Although week three of the General Assembly was short due to the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday and the inclement weather Friday, the Kentucky Senate passed significant bills and welcomed visitors who braved the snow in Frankfort.
On Tuesday we passed two of our priority bills: Senate Bill (SB) 4 and SB 10. SB 4 would require those seeking an abortion to have a face-to-face, in-person counseling session with a physician 24 hours prior to the procedure. This effort to promote the rights of the unborn passed with bipartisan support.
Senate Bill 10 would move statewide constitutional elections to even-numbered years. Final passage of SB 10 would save the Commonwealth and its counties an estimated $20 million per election cycle. Research has also shown that hundreds of thousands of additional Kentucky voters participate in elections during even-numbered years, as opposed to odd-numbered years. The measure would not extend Governor Bevin’s current, four-year term.
Also on Tuesday, we passed SB 45 which creates transparency in the public retirement system.
On Wednesday we welcomed participants for “Kentucky Arts Day,” hosted by the Kentucky Arts Council. Artists from across the state came to celebrate Kentucky’s rich arts heritage. On the Senate floor, we proudly honored the recipients of the Governor’s Awards in the Arts. I was very pleased to honor the Paducah Convention and Visitors Bureau who was a recipient from the 2nd District.
We also unanimously passed SB 52 on Wednesday which would allow veterans to receive a provisional teaching certificate upon the completion of certain criteria. This bill would not only encourage veteran participation in the civilian workforce but also would relieve some of the burdens our veterans face while making that transition. We also passed SB 56 which would increase the DUI “look-back” window from five to 10 years in order to discourage repeat offenders. Senate Bill 81 passed as well; this bill would create identifiers for students from military families in order to support those students and keep them from falling through the cracks in the education system.
On Thursday we welcomed the Kentucky Association of Manufacturers (KAM) to the Capitol for their annual “KAM Day.” SB 60 and SB 68 passed the Senate on Thursday. SB 60 creates additional protections for the vulnerable child victims of sex crimes during a continuous course of conduct. SB 68 would not hold property owners responsible for dog bite incidents caused by irresponsible tenants’ dogs.
I was pleased to get two bills passed in the Judiciary Committee this week. SB 16 would grant civil immunity to a person who, after taking certain preliminary steps, forcibly enters a locked vehicle in order to remove a child who is in imminent danger of physical injury. SB 53 grants the same immunity to remove a dog or cat. In these cases, the dog or cat would have to be in immediate risk of death.
As these winter storms come through, please remember to stay safe and take every precaution. Don’t forget to check road conditions by calling the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet at 511, and stay tuned for weather updates from the National Weather Service.
If you have any questions or comments about the issues or any other public policy issue, please call me toll-free at 1-800-372-7181 or email me at danny.carroll@lrc.ky.gov. You can also review the Legislature’s work online at www.lrc.ky.gov.