Week In Review - February 15

FRANKFORT – The Senate continued working hard this week passing bills addressing healthcare, the state’s debt, school safety, economic development, and the justice system. Healthcare is an issue of great concern for everyone and health insurance coverage is both difficult to obtain and expensive to keep.  Senate Bill 3 allows for a Christian medical needs sharing program to return to Kentucky after being rejected last year by the Kentucky Department of Insurance. This insurance-like program has helped hundreds of people in our state afford healthcare and even qualifies as certified coverage under the federal Affordable Healthcare Act. There are three such programs in Kentucky, and they provide an affordable alternative for many Kentuckians.

Another step was taken toward improving access to healthcare with Senate Bill 43 by making it easier for physician’s assistants to work in Kentucky.  We have many areas here that are medically underserved and these medical professionals fill a real need in our communities.  Kentucky is also the only remaining state that imposes a waiting period before PA's can begin patient care.  This bill reduces the current 18 month period to three months before eventually eliminating the waiting period altogether.

As many of you have read, Kentucky’s bond rating has been downgraded due partly to our level of bonded indebtedness of 8.4%. Senate Bill 10 limits state debt to only 6% of General Fund revenues.  This is a level generally accepted as the standard by bond rating agencies, as well as a threshold the legislature has historically attempted to operate within. We cannot continue paying off the Visa with the MasterCard.  This matter is no longer a fiscal imperative but a moral one as well. The measure excludes debt for universities, the Kentucky Housing Authority, and other agencies using funds outside the General Fund, including the stand-alone Road Fund.

School safety is of paramount concern, and thoughts on school safety have been brought into sharper focus with the shooting in Newtown, CT.  Senate Bill 8 was developed with the intent of bringing something positive from that tragedy. The bill directs school superintendents to submit school safety plans to the Kentucky Department of Education. It also requires the adoption of a school safety plan, safety drills during the first month of school, and for school diagrams to be shared with local first-responders.  These are straight-forward and low-cost measures that, while not able to completely prevent tragedy, will hopefully better prepare us.

Senate Bill 50, the industrial hemp legislation, was addressed during the Senate Agriculture Committee on Monday and passed the full Senate on Thursday. This legislation allows Kentucky to position our farmers so that once the federal government approves the cultivation of industrial hemp, they can be in the forefront of an industry that produces products for everything from cars to cosmetics to food to clothes. While I continue to educate myself on the issue and work with hemp advocates and law enforcement, this vote fulfills a commitment I made to my district.

Modern technologies have changed the way we communicate even from just a few years ago.  "Smartphone" adoption is climbing, and cellular phone service - while still not available everywhere - is skyrocketing. Traditional landline usage rates are plummeting, and there is an overwhelming desire amongst Kentuckians to expand wireless capacity and connection speeds.  Senate Bill 88 will allow for the modernization of phone-service in Kentucky making sure that the answer to “Can you hear me now?” will be a yes regardless of where you live.  The bill does not cut off landline service to existing customers, but frees up wireline providers to funnel much needed investments into their wireless infrastructure.  You can be certain I'm asking for those investments to focus on the sorely underserved areas of Todd, Logan and Christian counties.

The Senate Judiciary Committee has been active as well, passing the following bills from this week. Senate Bill 6 was filed in response to the overwhelming number of deaths resulting from heroin overdoses in Northern Kentucky. Unfortunately, this scourge seems to be spreading to the rest of the state.  The bill will increase the penalties for those dealing in heroin especially when those actions directly result in death.  Senate Bill 23 clarifies that judges can authorize review of DNA evidence after conviction. If DNA is good enough to prove guilt, then it also should be able to prove innocence. It is a matter of justice and will help affirm the integrity of the Judiciary.

I sponsored this particular legislation, Senate Concurrent Resolution 35, to reauthorize the Task Force on the Unified Juvenile Code. The bipartisan task force consisting of members from all three branches and levels of government are meeting to continue the work that was begun last summer examining the juvenile code and considering what improvements should be made to balance the needs of juveniles and public safety.

All these bills now move to the House for their consideration. If you have any questions or comments about the issues above or any other public policy issue, please call me toll-free at 1-800-372-7181 or email me by visiting the Contact page. I invite you to bookmark this site for regular updates and posts, but you can also review the Legislature's work online at www.lrc.ky.gov.

