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Senator C. B. Embry's Legislative Update

 

Frankfort resembled the bustle of March Madness and the newness of spring this week as we finalized the 2019 Regular Session. We have now entered into the “veto recess” in which Governor Matt Bevin will have the opportunity to sign and veto bills passed by the Kentucky General Assembly.

 

 There was no shortage of movement in our last week of the legislative session. Several bills are heading to the governor’s desk to be signed into law, including Senate Bill 84, which would create a new regulatory path for home-birth midwives. The passage of SB 84 would make Kentucky the 34th state to legally recognize licensed certified professional midwives.

 

 Legislation to expand the number of Kentuckians eligible to have low-level felonies expunged from their criminal records, Senate Bill 57, is also awaiting Governor Bevin’s signature. Final passage came after the Senate concurred with amendments the House made to SB 57. The original version of the bill contained a 10-year waiting period. Under the new language, any expungement would not become official until the applicant paid the processing fee, but that fee was cut in half to $250.

 

 Several House bills also received final passage this week, including House Bill 158, a measure establishing Kentucky’s foster child bill of rights. Advancing through with bipartisan support, HB 158 lists16 statutory rights for children in out-of-home placement, including the right to “adequate food, clothing, and shelter,” and “a safe, secure, and stable family.” Additionally passed, House Bill 254 passed, a measure that would require the state’s public universities to affirm they favor the implication of a free marketplace of ideas where speech is not suppressed because it’s deemed “offensive, unwise, disagreeable, radical, traditional, liberal, or conservative.”

 

 I was proud to sponsor a Senate Resolution this session that will designate a spur from the Western Kentucky Parkway to I-69. I am hopeful that this will encourage job growth, economic development, and other advancements to Muhlenberg, Ohio, and Hopkins Counties. Officials are in full support of this great economic opportunity for the district. The recent designation of the William H. Natcher Parkway to I-165 spur, has proven to be a great incentive for development in Ohio and Butler Counties.

 

 The General Assembly will reconvene on Thursday, March 28 at 2p.m. to wrap up legislative business and adjourn the 2019 Regular Session, sine die.

 

It has been an honor to represent you and our district in Frankfort, and I thank you for engaging in the legislative process.

 

 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 email me at[email protected].  You can also review the Legislature’s work online at www.legislature.ky.gov

 

 

 

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  Senator C.B. Embry, JR (R-Morgantown) represents the 6th District including Butler, Hopkins, Muhlenberg, and Ohio Counties.He is vice chairman of Veterans, Military Affairs, & Public Protection Committee and co-chairman of the Tobacco Settlement Agreement Fund Oversight Committee. He also serves as a member of the Natural Resources and Energy Committee; the Transportation Committee, and the Budget Review Subcommittee on Education.

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