negative if proper oversight is to be maintained over MCOs. In some cases, proper cost-benefit analysis for programs has not been conducted, and statutorily required reports to the legislative branch have not been adequate, it said. “It would seem the best internal protocols are what we need in place,” Sen. Stine said. The preceding was a press release from LRC eNews. For more information on items before the Kentucky Legislature contact your local senator Robert Stivers (left) and/or representative Tim Couch (right).
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Post by Press Release on Jun 14, 2011 9:22:02 GMT -5
End-of-course school exam details shared with lawmakers
FRANKFORT — Members of the Education Assessment and Accountability Review Subcommittee heard details of the coming school year’s implementation of end-of-course assessments at their first meeting of the 2011 interim today. Senate Bill 1, passed in 2009, authorized statewide end-of-course exams to measure students achievement in core courses. Those exams will take place for English II, Algebra II, biology, and U.S. history courses beginning with the 2011-12 school year. All students must take those courses for high school graduation. Under the plan, districts may choose to use student exam results as part of the course grade, but any district that chooses not to, or that values the exam results as less than 20 percent of the student’s final grade, must explain their choice to the Kentucky Department of Education. “Teachers all over the commonwealth told me students needed to have some accountability in this,” Education Commissioner Terry Holliday said. The exams will come in two parts: 35-38 multiple-choice questions that can be taken electronically or with pencil and paper, and 1-3 written response questions that must be taken the old-fashioned way. Around 98 percent of all schools have the capability to administer the multiple-choice part electronically, Holliday said. State education officials said that ACT, Inc., the exam designers, cannot administer the written portion online. Electronic responses can be graded and returned to students within a day or so, said Rhonda Sims of the Education Department’s Division of Support and Research. Pencil-and-paper responses will have a two-week lag. “Ten days is not very long, unless it’s the end of the school year,” said Sen. Vernie MaGaha, R-Russell Springs. The exams will be given at the end of the course, whether in a block, trimester, or traditional calendar. “We will continue to work with ACT to see if the timeline can be improved,” Sims responded. The original bid process asked for a five-day lag, but ACT’s 10-day time frame was the shortest submitted, Sims said. The benefit of the new testing scheme, school officials said, was that students statewide will face the same exams, setting a firm measure for all students. In addition, the results can be compared to students taking similar tests in other states, and because ACT Inc. is helping design the exams, they will have some predictive value for students’ performance on the PLAN and ACT exams that measure college readiness. The end-of-course exams were “backward-engineered,” Sims said, beginning with expectations for college and career readiness and working from there. The state’s new core curriculum standards have also been designed with students’ future needs in mind. While the state’s English II and Algebra II standards are already in line with ACT’s pre-packaged exams, and biology standards are largely the same, the U.S. history exam will be adjusted somewhat to account for high school students’ focus on post-Reconstruction history. American history up to the Civil War is covered in middle school, Sims said. The more customized the exams are to Kentucky standards, however, the less they can be compared to other states’ test results. Sims also addressed the concern of Rep. Bill Farmer, R-Lexington, that teachers will focus on the test instead of core standards, a problem cited with the state’s former testing system. The test questions will be changed throughout the year and not frequently recycled so that teachers can focus on the broader knowledge base rather than expected exam questions. “It’s a new and exciting path, and we expect there to be some growing pains,” Sims said. The preceding was a press release from LRC eNews. For more information on items before the Kentucky Legislature contact your local senator Robert Stivers (left) and/or representative Tim Couch (right).
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Post by Press Release on Jun 16, 2011 21:07:28 GMT -5
Economic development successes highlighted in legislative meeting
FRANKFORT -- The KFC Yum! Center is generating a buzz in downtown Louisville and a Tiffany & Co. jewelry manufacturing operation is bringing new jobs to Lexington, lawmakers were told today during a meeting of the Economic Development and Tourism Committee. Harold Workman, CEO of the Kentucky State Fair Board, led off the meeting with a report highlighting the activities in the KFC Yum! Center since the 22,000-seat arena opened last October. Over the past eight months, the arena, which is the home for University of Louisville basketball, has featured 38 basketball games, 28 concerts and 136 other events. “It is heavily used and very important to the community. It really is a magnet for downtown,” Workman said. “It has created a lot of energy, a lot of buzz, in downtown.” The most heavily attended event at the arena was a sold-out Elton John concert that attracted 20,700 attendees. The highest-grossing concert was an Eagles show that earned more than $1.7 million in ticket sales. “The concerts are doing very well in Louisville,” Workman said, noting that the KFC Yum! Center is giving artists an opportunity to draw larger crowds than arenas in other cities. Once the center has been opened for a full year, an economic impact study will give a clearer picture of the effect the arena has had on downtown Louisville. But one early indicator of success is the eight new restaurants that have opened within a few blocks of the arena, Workman said. Rep. Tom McKee, D-Cynthiana, noted that there were some concerns about parking when the arena was being built. Workman replied that parking has not been a problem. “Some of you who may have attended events there – including basketball, which is one they were concerned about – can probably say there haven’t been any problems getting in or out of the parking area. … I park in the arena garage and I’ve never had more than a half-dozen cars in front of me coming or going.” Lawmakers were also updated on a new Tiffany and Co. jewelry manufacturing facility in Lexington that has already employed 90 workers in a facility its renting until a new 25,000-square-foot manufacturing plant is completed this summer. In the new facility, the workforce is expected to grow to 125, with future expansion and more jobs possible. John S. Petterson, senior vice president of operations for Tiffany & Co., said Lexington was chosen from about 50 sites in the U.S. that were considered for the new manufacturing plant. One of the main considerations, he said, was choosing a site that could uphold the quality expected of the Tiffany & Co. brand. “It boiled down to us … being sure we could hire people that would understand this amazing brand what this amazing culture was all about.” Lexington made a good first impression on the Tiffany and Co. officials when they visited, Petterson said. “Something feels good about Lexington -- the arts, the values, the people that we’ve met, the sincerity we felt during the process,” he said. “And so that’s when we began the process of looking much, much deeper at Kentucky.” Some of the same qualities that attracted the manufacturing plant to Kentucky may draw a Tiffany & Co. retail shop to Lexington in the future, Petterson said. The preceding was a press release from LRC eNews. For more information on items before the Kentucky Legislature contact your local senator Robert Stivers (left) and/or representative Tim Couch (right).
