Archive for March, 2009

Beshear extends deadline for jobless to get health insurance

FRANKFORT — Gov. Steve Beshear has signed an emergency regulation to extend the deadline for certain unemployed Kentuckians to receive help with the cost of health insurance under a federal law.

“Without this action, Kentuckians losing jobs at smaller employers would have missed the opportunity to receive this important subsidy,” Beshear said. “We hope this will lessen the burden on displaced workers by allowing them to continue health insurance benefits at a more affordable rate while looking for a new job.”

Bunning: Fund-raising landscape is ‘lousy’

Sen. Jim Bunning says he’s surveyed the fund-raising landscape for his 2010 re-election bid and so far it’s “lousy.” Still “if at first you don’t succeed try, try, try again,” Bunning told reporters during a press conference on Tuesday.

Funding for public defenders still in limbo

FRANKFORT — The state’s public defenders are still not sure if they will have a job come May.

Public Advocate Ed Monahan said Monday that he has met with members of Gov. Steve Beshear’s staff and they are still trying to determine if Beshear has the authority to appropriate more money to the agency that has a constitutional mandate to represent poor criminal defendants.

The agency warned state leaders earlier this year that unless the agency got more money soon the state’s public defenders would be out of money by the end of April. That would mean the agency would have to shut its doors and the criminal justice system would come to a halt.

House to hold hearings on tax reform soon

FRANKFORT — House leaders said Monday that they plan to hold hearings on two tax overhaul bills soon in preparation for a possible special legislative session this summer.

Rep. Rick Rand, D-Bedford, chairman of the House Appropriations and Revenue Committee, said Monday that hearings on two tax reform bills as well as other discussions about the condition of the state’s finances could take place as early as late April.

“The prospects for our next budget cycles are not rosy,” Rand said. “We want to make sure that we are prepared to make any decisions that we may have to make.”

The General Assembly just adjourned on Thursday. But talks of tackling tax reform — or looking at the way Kentucky generates revenue — started early in the 2009 session after the General Assembly passed a combination of cuts and increases in cigarette and alcohol taxes as a way to plug a $456 million shortfall. Many legislators, in speeches on the floor and privately, said the state could no longer balance its books on the backs of just a few industries.

Beshear appoints task force on unemployment insurance

FRANKFORT –Gov. Steve Beshear created a task force Friday to study and propose changes to the state’s financially strapped unemployment insurance trust fund.

“In these difficult economic times, it is imperative that we address head on a critical issue for Kentucky that has been overlooked in the past,” Beshear said in a statement.

Beshear endorses Mongiardo for U.S. Senate

FRANKFORT — Gov. Steve Beshear threw his weight behind Lt. Gov. Daniel Mongiardo’s run for the U.S. Senate Friday, delivering a preemptive blow to would-be Democratic competitors.

Beshear endorsed Mongiardo’s run for the 2010 Democratic U.S. Senate primary in a statement released Friday afternoon, saying “more than ever, we need strong representatives in Washington D.C. to give voice to Kentucky priorities and values.”

Guests announced for ‘Comment’ and ‘Kentucky Tonight’

Joining host Ferrell Wellman on this weekend’s “Comment on Kentucky,” a pubic-affairs show on the Kentucky Educational Television network, will be three reporters.

They are Bill Estep of the Lexington Herald-Leader, Tom Loftus of The Courier-Journal and Al Mayo of Louisville’s WHAS-AM radio.

General Assembly adjourns without taking up additional legislation

FRANKFORT — State lawmakers wrapped up the 2009 General Assembly Thursday without taking up any additional legislation, including tax incentives to help lure a NASCAR Sprint Cup race to the Kentucky Speedway.

Other high-profile proposals left hanging included extra funding for prosecutors and public defenders, an overhaul of the state’s economic development programs, and creation of an authority to oversee mega-bridge projects in Louisville and Henderson.

Beshear signs testing overhaul bill

FRANKFORT – Flanked by members of the House and Senate, Gov. Steve Beshear signed into law Thursday a bill that will overhaul the state’s educational testing system.

The Commonwealth Accountability Testing System, or CATS, which has been used as a tool to measure the performance of Kentucky schools for more than a decade, will begin to be phased out almost immediately.

Fate of remaining legislation in hands of House Democrats

FRANKFORT — As the General Assembly returns to Frankfort on Thursday for two final days of the 2009 session, the fate of several pieces of legislation are in the hands of the House Democratic caucus.

The caucus is expected to meet sometime after noon, when the House gavels in.

House Speaker Greg Stumbo, D-Prestonsburg, said earlier this week that he will allow the caucus to decide whether to suspend House rules that say the final two days of the session will only be used to override any potential gubernatorial veto.