Week In Review - February 8

FRANKFORT – The Senate wrapped up the first week back passing several pieces of strong legislation that illustrate our priorities. And as next week unrolls, you will see an entire package of fiscally conservative, pro-family bills pass the chamber. Many of you have heard about the huge unfunded liability in our public pension employee system. Senate Bill 2 is step one in addressing one of the greatest public policy challenges facing our state. First, please understand that the bill makes no changes to teachers’ retirement, does not impact those currently employed or retired, and does not create a new tax on pension income of either private or public employees. What it does do is create a sustainable retirement benefit for state employees by creating a new hybrid cash-balance plan for future employees.  The legislation provides the guarantee of at least 4% return of the money put in by the worker. Further, the employee can take any funds accrued with them if they change jobs. It recommends the full funding of the actuarially-required contribution to the retirement system which will occur next year when legislators work on the state’s biennial budget. This issue must be addressed now because every dollar needed to pay for pension benefits is a dollar unavailable for another worthy purpose. SB 2 will stop the bleeding.

Everyone who knows me knows how much I am invested spiritually and intellectually in the pro-life cause. It was entirely appropriate for me and others in the Senate that we marked this, our first week back, with the passage of Senate Bills 4 and 5. Thursday was Right to Life Day in the Capital where hundreds of people of all ages came out to listen to inspiring speeches and talk to legislators about their core values. That same day, we passed legislation to provide as much information as possible to the woman considering an abortion. Senate Bill 4 requires a face-to-face meeting between a woman contemplating an abortion and her doctor 24 hours before the procedure. It is shocking to me that this type of counseling is often done through a recorded message on the phone. Senate Bill 5 directs the provider to offer the ultrasound image of the baby to a woman prior to an abortion. The viewing is not mandatory but it is informational. Ultrasounds are standard before these procedures anyway. These are commonsense bills that protect women’s health and well-being while recognizing the sanctity of life.

Finally, we heard mid-week from the Governor on his legislative priorities. I am concerned that he indicated a desire for more revenue, which in government-speak means higher taxes. I am open to hearing the different points of view but I am opposed to increasing taxes, particularly to fund the pension system when taxpayers aren't the reason the funds are in such bad shape to begin with. We need a tax code that will create jobs, not fund bureaucracies. More importantly, Frankfort must prove it can be a good steward of the resources is already has before demanding more revenue.

Next week, I’m looking forward to the passage of SB 10 which places a ceiling on the state’s debt. There is also a planned vote on SB 6, a bill that passed through my committee this week, which will stiffen penalties for heroin dealers. Finally, this week I filed SB 104 and SB 105 which eliminates project labor agreements and the prevailing wage, and would save state and local governments many millions of dollars that can be best directed toward meeting critical needs, education, cost of living adjustments, pension contributions and other services. You can always contact me, or any legislator, toll-free at 1-800-372-7181, email me here, or follow the progress of the General Assembly by bookmarking this site, or by checking out the Legislature's site at www.lrc.ky.gov .

Week In Review - February 1

FRANKFORT— In anticipation of continuing the Regular Session next week, I spent several productive days reviewing legislation and preparing for the issues that lie ahead. During this three week break, I have held several meetings across the district and in Frankfort with a wide range of people from advocates against domestic violence to the Chief Justice of the Kentucky Supreme Court, John D. Minton, Jr. The highlight this week was my first Interim Joint Judiciary Committee meeting, alongside my friend and colleague, Rep. John Tilley.  The meeting was productive, as we heard testimony from Budget and Justice officials on the criminal justice reforms approved by Kentucky lawmakers in 2011 with HB 463, with a particular focus on whether those reforms are having the intended results: Is the Commonwealth saving money from skyrocketing correctional costs?  Are criminal actions being adjudicated properly?  According to the speakers, the early numbers seem to indicate positive results, with savings in the neighborhood of $35 million or more since the legislation took effect in 2011, and with recidivism rates dropping with successful monitored court release.

All provisions found in HB 463 are projected by the Office of the State Budget Director to save the state $422 million over 10 years. Other savings are projected to come from reduced recidivism such as, use of citations rather than arrests for low-level misdemeanor offenders, and increased use of substance abuse treatment paid for by reinvestment of savings from reduced incarceration costs, among other things, according to reports on the legislation.  While these early reports seem positive, I will be following the numbers closely over this calendar year to confirm the progress continues, and to be sure that we are still providing for the security of the citizens of the Commonwealth.