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Post by Press Release on Jun 25, 2011 21:12:46 GMT -5
Kentucky economy shows promise as FY 2011 nears end
FRANKFORT—Third quarter growth of the state’s General Fund in fiscal year 2011 was strong, with $113.6 million in growth in May alone, a state budget official told a legislative committee today. Greg Harkenrider with the State Budget Director’s Office told the Interim Joint Committee on Appropriations and Revenue that General Fund growth was 17.8 percent in May. Individual income tax receipts--which accounted for an increase of $93 million--showed the most growth, he said. Corporate income tax and coal severance tax revenues are also doing well with the state running in excess of projected revenues, he added. “The third quarter was a great quarter, and it looks good going forward,” said Harkenrider. Improvement has come in spite of Kentucky’s lag in personal income and wage growth nationally, he said. Recent growth in personal income for the U.S. was 5.6 percent compared to 4.7 percent for Kentucky. But that Harkenrider said that does not bother him much. “We never were hurting as badly as the rest of the U.S. during the recession,” he said. “The fact that we had lower growth does not (overly concern) me.” In fact, he told lawmakers, continued growth is expected in June although how much growth remains to be seen. Housing growth has been slow, but he expects the housing market to grow as jobs expand through increased production. Committee Co-Chair Rep. Rick Rand, D-Bedford, mentioned that Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke had expressed concern with the national economy earlier today. Rand asked Harkenrider if he remains optimistic considering Bernanke’s comments. Recent supply disruptions aside, Harkenrider said he thinks most economists do not expect there to be a “double dip” recession that would hinder economic recovery. Once the books are closed on fiscal year 2011, Rand said Kentucky officials will be able to determine if there will be any state budget surplus. Rand said surplus funds would be classified as non-budgeted necessary government expenses for emergency needs or placed in the state’s Budget Reserve “rainy day” trust fund to be appropriated later. Rep. Ron Crimm, R-Louisville, said any surplus must be carefully protected. “Here we are with Medicaid trouble…and we need to guard (that money),” Crimm said. The state Road Fund is also doing well, Harkenrider said. Revenue from the state motor fuels tax and state usage tax (or sales tax paid on motor vehicles when purchased) has increased, with usage tax revenue exceeding budget estimates by $18.4 million. State census data was also shared with the committee by Ron Crouch of the state Office of Employment and Training. Crouch’s data indicates that Kentucky is one of four states (Tennessee, North Carolina and Virginia are the other three) that have real potential for growth as the Midwest and Northeast fall into decline. The data also shows a return in manufacturing jobs to the U.S. due to demographic shifts in China and elsewhere, Crouch said. The U.S. manufacturing sector has been in decline for years. The preceding was a press release from LRC eNews. For more information on items before the Kentucky Legislature contact your local senator Robert Stivers (left) and/or representative Tim Couch (right).
