Beech Tree News Network

Not only did Friday mark the end to another busy week in the Kentucky Senate, it also was day 46 of our 60-day legislative session. We are now in the proverbial “fourth quarter” when the House and the Senate must come together to get a victory for the state of Kentucky by passing a responsible budget. After 10 weeks we are still awaiting a key “assist” from our colleagues in the House in the form of a budget bill that has yet to pass the lower chamber.

We are hoping to get our hands on the budget early next week, and we know there is still much work to be done. Here is a look at some significant bills that passed the Senate this week:

    Senate Concurrent Resolution (SCR) 75 would direct the Legislative Research Commission to establish the Kentucky Workforce Oversight Task Force to study and develop recommendations concerning the benefits, investments, and funding of workforce education in our state.
    SCR 135 recognizes Kentucky Educational Television (KET) and encourage all cable and satellite providers to offer KET programming to their customers.
    SB 170 would modify rules for overdimensional vehicles transporting steel products.
    SB 186 would establish rules for marinas and boat liens.
    SB 192 would require all high school students to pass a civics test in order to graduate. The 100 questions from said test will be drawn from the test administered by the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services to persons seeking to become naturalized citizens.
    SB 196 would establish the Books for Brains Program to promote the development of a comprehensive statewide program for encouraging preschool children to develop an appreciation of books.
    SB 209 would allow agencies that discontinue participation in Kentucky Retirement Systems may "pick-up" the employee contributions in the alternative retirement plan so that the contributions will be made on a tax-deferred basis.
    SB 212, a pro-life bill that I cosponsored, would require new abortion facilities to obtain a  certificate of need and would require abortion facilities to have an admittance agreement with a local hospital.
    SB 216 would update Kentucky child support regulations in order to comply with federal standards.
    SB 225 would expand eligibility, subject to sufficient funding, for the homelessness prevention project to individuals based on certain criteria.
    SB 228, an anti-bullying bill, would establish codes of conduct in schools to prohibit bullying and would establish procedures responding to bullying that protect the student being bullied.
    HB 237 would allow for local property tax exemptions for new data centers in order to encourage local economic growth.
    SB 238 would remove requirement of ten days' notice when requesting a credit report for purposes of evaluating child support.
    SB 246 would update salary schedules and provisions for Kentucky State Police troopers.
    SB 8 would amend the Kentucky Constitution in order to create a judicial redistricting plan. This bill would reallocate cases based on population and need to better serve Kentucky’s citizens and overbearing caseloads.

Once the budget comes to the Senate chambers, our main focus will be moving it forward before the end of the 2016 Session. The citizens of Kentucky have been promised a working, balanced budget, and we in the Senate hope to deliver on that promise soon.

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.