Author Archive for Accountability Editor

Chandler and Yarmuth fly UK, U of L flags on Capitol steps

Kentucky’s two Democratic congressmen are at odds.

When the University of Kentucky and the University of Louisville play Saturday in the NCAA Final Four, U.S. Rep. Ben Chandler, D-Versailles, will be rooting for the Wildcats and U.S. Rep. John Yarmuth, D-Louisville, will be cheering on the Cardinals.

The two took playful shots at the opposing teams in a news release issued Wednesday. It was accompanied by a photo of Chandler and Yarmuth holding UK and U of L flags while standing on the steps of the U.S. Capitol.

Here’s the news released issued by Chandler:

House approves tax relief for tornado victims

By Bill Estep
bestep@herald-leader.com

The House has approved a tax break on materials used to repair or replace buildings damaged in severe weather that hit Kentucky between Feb. 29 and March 3.

Building owners could get either a refund of the state’s 6 percent sales tax on building materials or $6,000, whichever was less.

The tax break under House Bill 165 would apply in the 21 counties where President Barack Obama has declared a disaster.

The bill also requires the state to waive up to 10 school days that students missed because of the disaster, and provides a mechanism for schools and employees in affected counties to not lose money because of the missed days.

Rep. John Will Stacy, D-West Liberty, sponsored the measure. A March 2 tornado caused widespread damage in the city and six deaths in Morgan County.

The House approved the bill 96 to 0.

It now goes to the Senate for consideration.

Alternative energy supporters push agenda to lawmakers

By Bill Estep
bestep@herald-leader.com

FRANKFORT — Supporters of renewable energy are continuing the effort to move Kentucky away from its near-exclusive use of coal to generate electricity.

Wider use of energy sources such as solar and wind power, and efforts to promote energy efficiency, could help hold down electricity rates and create jobs, according to information supporters gave a House committee Thursday.

However, the proposal they support, House Bill 167, won’t get a vote in the legislature this year, just as a similar measure didn’t last year.

Coal has been king a long time in Kentucky, and the state gets more than 90 percent of its electricity from burning coal.

Kentucky House approves task force to study death penalty

By Bill Estep
bestep@herald-leader.com

State representatives on Thursday approved setting up a task force to study possible changes in how Kentucky administers the death penalty.

The American Bar Association released a study last year that cited problems in the system, including a lack of protections against executing seriously mentally ill people; no rule to preserve evidence for as long as someone is in prison, meaning they might miss a chance for DNA tests that could exonerate them; and confusion among jurors about their role in deciding whether to recommend a death sentence.

The task force will study recommendations to implement some of the ABA’s findings, said the sponsor, Rep. Jesse Crenshaw, D-Lexington.

The move is not designed to abolish the death penalty, Crenshaw said. The measure passed 73 to 18. It must be approved by the Senate as well.

‘AT&T bill’ scrapped by sponsor

By John Cheves
jcheves@herald-leader.com

FRANKFORT – Citing “terrible” public feedback, a senator is scrapping a bill that would have further diminished state regulation of major phone carriers and allowed them to end basic land-line phone service in less profitable parts of their service areas.

Sen. Paul Hornback, R-Shelbyville, on Thursday said he decided to drop Senate Bill 12, referred to as “the AT&T bill,” after meeting with Senate Democrats and House Speaker Greg Stumbo, D-Prestonsburg, to try and address their concerns.

Hornback said he blamed “misinformation” spread by the news media and the bill’s opponents, including Tom FitzGerald, director of the Kentucky Resources Council. A revised version of his bill would have prohibited the phone carriers from abandoning any of their existing customers, he said, but that was largely overlooked in the criticism.

AT&T and other major carriers must be able to invest in modern telecommunications systems, including broadband and wireless, Hornback said.

“This bill is an investment in the future,” Hornback said. “I’m looking five, 10, 15 years down the road. Where do we want to be in this state? Do we want to be last?”

Senate approves constitutional amendments on religion, redistricting and regulations

By John Cheves
jcheves@herald-leader.com

FRANKFORT – The Kentucky Senate on Thursday approved three proposed amendments to the state Constitution, including one dubbed the Religious Freedom Act.