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Post by Press Release on Jun 29, 2011 19:09:51 GMT -5
Auditor reviews pension system report with lawmakers
FRANKFORT — Placement agents have not presented a financial drain on the state employee pension system, but present numerous issues to address, state Auditor Crit Luallen told a panel of lawmakers one day after publicly releasing her office’s findings. The audit made 92 recommendations in three areas: the use of placement agents, internal audit procedures, and general governance and operations. Kentucky Retirement Systems Board chair Jennifer Elliott told members of the Interim Committee on State Government that the board and administrative staff agreed with each recommendation and planned to implement all of them. One area addressed in particular by the audit was the ability of one placement agent to act in effect as an unpaid agent of Kentucky Retirement Systems, soliciting business from multiple investment funds, with the knowledge of the then-Chief Investment Officer. Traditionally, placement agents work on behalf of investment funds, seeking large institutional investors like pension funds to put money in their care. The placement agent then receives a fee from the fund for their successful work. Luallen noted that no criminal action was apparent. “Based on the information they reviewed, auditors saw no evidence of a ‘pay to play’ scheme involving placement agents,” she said. No KRS officials benefited, as has resulted in criminal charges in other states, and KRS did not incur any higher costs or fees because of their use. The close relationship between the former CIO and one placement agent, both of whom did not speak with auditors or make their records available, has been referred to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Kentucky Retirement Systems oversees around $13 billion in retirement funds on behalf of 330,000 retirees and active workers. “There is not another public agency in Kentucky that has such a significant fiduciary responsibility affecting as great a number of people as the Kentucky Retirement Systems,” Luallen said. Several of the 92 recommendations contained in the audit were included in legislation filed this past legislative session, said Committee Co-Chair Rep. Mike Cherry, D-Princeton. Both Cherry and Co-Chair Sen. Damon Thayer, R-Georgetown, said they were hopeful the recommendations could be made law during the 2012 session. Among the recommendations suggested by the audit were the need for placement agents to file with the Executive Branch Ethics Commission and for placement agent disclosure forms to include political contributions to state officials. The audit also suggested detailed information for the KRS board’s investment committee on recommended investments, which could have alerted members to the relationship between the former CIO and a placement agent. The audit also suggested more transparency in the area of KRS spending, allowing board members to see KRS staff expenditures in relations to its budget on a quarterly basis. Thayer noted growing expenses as one reason for the pension fund’s unfunded liability. Thayer also told members of the panel that he hoped one meeting later in the interim would focus on efforts to move state workers to a 401(k)-style defined contribution system rather than the current defined benefit plan. The preceding was a press release from LRC eNews. For more information on items before the Kentucky Legislature contact your local senator Robert Stivers (left) and/or representative Tim Couch (right).
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Post by Press Release on Jul 1, 2011 18:10:15 GMT -5
Lawmakers continue study of status offenders
FRANKFORT—The average age of a child committed to state child protection in Kentucky for a status offense—including being habitually truant—is 16. Many enter the system at age 13 or 14, state lawmakers were told today by the state Department for Community Based Services, and many go to foster care. Of the 1,221 status offenders committed to the department as of January 2011, 945 were placed in “out of home care,” or foster care, said DCBS Commissioner Pat Wilson. They included victims of substantiated abuse or neglect, children with attention deficit disorders, victims of school bullying, substance abusers, or those who felt marginalized by society in some way, she said. Foster care is one way to help these youth, but a course of action Wilson said DCBS does not favor for habitual truants is juvenile detention, or jailing of students. Habitual truancy, which Wilson said is the most common status offense in Kentucky, is defined by state law as six or more unexcused school absences per school year and is subject to action by the courts. “We certainly agree that the detention of youth is not the answer to the problem,” Wilson told the Interim Joint Committee on Judiciary. Only seven of the 1,221 children committed to DCBS in January were in juvenile detention facilities, she said, although that number only reflects the number of children under DCBS. It does not include status offenders who are detained before being committed to DCBS. Wilson and Patrick Yewell, who is the executive officer of the Administrative Office of the Courts Department of Family and Juvenile Services, both seemed to favor diversion programs for truants that allow children to work through their issues with their school and the state without going to court. “Truancy diversion programs do work,” said Wilson. “It’s essential we assess what the problems with these youth are and work… toward keeping them in school.” Senate President Pro Tem Katie Kratz Stine, R-Southgate, suggested reducing truancy could also lower the state’s dropout rate. “It seems to me there is a correlation between truancy and dropouts,” she said. Yewell said the state’s Truancy Diversion Program has been voluntary chosen by 61 counties and 149 Kentucky schools so far as an option for handling truants. The program has been about 90 percent successful in correcting truancy issues based on grades and other measures of school performance, said Yewell. Still, not every county elects to join the program. That drew comments from Sen. Robin Webb, D-Grayson, who said participation should be strongly encouraged. “It’s as good to me as a truancy officer in your school system,” she said. Yewell recommended that lawmakers consider statutory changes to Kentucky’s status offender laws including expanding parent accountability, reviewing the state court designated worker program, assessing programs and services—“Find what works, find what doesn’t work,” as Yewell said—and look at increasing the pay of state employees who work with status offenders. “It’s gotten to the point where we must realize the key to any program is its workforce and the stability of that workforce,” he added. The preceding was a press release from LRC eNews. For more information on items before the Kentucky Legislature contact your local senator Robert Stivers (left) and/or representative Tim Couch (right).
