After over two months of anticipation and debate, the Senate finally received the state budget bill from the House midway through the 11th week of the 2016 Kentucky General Assembly. Governor Bevin was elected in a landslide because the people of Kentucky recognized a need for financial change and fiscal responsibility. The upcoming budget will reflect those needs for the betterment of the Commonwealth.
As expected, many changes were made to Governor Bevin’s budget by the House. Now that we have received their budget, we are combing through the fine details and making our own changes. Once we have our version of the budget completed, we must work with the House to compromise on a solution that we will ultimately send to the Governor to be signed into law.
One of our main concerns in the proposed House budget is the use of funds that are only for one-time expenses for items that are recurring, causing a structural imbalance. The use of these funds may solve our short-term problems, but it does not address our $35 billion, long-term pension liability. We cannot continue down the path of spending more money than we have. However, the Senate does plan to address the pension crisis in our version of the budget in a responsible manner that will provide for generations to come.
In the midst of receiving and reviewing the budget, the Senate also passed a number of bills last week:
- Medical Peer Reviews – Senate Bill (SB) 66 would offer confidentiality to peer reviews done by doctors.
- Franchise Employees – SB 198 would amend KRS statute so neither a franchisee nor an employee of a franchisee will be considered an employee of the franchisor.
- Long Term Care Facilities – SB 205, a bill I sponsored, addresses false or misleading advertisements about long term care facilities that certain law firms use to fish for clients.
- Retailer Recommendation of Products – SB 242 would allow a retailer or its agent to offer recommendations consistent with the label for over-the-counter animal health products it sells. This common sense legislation protects the retailers who provide so many goods to our farms across the state.
- Gubernatorial Appointments – SB 260 would clarify procedure for confirmation of appointments made by the Governor.
- Needle Exchange – HB 160 would require the Department for Public Health to establish guidelines for safe disposal of hypodermic syringes, needles, and sharps. An amendment to the bill also states that needle exchanges across the state must stick with a one-for-one exchange, which we believe will further advance our fight against the current drug epidemic.
- Religious Freedoms – SB 180, a bill I cosponsored, would protect the religious freedoms of business owners.
- Employment of Retired Police Officers – SB 206, another bill I sponsored, provides that cities may employ a limited number of retired police officers upon the fulfillment of certain criteria.
- Police/Telecommunicator/Fire Training – SB 227, legislation I also sponsored, would increase the amount of basic training hours for peace officers.
- Administrative Regulations – SB 244 would amend Section 29 of the Constitution of Kentucky to permit the General Assembly or an agency or committee it creates to review, approve, or disapprove any administrative regulation of the executive branch during or between regular sessions of the General Assembly and ultimately put those on the ballot for voter approval.
- EpiPens in Child-care Facilities – HB 148 would permit licensed child-care centers and certified family child-care homes to have epinephrine auto-injectors for emergency use. Additionally, an amendment to HB 148 would increase the age limit in the definition of a newborn infant to 30 days in order to allow parents to abandon a child at a designated safe place.
A Senate amendment to HB 148 would expand Kentucky’s Safe Infants Act of 2002 by allowing parents of newborns to have up to 30 days to surrender their baby at a state-approved “safe place” without facing criminal charges. The amendment would also add churches or other places of worship to the list of approved safe places where an infant could be surrendered. Current law gives parents 72 hours after a child is born to leave the baby at hospitals, police stations, firehouses or emergency medical services (EMS) facilities.
- Sexual Assault Kit Testing – SB 63, another bill I co-sponsored would expedite processing of untested rape kits.
- Charter School Pilot Project – SB 253 would create a charter school pilot project in Jefferson County and Fayette County in order to help address the achievement gap for children receiving free or reduced lunches.
- Lawsuits Involving Government – SB 202 would allow lawsuits involving the Commonwealth or its agencies to be heard in court outside of Franklin County.
I am working hard to get a 911 bill through this session that will provide additional funding to our 911 Centers by collecting equitable fees on pre-paid cell phones and free government phones. Should it pass, the additional funding would help with the financial struggles our 911 centers are facing.
Finally, I was honored to welcome four area superintendents to Frankfort last week: Mr. Jay Simmons (Carlisle), Mr. Russ Tilford (Lyon), Mr. Casey Henderson (Hickman), and Mr. Vince Clark (Crittenden). In addition, I had the pleasure of meeting with Sandra Wilson, President, Paducah Area Chamber of Commerce.
The days are getting longer, and there is still much work to be done, but I feel confident in the Senate’s ability to negotiate a budget bill that Kentuckians can be proud of. I also appreciate Governor Bevin’s initial budget proposal, which laid the groundwork for a smarter, more responsible Kentucky.
Please note: some of the bill summaries provided in this editorial are supplied by LRC staff. I have read them over and selected the information most relevant to you. They are included with the drafter’s permission.
If you have any questions or comments about these issues or any other public policy issue, please call me toll-free at 1-800-372-7181 or e-mail me at danny.carroll@lrc.ky.gov. You can also review the legislature’s work online at www.lrc.ky.gov.