Beech Tree News Network

The passage of bills that would help children with disabilities, preserve rights of victims in criminal cases, and fight for the rights of the unborn highlighted another busy week in the Senate. As Thursday marked day 40 of our 60-day legislative session in Frankfort, we are still anxiously awaiting a budget bill from our colleagues in the House.

The latest piece of pro-life legislation to pass the Senate was Senate Bill (SB) 152, which would require a woman to get an ultrasound prior to obtaining an abortion. Senator Whitney Westerfield, R-Hopkinsville, who sponsored the bill, testified about his friend who was not allowed to see her unborn child during the ultrasound before her abortion. “She regrets to this day not being able to see it—knowing now, feeling certain, that had she been able to see it, had she been allowed to see it—she wouldn’t have made the decision that she did,” Westerfield said. I proudly cosponsored this legislation.

Last week we passed a bill that would reorganize the structure of the Kentucky State Fair Board in order to maximize state efficiency. This week we passed a similar bill in SB 200, which would reorganize the Kentucky Horse Park Commission to create better financial planning and accountability within the Commission while also offering better representation of those who most use the park.

Here is a look at some other significant bills that passed the Senate this week:

·         Senate Bill 217, which I proudly sponsored, would update laws relating to military justice.

·         Senate Bill 179, known as the “ABLE Act,” would allow parents of disabled children the opportunity to establish a bank account for their child’s disability-related expenses without fear of losing eligibility for federal benefits.

·         Senate Bill 175, also known as “Marsy’s Law,” would ensure that victims of crime have the same co-equal rights as the accused and convicted. I cosponsored this piece of legislation.

·         Senate Bill 37, which I also cosponsored, would give prosecutors the option to charge a minor younger than 18 giving or receiving a digital nude picture of himself, herself or another minor with strong but smaller penalties than a felony.

·         Senate Bill 168, relating to municipal audits, would keep local governments accountable and provide increased transparency for their financial actions.

·         Senate Bill 106, which I also cosponsored, well-known as the “Charlie Brown Bill,” passed the Senate and protects religious freedoms in school productions.

·         Senate Bill 173 would encourage free enterprise by not giving government a leg up on local business when making purchases.

·         Senate Bill 141 would encourage better local representation on municipal utilities boards.

·         Senate Bill 188 would update regulations pertaining to oil and gas well sites.

March 3 was the last day to file bills in the Senate. We will begin hearing House bills in our Senate committees in the coming weeks. As we enter the homestretch of the 2016 session, some tough decisions will need to be made, along with some compromises.

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.lrc.ky.gov.

  Senator C.B. Embry, JR (R-Morgantown) represents the 6th District including Butler, Hopkins, Muhlenberg, and Ohio Counties. He is Vice Chair of Veterans, Military Affairs, & Public Protection, Chair of the Budget Review Subcommittee on Education, and member of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Energy, and Transportation Committees.