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Post by Press Release on Jul 8, 2011 20:41:48 GMT -5
Lawmakers review KIDS NOW initiative
FRANKFORT—Kentucky’s KIDS NOW early childhood program, paid for by state tobacco settlement dollars, is making progress in early child care and education despite $2.86 million in budget reductions in fiscal year 2011, state lawmakers heard today. Annette Bridges, the division director of the state’s Division of Early Childhood Development, told the Tobacco Settlement Agreement Fund Oversight Committee that the KIDS NOW voluntary home visitation program HANDS (Health Access Nurturing Development services), which helps first time parents better handle their child’s early development, returns over $8 to the state for each dollar invested. Child and maternal health programs, including an oral health education and prevention initiative called KIDS SMILE, save the state money while protecting children from unnecessary diseases like early childhood tooth decay, according to KIDS NOW, which says Kentucky public schools lose around $1.5 million from student absences caused by oral health problems preventable by oral screenings and fluoride varnishes. Early childhood education is also a focus of KIDS NOW, which has a scholarship fund for educational advancement and certification of early childhood workers and a voluntary quality rating system for child care centers called STARS for KIDS NOW, among other services. STARS director Mary Beth Jackson said a number of criteria—including staff-to-child ratios, curriculum, and professional development of staff—are used when rating centers and child care homes. There are currently over 103,000 children in licensed child care centers in Kentucky, the committee was told. Data collected by KIDS NOW recently indicates that children in high quality child care centers perform better in school that those without that level of care, Dr. Jennifer Grisham Brown with KIDS NOW told lawmakers. Measures of behavior show that children from high quality centers “are better prepared for kindergarten than those who attend low quality (centers),” Brown said. She said high quality centers prepare preschoolers for kindergarten through the chosen curriculum and in how teachers interact with students. For example, it is considered better for a teacher to question and expect reciprocity from students than to merely sit and read a book to a child, Brown explained. Emotional support for children is also important, she said. Jackson said the STARS program is intent on assisting centers that show an interest in being STARS rated. “We try to provide as many supports as possible to get them there,” she said. KIDS NOW is funded with 25 percent of Kentucky’s share of the national master tobacco settlement from the late 1990s. In fiscal year 2011, 10.3 percent of the state’s total Early Childhood Development tobacco funds had to be reduced. Committee co-chair Sen. Paul Hornback, R-Shelbyville, joined other lawmakers in thanking Bridges, Brown and Jackson for their presentation. “We think it’s imperative for everybody to know that we catch these kids at a young age,” Hornback said of KIDS NOW. The preceding was a press release from LRC eNews. For more information on items before the Kentucky Legislature contact your local senator Robert Stivers (left) and/or representative Tim Couch (right).
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Post by Press Release on Jul 18, 2011 9:18:51 GMT -5
Legislators hear plans for ‘11/11/11’ initiative
FRANKFORT — State legislators were brought up to speed on the planning for months of programs and activities for Kentucky’s veterans and their sacrifices, a project known as the “11/11/11” initiative. The program, unveiled by Gov. Steve Beshear on Memorial Day, will include a series of events culminating in a celebration at the State Capitol on Veterans Day — 11/11/11 — to honor the 339,000 Kentucky men and women who have served in the armed forces. Over the next four months, programs will be conducted in conjunction with USA Cares, schools, the business community, and volunteer organizations, among others. Plans are being made to make sure the Capitol finale event does not conflict with programs run by the Kentucky Historical Society or veterans groups. “We don’t want to interfere with anything that been going on historically,” Larry Bond, Beshear’s Deputy Chief of Staff, told members of the Interim Joint Committee on Veterans, Military Affairs, and Public Protection. Ken Lucas, Commissioner of the Kentucky Department of Veterans Affairs, noted that there will also be special efforts coordinated with the chambers of commerce in Louisville and Lexington to hold job fairs targeted at veterans. “This thing is being fleshed out as we go,” Lucas said, inviting lawmakers to take part in the planning of the many activities. The KFC Yum! Center in Louisville will host a USO concert on July 26 as well. “It’s unusual to have a USO show here,” Lucas said. Veterans services organizations have been given tickets for distribution to military and their families.” “Any way we can call attention to the needs of our veterans and call attention to their service and have an opportunity to thank them, we want to participate in that,” said Committee Co-Chair Rep. Tanya Pullin, D-South Shore. The preceding was a press release from LRC eNews. For more information on items before the Kentucky Legislature contact your local senator Robert Stivers (left) and/or representative Tim Couch (right).
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Post by Press Release on Jul 19, 2011 5:17:44 GMT -5
State energy policies reviewed by legislative panel
FRANKFORT—Kentucky’s energy policies have created what state officials say is the largest investment in energy efficiency in the state’s history. Kentucky Deputy Commissioner of Energy Development and Independence John Davies told the Special Subcommittee on Energy that policies born from legislation passed by the Kentucky General Assembly over the past several years have led to substantial investment in energy efficiency in public schools and state buildings, including over $27 million for energy management in public schools statewide. In 2008, only 17 schools in the state were certified by Energy Star—a federal program that distinguishes a building as highly energy efficient, Davies said. Today, 105 schools are Energy Star certified. “It’s by no mistake that energy efficiency is the first strategy in the governor’s (energy) plan,” Davies said. The energy plan, unveiled in 2008, focuses on seven strategies: improving energy efficiency; fostering renewable energy; sustainably increasing production of biofuels; developing a coal-to-liquid industry; increasing natural gas supplies; initiating carbon capture and sequestration projects; and examining the use of nuclear power to generate electricity in Kentucky. Another show of Kentucky’s energy efficiency policy’s success is the Commonwealth’s distinction of being the only state with two near net-zero energy user schools: Turkey Foot Middle School in Kenton County and Richardsville Elementary in Warren County. Davies said Turkey Foot’s kilowatt usage for May-June was a negative 2,000 kilowatt hours. State buildings are