I have also starting setting up the agendas for the Senate Judiciary meetings over the next month, where I expect to discuss SB 23, Sen. John Schickel’s post-conviction DNA bill, which will allow certain convicted felons to apply for DNA testing to establish innocence, and at little to no cost to the taxpayer; SB 27, by Sen. Tom Buford, which reduces the period of real property redemption from 1 year to 6 months, helping the sale of real estate in Kentucky, and SB 47, my first bill, allowing for DNA samples to be taken upon a felony arrest.  SB 47 mirrors a bill filed in the House by Rep. Marzian, and is inspired by the tragic death of Katie Sepich, a young woman from New Mexico who was killed in 2003, but whose killer was convicted through the use of DNA evidence.

I have a bill ready to file before next week’s filing deadline to repeal the prevailing wage in Kentucky, which would free up millions of dollars for use to remedy the state’s pension debt or give teachers and many other state employees a long-overdue cost of living salary adjustment.

I look forward to next week when we will be confronting these difficult challenges on the Senate floor and hearing from the Governor during his State of the Commonwealth address. Please feel free to call me toll-free at 800-372-7181, or email me here, with any questions, concerns, or comments.  Bookmark this site or visit the General Assembly's site at www.lrc.ky.gov, to see regular updates about the work underway in Frankfort.

The Lacy Ledger

I had the opportunity to be interviewed by a young lady, and fellow Lacy Wildcat, this morning for a column in the Lacy Ledger, a publication put together by the students of Lacy School in a partnership with the Kentucky New Era.

Ms. Emily had some fantastic questions about the legislative process, my legislative priorities, what politician I'd most like to meet and what my political ambitions are. She was clearly prepared!

Thank you, Emily, and Lacy School, for the chance to talk about this great job I'm blessed to have!

Week 1

FRANKFORT – As I write to you, I am wrapping up the first week of the 2013 General Assembly Session, 26 more days to go. Now, since this is a “short” session, when we adjourn Friday, we will not meet again until February 5^th. The time is used to get new members, committee chairman, and newly-elected Leadership acclimated and everyone back up to speed.

The Senate President announced Senate Bill 1 which is aimed to making it easier for deployed military to vote. It has not been filed yet since staff is working to ensure that the process for this is as secure as possible. I want to do whatever I can to protect the right to vote of our troops abroad but I also want to ensure that the mechanism is as confidential as it should be. I will be the primary co-sponsor of this bill.

I myself filed Senate Bill 47, my first bill, that allows for law-enforcement to collect a DNA sample upon a felony arrest. The current law already requires a DNA sample be taken upon a felony conviction, but this new bill would assist in resolving unsolved crimes. Individuals who are arrested, and from whom a sample is taken, may petition that the DNA record be removed should the underlying offense be dismissed or result in an acquittal. Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky) passed a bill in the Senate, on January 1, known as Katie's Law, providing for funding for the implementation of bills like mine.

As chairman of the Judiciary Committee, I have already been involved in various meetings with my staff as well as experts on the Legislative Research Committee. I have also been studying various issues that will be coming up including adjustments to HB1 (the "pill mill bill"), Human Trafficking and synthetic drugs to name a few.

I want to keep you as informed as possible. Your input is not only valued and appreciated, it’s genuinely needed.  I encourage you to follow the issues and always welcome your comments and questions.  There are many ways you can stay in touch with the General Assembly.

The Kentucky Legislature Home Page, www.lrc.ky.gov, provides information on each of the Commonwealth’s senators and representatives, including our phone numbers, addressees, and committee assignments.  The site also provides a bill tracking service, and committee meeting schedules.

By going to our eNews page, www.lrc.ky.gov/pubinfo/listserv.htm, you can subscribe to frequent e-mail updates on what’s happening at the Capitol.  In addition, the General Assembly has its own blog, Capitol Notes, www.lrc.ky.gov/pubinfo/capitol_notes.htm, that will allow you to receive legislative updates at your leisure.

You can also follow legislative action in the following ways:

• A taped message containing information on legislative committee meetings is updated daily at 1-800-633-9650.
• To check the status of a bill, you may call the toll-free Bill Status Line at 1-866-840-2835.
• To leave a message for any legislator, call the General Assembly’s toll-free Message Line at 1-800-372-7181.  People with hearing difficulties may leave messages for lawmakers by calling the TTY Message Line at 1-800-896-0305.
• You may write me by sending a letter to: Capitol Annex, 702 Capitol Avenue, Suite 214, Frankfort, Kentucky 40601.