Senate Bill 158 would “prohibit any human authority from burdening actions that are based on religious beliefs, except in support of a compelling governmental interest using the least restrictive means to further that interest.”

The bill’s sponsor, Republican Sen. Jimmy Higdon of Lebanon, told his fellow senators that it was designed to protect Kentuckians’ free exercise of religion from unnecessary restriction by government.

As an example, Higdon cited a case heard Thursday at the state Supreme Court. Amish men in Graves County have been jailed for refusing to pay fines for failure to hang orange reflective signs on their horse-drawn buggies, citing religious reasons.

Senate panel OKs citizenship proof for welfare

By John Cheves
jcheves@herald-leader.com

FRANKFORT – A Senate panel on Thursday unanimously approved a bill that would require applicants to government welfare programs to provide official proof of U.S. citizenship or legal residency.

Federal law prohibits illegal immigrants from receiving most forms of welfare, including Medicaid, food stamps, public housing and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families. Their U.S.-born children, if they have any, automatically are citizens and are eligible.

Sen. Mike Wilson, R-Bowling Green, said he’s heard stories about illegal immigrants who used dishonest measures to get into the welfare system and collect benefits. He could not provide data or specific examples.

“We have no way of knowing how many that there are,” Wilson said after the Senate Judiciary Committee approved his Senate Bill 118 and sent it to the Senate floor.

Bill that could end basic phone service for some clears Senate panel

By John Cheves
jcheves@herald-leader.com

FRANKFORT — A Senate panel on Tuesday approved a bill drafted by AT&T that would further diminish state regulation of the company and allow it to end basic phone service in less profitable parts of its service areas.

Opponents said Senate Bill 12 would let the state’s three major phone carriers — AT&T, Windstream and Cincinnati Bell — abandon rural communities where poor and elderly residents depend on basic landline service, including operator assistance and 911.

AT&T hopes to force those residents to upgrade to more expensive service plans they don’t need and can’t afford, such as wireless or broadband, opponents said.

“This bill represents a grave threat to continued, stand-alone, basic telephone service for many Kentuckians who don’t have the luxury of access to Twitter and all the things that we in urban areas tend to take for granted,” said Tom FitzGerald, director of the Kentucky Resources Council.

Mary Pat Regan, president of AT&T Kentucky, said she and other executives at the company have heard the concerns of the bill’s opponents and tried to address them with modified language presented Tuesday.

State settled with Adair man despite knowing about ‘sham’ land deals

By John Cheves
jcheves@herald-leader.com

FRANKFORT — An Adair County banker manipulated land transactions to inflate by 72 percent the value of property he owned in Columbia, just as the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet needed it to build a bypass, according to public records.

Randy Murray divided his land into at least 10 smaller lots, built a moveable house on the center line of the proposed road (later moving it at state expense) and shifted deeds among himself, a company he owned, family and friends.

Each maneuver forced a delay in the state’s road planning and increased the land’s price. The cabinet ended up paying Murray more than $1.1 million for property that it originally appraised at $673,500.

Murray’s sale was legal, cabinet spokesman Chuck Wolfe said last week. In Kentucky, landowners may do what they wish with their properties even after the state announces the route for a road project and begins the condemnation process, Wolfe said.

“The cabinet was well aware of what he was doing but had no practical or legal way to prevent it,” Wolfe said. “The only alternative was to cancel a $27 million highway project. Thus, the policy decision was made to settle with Mr. Murray.”

House panel approves changes to Open Records Act

By John Cheves – jcheves@herald-leader.com

FRANKFORT — A House panel on Thursday voted to change the Kentucky Open Records Act to keep private the records of some organizations doing business with government.

Presently, any organization that gets at least 25 percent of its revenue from local or state government must share some records under the act, which is meant to bring transparency to public spending.

But House Bill 496, which proceeds to the full House, would exempt from the 25 percent requirement any money awarded to organizations through a competitive and public procurement process.

The sponsor, Rep. Johnny Bell, told lawmakers the change is needed because someone recently started sending “shotgun letters” to private companies that do business with the state, such as highway contractors, citing the Open Records Act and demanding to see their financial records.