being made more energy efficient through assistance by the Green Bank of Kentucky, a state program that provides low interest revolving loans for energy efficiency projects and contracts. Davies said $14 million in federal Recovery Act funds provided capital for the revolving loan fund. “As these loans are repaid, the funds will be recycled to support new energy saving performance contracts in state facilities,” said Davies. Another success story is the Energy Star appliance rebate program of 2010, which Davies said provided over $3.4 million in rebates to over 34,000 Kentuckians on $51 million in appliance sales. The sales generated $3 million in sales tax revenue, with clothes washers and refrigerators being the most popular purchases. Having a more diverse energy portfolio—or more diverse ways to generate power—could also benefit the state, which Davies said now relies on coal-fired power for 94 percent of electricity generation. “In the future, primarily relying on one power of electricity may not be prudent,” he said, adding that regulatory and other pressures will place new demands on the coal industry and the coal it exports to other states. Kentucky exported around 74 percent of total coal produced here to other states in 2009, he said. Most of those states were in the Southeast. “These are the same states that will be affected by the federal EPA regulations that may damper their demand for imported coal,” said Davies, who then explained how biomass, biofuels, clean coal technologies and other energy sources are being used to benefit the state. “We have made a strong start, but there is much more to do,” he said. Several lawmakers asked officials from the state Energy and Environment Cabinet what the Executive Branch’s position is on federal regulatory changes affecting Kentucky’s coal industry. Senate Majority Floor Leader Robert Stivers, R-Manchester, said the coal industry’s economic impact on Kentucky is at least three times greater than the impact of the horse industry, which is known as Kentucky’s signature industry. “Last time I looked at the statistics on coal we had over $5.5 billion in sales, which is greater than the total economic impact of the horse industry, so if you do an equivalent multiplier, we probably have close to a $15 billion impact in this state and I would suggest it is probably higher than that,” Stivers said. Karen Wilson of the Energy and Environment Cabinet said the administration has sent letters, testified before Congress and sued the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to show “displeasure” with its policies, including a lawsuit filed last year on the EPA’s permitting policies affecting coal mining. “We would like to see some sensible time frames for the various regulations that are either coming out now or are going to be coming out,” said Wilson, including regulations concerning greenhouse gases and coal ash. Some lawmakers voiced concern that non-elected officials at a federal agency—namely the EPA—are effecting environmental policy on coal, which remains a dominant energy source nationwide. “I think many of us believe and are concerned…they are legislating on their own,” said subcommittee Co-Chair Sen. Brandon Smith, R-Hazard. “It’s a problem when an agency snubs its nose at Congress…,” said House Majority Leader Rocky Adkins, D-Sandy Hook. “It’s not their job to make the law.” Adkins said “common sense” regulations are needed, not regulations that will negatively impact the economy and jobs. Senate President Pro Tem Katie Stine, R-Southgate, asked Cabinet officials about progress toward meeting the goals of 2010 Senate Bill 132, a bill filed by Sen. Stine and passed into law that supports construction of energy efficient schools. “I would hope that you would take this legislation seriously, and that you would seek to work with (the Department of Education) to implement it, and also find private entities or federal funds, if there are any…to help in the funding mechanism in that legislation in order to move these schools forward.” The preceding was a press release from LRC eNews. For more information on items before the Kentucky Legislature contact your local senator Robert Stivers (left) and/or representative Tim Couch (right).
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Post by Press Release on Jul 23, 2011 1:37:04 GMT -5
Panel hears plans on alcohol sales at state parks
FRANKFORT -- Plans to allow the sale of alcoholic beverages at some state parks were presented to lawmakers during today’s meeting of the Economic Development and Tourism Committee. The state has applied for licenses to allow alcohol sales at Jenny Wiley State Resort Park in Prestonsburg, General Butler State Resort Park in Carrollton, and Lake Barkley State Resort Park in Cadiz. Licenses have also been pursued to offer beer sales at the golf courses at My Old Kentucky Home State Park in Bardstown and John James Audubon Park in Henderson. All of these parks are in “wet” territories, where local voters have already decided to allow alcohol sales in the community. Secretary Marcheta Sparrow of the Tourism, Arts and Heritage Cabinet told lawmakers there are no plans to push for alcohol sales at parks in dry areas. “We believe our state parks can offer alcoholic beverages responsibly to guests while at the same time retaining our family-friendly atmosphere,” she said. A year-long review of the parks system commissioned in 2009 noted that alcohol sales at some parks could improve meeting bookings, overall volume of business, and support for special events and golf operations, Sparrow said. When Rep. Julie Raque Adams, R-Louisville, asked for specifics regarding increased revenue expected from alcohol sales at state parks, Sparrow said firm numbers aren’t available yet. “We don’t have hard and fast projections,” she said. “We have spoken with businesses that have started the sale of alcohol long after they were established and found it can be anywhere from 8 to 25 percent depending on the location. We think we will have a better idea at this time next year to come back and report to you how we have done with that.” Parks Department Commissioner Gerry van der Meer told lawmakers that all park employees who serve alcoholic beverages will be required to undergo training regarding alcohol regulations. They will receive information about serving responsibly, following the state’s liquor laws, avoiding over-serving, and checking the identification of those ordering alcohol, he said. “If we have guests at our restaurants who order drinks but no food, the limit will be two drinks,” van der Meer said. “At that point guests will be asked if they want to order food from the menu before more drinks are sold.” Parks are also preparing to provide adequate security for any alcoholic beverages they stock, van der Meer said. Parks that serve alcohol will not become local bars, van der Meer said. “Our vision is one of an Applebee’s or an O’Charley’s where one family may have iced tea and another family having a dinner may order beer or wine,” he said. The preceding was a press release from LRC eNews. For more information on items before the Kentucky Legislature contact your local senator Robert Stivers (left) and/or representative Tim Couch (right).
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Post by Press Release on Jul 24, 2011 9:42:27 GMT -5
Legislators get overview of redistricting law, process
FRANKFORT — As state legislators prepare plans for Kentucky’s 38 Senate seats, 100 House seats and six Congressional districts, a number of laws and practical factors must be considered, a national redistricting expert said today. Tim Storey, a Senior Fellow with the National Conference of State Legislatures, spoke to members of the Interim Joint Committee on State Government. “This is a redistricting primer or Redistricting 101,” said Senate Co-Chair Damon Thayer, R-Georgetown. Kentucky is one of nearly 40 states where lawmakers draw their own maps rather than a commission or other panel. “In some way it does make sense for legislators to draw their districts,” Storey said, because they know their communities best. The new lines must be drawn before the filing deadline for 2012 races on January 31, although the filing deadline can be altered by statute if new lines are not ready by then. Storey also cautioned that although January 31 is a hard deadline, there are other concerns as well. “Local officials are paying attention to this,” he said. “It is a courtesy thing to think about them.” Local authorities are re-drawing their precinct boundaries as part of this process. Legal guidelines and precedents are different for state legislative and Congressional districts, Storey said. The state’s six U.S. House districts must be drawn as equal in population “as practicable,” and in the last round of redistricting Kentucky’s districts varied by a single voter. Of the 13 states that have already passed their plans this year, 10 followed that pattern in order to head off lawsuits. Arkansas, one of the states that did not follow such an exacting standard, aims to not split counties between districts, a plan Kentucky follows for state House and Senate seats under case law. The federal “one person, one vote” principle has been interpreted by the courts to allow up to five percent variation above or below the ideal population. Although the state does have majority-minority districts, Kentucky is not subject to federal pre-clearance under the Voting Rights Act. Another goal for redistricting in many states is to make each district into a sensible, compact shape. “‘Compact’ is very much an the eye of the beholder thing,” Storey said. “There are five or six measures of compactness.” In addition, he noted, geographical features or boundaries can greatly affect measures of compactness. Keeping “communities of interest” together can also affect the appearance of districts, Storey told lawmakers. In addition to race, ethnicity, and other demographic factors, lawmakers may try to draw districts that reflect common characteristics. The preceding was a press release from LRC eNews. For more information on items before the Kentucky Legislature contact your local senator Robert Stivers (left) and/or representative Tim Couch (right).
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Post by Press Release on Aug 5, 2011 22:29:09 GMT -5
FRANKFORT – Sen. Ray Jones, D-Pikeville, offers suggestions about a proposal to strengthen punishments for those found guilty of assaulting medical professionals during the August meeting of the Interim Joint Committee on Judiciary.
Changes to persistent felony offender, violent offender laws could save state money
FRANKFORT – The state’s Public Advocate is asking state lawmakers to consider limits on who can be considered a persistent felony offender and violent offender in Kentucky. Kentucky Public Advocate Ed Monahan told the Interim Joint Committee on Judiciary that “modest adjustments” to the state’s persistent felony offenders (PFO) and violent offender laws would result in more prisoners being released at a time when they are least likely to reoffend, save the state millions of dollars, and create a more balanced criminal justice system where the longest sentences are reserved for felons who Monahan described as more of a risk to public safety. Today, Monahan said, there are 7,792 inmates in Kentucky sentenced as persistent felony offenders, violent offenders or both at a cost to the state of $169 million. Many are offenders who were convicted of the lowest level, often non-violent felonies. In fact, Monahan said 1,441 Kentucky inmates are serving an average sentence of 11 years for an underlying offense classified as only a Class D felony, the lowest level felony offense under state law. “One felony is a serious conviction with serious consequences. But if you look at the 7,700 you have a lot down at the Class D range. A question that one might ask is, do you really want to incarcerate those persons for this aggravated length of time at a significant cost to you?” said Monahan. Many PFOS in Kentucky today are felons who have never served time for a prior offense, said Monahan. That has been the case since 1976 when, Monahan said, the Kentucky General Assembly tightened the state’s PFO statutes by abolishing the requirement that a person be imprisoned on a prior offense before being sentenced as a PFO and lengthened the time a PFO must serve before being eligible for parole, among other changes. Prior PFO statutes required three prior convictions and two separate periods of incarceration before a person could be sentenced as a PFO, he said. Instead, the Public Advocate and his staff suggested that state lawmakers consider adjusting the PFO and violent offenders statutes in any number of ways, including eliminating PFO sentencing for non-violent felonies, using PFO status for sentencing of those with two or more prior felonies without a substantial break in criminal activity, repealing the required 10-year period before some PFOs are eligible for parole, an requiring actual imprisonment on prior felonies before a person can be sentenced as a PFO. For violent offenders, Monahan’s office suggested reinstating Kentucky’s pre-1998 requirement that 50 percent of a violent offender’s sentence, rather than the current 85 percent requirement, be served before a violent offender is parole eligible. The office also suggests that violent offenders be limited to those convicted of six specific crimes including murder as well as rape, sodomy, robbery with a firearm, burglary with a firearm and assault—all in the first degree only. Changing the PFO and violent offenders statutes would also restore sentencing jurisdiction to judges and juries rather than prosecutors, where it resides now because of legislative changes, said Monahan. Committee Co-Chair Sen. Tom Jensen, R-London, asked Monahan if he believes the state’s PFO statutes from 1974—which Monahan said were more limited—were a better way to go. “As a public policy measure…when do we say enough is enough for somebody?” said Jensen. “There comes a point where we have to say, I think we have to say, we just can’t tolerate your behavior.” Monahan said what changes are made to the law is up to the General Assembly, but added that he is providing facts that will help lawmakers decide if they want to change the statutes or not. Keeping felony offenders in prison for decades have not shown to be effective in all cases because it carries significant costs and, studies show, older inmates are less likely to reoffend, said Monahan. “The adjustments that can be made (would give) the Parole Board a little more discretion with those folks,” he said. Right now, Monahan said Kentucky’s PFO and violent offender statutes are some of the broadest in the nation. The preceding was a press release from LRC eNews. For more information on items before the Kentucky Legislature contact your local senator Robert Stivers (left) and/or representative Tim Couch (right).
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Post by ClayLive on Aug 12, 2011 17:59:48 GMT -5
Lawmakers hear of wine industry’s growth
FRANKFORT – No longer in its infancy, Kentucky’s wine industry is maturing and thriving, a state agriculture official told lawmakers during today’s meeting of the Licensing and Occupations Committee. Kentucky wines earned 11 honors, including two gold medals, at the recent Indy International Wine Competition, one of the nation’s premier wine festivals, said Mac Stone, executive director of the Office of Agriculture’s marketing office. He also noted that the number of Kentucky wines entered in Kentucky State Fair competitions has doubled, from 100 to 200, within the past two years. Kentucky wineries have expanded beyond the central part of the state to areas including Owensboro, Paducah, Morehead and southeast Kentucky, Stone said. In addition to making wine, 42 wineries have tasting rooms, five have restaurants, 21 host special dinners, and 28 host concerts or music. “That shows that it’s not just selling wine,” Stone said. “They are getting people out into the countryside. They are quite an economic engine for their local communities.” Roger Leasor of the Kentucky Grape and Wine Council told lawmakers the wine industry that took years to develop is now firmly established. “I’ve been working with them for 17 years and at no time has it been healthier or looked brighter than it is now,” he said. Kentucky wines are expected to have a spot on the menus at several Kentucky State Resort Parks, which plan to begin selling alcoholic beverages soon, Stone said. Sen. Julian Carroll, D-Frankfort, described the growth of Kentucky’s wine industry as “phenomenal,” and noted that Kentucky was once a top wine producer. “Kentucky was a leading wine producer in 1900 in the United States, and then prohibition put us out of business,” he said. Now that the wine industry has returned in Kentucky, hard-won gains must be protected, Leasor said. “We must defend the things that are working and not take any step backward.” The preceding was a press release from LRC eNews. For more information on items before the Kentucky Legislature contact your local senator Robert Stivers (left) and/or representative Tim Couch (right).
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Post by Press Release on Aug 20, 2011 11:18:51 GMT -5
FRANKFORT -- Rep. Lonnie Napier, R-Lancaster, questions new federal Environmental Protection Agency regulations during the August meeting of the Special Subcommittee on Energy. Legislative Research Commission Photo by Mike Sunseri
Energy research at UK earning awards, lawmakers told
FRANKFORT—The Center for Applied Energy Research at the University of Kentucky is raking in federal grants for everything from work in synthetic fuels for NASA to improving the cost and efficiency of carbon capture at coal-fired power plants. A $14.5 million grant awarded to the university by the Department of Energy (DOE) last Monday will help the Center develop a system that uses a plant’s waste heat to improve efficiency and hold down electricity costs created by carbon capture’s use, the legislative Special Subcommittee on Energy heard today. Researchers hope the project will remove at least 90 percent of generated carbon dioxide emitted by the plant while holding down increased electricity costs to 35 percent or less, according to a DOE release. The project will be carried out at the LG&E/KU Brown power plant in Mercer County. CAER Director Dr. Rodney Andrews said the project is part of the Center’s goal to find cost-effective technologies that can reduce carbon dioxide emissions related to coal-fired power plants. The testing of solvents for processes like corrosion will also be part of the project, he said. Other projects underway at the CAER include the creation of synthetic aviation fuels for NASA, using algae to capture carbon dioxide, and using algae in the production of biofuel. Algae has become another “possibility” for carbon capture, although Andrews said its use is not dramatically cheaper than using what are called chemical “scrubbers” to remove carbon. “The biggest issue with algae is the amount of land it takes,” he said. “We don’t know the answer yet of whether it is going to be practical.” Energy Co-Chair Rep. Keith Hall, D-Phelps, praised the work of CAER and the university. “I’m very proud of the fact that UK…is addressing those issues and concepts,” Hall said. The CAER is also set to open a new 36,000 square foot laboratory for biomass and biofuel research, research and development for Kentucky-Argonne Battery Manufacturing’s lithium-ion product, state-of-the-art transportation fuels and work in solar energy. Andrews said the lab, built at an approximate cost of $20 million, will free up significant space at CAER’s current 43,000 square foot facility and nearly double current lab space. The lab should be in operation by next February, he said. Andrews credits legislation passed by the 2007 General Assembly for giving UK the ability to pursue construction of the lab building. Most federal grants require the state to provide some money to share in the cost of a project, he explained. “Without the money we received directly from the university…we would be limited in the number of awards we could go after,” said Andrews. Some lawmakers on the committee took time at the beginning of the meeting to voice their strong support for the coal industry and the state’s Eastern and Western Kentucky regions that have been affected by holds on new coal-fired power plant permits and EPA regulatory practices. Senate Majority Floor Leader Robert Stivers, R-Manchester, said regulation also played a role in a 17 percent increase in electricity rates for many Eastern Kentuckians in 2010. House Majority Floor Leader Rocky Adkins, D-Sandy Hook, said another round of EPA regulations would “have a devastating impact on the rates that the people in the Commonwealth have to pay for electricity.” Right now, he said, Kentucky produces some of the least expensive energy in the U.S. The preceding was a press release from LRC eNews. For more information on items before the Kentucky Legislature contact your local senator Robert Stivers (left) and/or representative Tim Couch (right).
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Post by Press Release on Aug 23, 2011 4:46:33 GMT -5
FRANKFORT -- Rep. W. Keith Hall, D-Phelps, co-chair of the Special Subcommittee on Energy, presides over the committee's August meeting.
The preceding was a press release from LRC eNews. For more information on items before the Kentucky Legislature contact your local senator Robert Stivers (left) and/or representative Tim Couch (right).
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Post by Press Release on Aug 28, 2011 8:01:45 GMT -5
Kentucky Kingdom likely to make a comeback, lawmakers told
LOUISVILLE—Kentucky Kingdom is expected to reopen to the public in May of 2012, state lawmakers were told by Kentucky State Fair Board officials. Fair Board President and CEO Harold Workman told the Interim Joint Committee on Agriculture, which met with Fair Board officials at Freedom Hall during the Kentucky State Fair, that the park should reopen next spring. The park closed in 2010 when former Kentucky Kingdom operator Six Flags rejected its lease arrangement with the board. “A great asset is sitting idle at the moment,” said Workman. “I am very comfortable that without some unknown factor ahead of us, we will (reopen).” Workman also called the park’s reopening the Fair Board’s “number one priority as we move forward to the next General Assembly.” Workman said the park is expected to create over 1,000 jobs for youth in the summer, and over 1,250 full-time jobs when it reopens under an expected public-private partnership between the city of Louisville, Commonwealth of Kentucky, the Fair Board, and the operator, Kentucky Kingdom Redevelopment Company. It will take around $50 million to restore the park to what Workman called its “glory days” when Six Flags assumed operations in the late 1990s and attendance at the park rose to 1.2 million annually. The Fair Board—which also oversees the Kentucky Fair and Exposition Center, Kentucky International Convention Center in downtown Louisville, the new KFC Yum! Center and facilities on those sites, including Cardinal Stadium and Freedom Hall—said the KFC Yum! Center has been named 24th worldwide in Pollstar’s arena entertainment ticket sales rankings in its inaugural year. The arena’s first concert was headlined by The Eagles shortly after the arena’s opening last October. “It has become the hot place to play if you are an entertainer these days,” Workman told state lawmakers. As for the Fair Board’s other facilities, Workman said there are plans in the works to improve revenue at Cardinal Stadium by turning the stadium into an amphitheater for outdoor concerts similar to facilities in Nashville and Cincinnati’s Riverbend. The Louisville amphitheater would have around 12,000 seats, he said. The Kentucky International Convention Center is facing a lot of competition from Nashville and Indianapolis, as is the Exposition Center, said Workman. “We need to be cognizant of the fact that there is competition out there…and it is going after our business. We will be asking for your support as we go forward,” he said. Rep. Mike Denham, D-Maysville, commented on improvements made to the Fair and Exposition Center’s north wing to accommodate the World’s Championship Horse Show, a ticketed event held at the Kentucky State Fair annually. “I just want to thank you and your staff for all the hard work you do,” Denham said. “The economic impact of that horse show on Kentucky is unbelievable.” Over 1,200 horses were entered in the horse show this year. “Kentucky is the Saddlebred capital of the world, there’s no doubt about that,” Workman said. Committee co-chairs Rep. Tom McKee, D-Cynthiana, and Sen. David Givens, R-Greensburg, also commented on the work of the board and in Kentucky agriculture in general. “I think your dedication as a board …is something that the General Assembly has great appreciation for,” said McKee. Givens said it is important to remember the role agriculture plays in the lives of Kentucky families since the majority of Kentuckians now live in urban areas, based on the 2000 Census. The Kentucky State Fair is being held August 18-28 this year at the Fair and Exposition Center. The preceding was a press release from LRC eNews. For more information on items before the Kentucky Legislature contact your local senator Robert Stivers (left) and/or representative Tim Couch (right).
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