All Entries in the "KY General Assembly" Category

Rep. Derrick Graham is new House education chairman

FRANKFORT — Kentucky House leaders have appointed state Rep. Derrick Graham, D-Frankfort, to be chairman of the House Education Committee. Graham replaces Carl Rollins, D-Midway, who resigned last month from the legislature to lead the state’s higher education loan agencies.

“I look forward to hitting the ground running in working with the educational community and my colleagues in the General Assembly in continuing to develop policies that help to generate and elevate student achievement and success in all schools across our great Commonwealth, from pre-school to the postsecondary level,” said Graham in a news release.

A Frankfort native, Graham recently retired as a social studies teacher at Frankfort High School.

Stumbo responds to redistricting lawsuit; Stivers asks for more time

By Jack Brammer
jbrammer@herald-leader.com

FRANKFORT — House Speaker Greg Stumbo said Monday he would ask Gov. Steve Beshear to call an immediate special legislative session on redistricting if the Senate offered a valid plan.

Stumbo’s comments came in response to a federal lawsuit filed April 26 by several Northern Kentucky officials and residents who want the court to force lawmakers to draw new legislative districts or allow a federal court to draw the boundaries.

“No one wants to preserve legislative independence more than I do,” said Stumbo, D-Prestonsburg. “That’s why the House passed a solid redistricting plan last session (this year) and urged the Senate to do the same.

“Sadly, continued inaction pushes us closer to the brink of federal intervention. I can’t imagine why anyone would want federal judges to do our job.”

Stumbo urged the Republican-led Senate to offer a “valid” redistricting plan.

“The House plan has been public for months, and it is time to wrap this up,” Stumbo said. “The Senate knows I stand ready to act.”

Stumbo included in his response a proposed redistricting map for the Senate.

Veteran national and state consultant joins Kay campaign in special House race

By Jack Brammer
jbrammer@herald-leader.com

FRANKFORT – Veteran political consultant Jim Cauley is working for the Democratic campaign of James L. Kay II in the special state House 56th District race in Central Kentucky.

Kay, a Woodford County attorney, confirmed Wednesday that Cauley, a former chief of staff for Gov. Steve Beshear, is his campaign consultant in the race.

That drew an immediate response from state Republican Party Chairman Steve Robertson, who noted that Cauley was campaign manager for President Barack Obama’s 2004 U.S. Senate campaign in Illinois.

Richie Farmer’s lawyers asks for detailed discovery documents

By Beth Musgrave
bmusgrave@herald-leader.com

FRANKFORT — Lawyers for former Agriculture Commissioner Richie Farmer want federal prosecutors to provide all documents that could be used against Farmer and want all criminal records of any potential government witness.

In documents filed in federal court Monday, lawyer J. Guthrie True asked a judge to compel prosecutors to turn over reams of information to Farmer’s defense team. The items requested include criminal convictions of any potential witness, details of any deal brokered by federal investigators in exchange for testimony or evidence against Farmer, all documents the federal government plans to use in the expected three-week trial, and a summary of all witness testimony. Such discovery requests are common in criminal cases.

Federal prosecutors have already turned over 16 compact discs to Farmer’s lawyers, according to previous court filings.

Farmer has pleaded not guilty to charges relating to the alleged misuse of approximately $450,000 in taxpayer funds. He is accused of giving plum gigs to friends — including a girlfriend — who performed little or no work, taking guns and other gifts intended for a 2008 agriculture convention, and taking state refrigerators, computers and other equipment. Farmer, who was agriculture commissioner from 2004 to 2011, is also a former University of Kentucky basketball stand out. He is currently unemployed.

A federal magistrate judge has set a trial date for July 2, but True has requested a delay until February 2014. Prosecutors have asked for a fall 2013 trial date.

State revenue dips in April, raising possibility of budget shortfall

By Beth Musgrave
bmusgrave@herald-leader.com

FRANKFORT — State revenue declined 2 percent in April, highlighting the possibility of a budget shortfall in the final two months of the fiscal year.

Kentucky’s General Fund collections were down $16.5 million from April 2011, according to figures released Friday.

The state’s two-year budget calls for revenue growth of 2.4 percent this fiscal year, but meeting that target would require 3.6 percent revenue growth in May and June. If that doesn’t happen, the state will have to find additional money or make cuts to balance its books.

A recent revenue forecast conducted by the Office of State Budget Director predicted revenue growth of 2.1 percent for the fiscal year that ends June 30, said State Budget Director Jane Driskell.

Large declines in the sales tax, corporate income taxes and property tax collections hampered April’s revenue numbers, Driskell said.

“Continued weakness in the sales tax is particularly conspicuous since the national economy is improving and consumer confidence is growing,” she said.

Sales taxes fell 7.3 percent from the previous April. Corporate income tax collections fell 89.7 percent in April but have increased 2.8 percent year-to-date.

The state’s Road Fund, which relies primarily on gas and other transportation taxes, had one of its best months to date. Revenues were up 18 percent in April compared to April 2011. The state collected $143.1 million for the Road Fund in April, the most ever collected in a single month.

Judge rules cabinet has 30 days to comply with Open Records law

By Beth Musgrave
bmusgrave@herald-leader.com

FRANKFORT — A Franklin Circuit Court judge has given the state 30 days to tell the state’s two largest newspapers why it redacted and took out information from more than 140 case files of children who have been killed or nearly killed from abuse or neglect.

Franklin Circuit Court Judge Philip Shepherd also ordered Cabinet for Health and Family Services Secretary Audrey Tayse Haynes to appoint a high-level staffer to oversee the cabinet’s compliance with his order.

Shepherd’s decision on Thursday came after a nearly two-hour hearing in Franklin Circuit Court on the status of the case that has taken almost three years to litigate.

Shepherd said that he would like Haynes to appoint someone by June 10 to oversee the cabinet’s compliance with the Open Records Act. Shepherd also said that he hopes the cabinet will provide detailed explanations of why information was removed by June 10 but gave the cabinet some leeway in case it takes longer given the number of case files involved. The newspapers are asking for the case files of children who have been killed or nearly killed from abuse and neglect in 2009 and 2010.

John-Mark Hack enters Central Kentucky House race as independent

By Jack Brammer
jbrammer@herald-leader.com

FRANKFORT — John-Mark Hack, a former aide to Gov. Paul Patton, filed Tuesday to run as an independent in the special House 56th District election on June 25.

Hack, who is in the food business, will face Republican Lyen Crews and Democrat James L. Kay II in the special election called by Gov. Steve Beshear to fill a vacancy left by Democrat Carl Rollins.

Rollins, of Midway, resigned to become chief executive of Kentucky’s higher education loan agencies.

The district includes Woodford County and parts of Fayette and Franklin counties.

Tuesday was the filing deadline for independent candidates in the race. Hack had to submit the signatures of at least 100 registered voters in the district to file.

$6.2 million spent on lobbying during legislative session

By Beth Musgrave
bmusgrave@herald-leader.com

FRANKFORT — A Western Kentucky aluminum smelter was the top spender on lobbying efforts during the recently concluded 2013 General Assembly, new reports released Tuesday show.

The Kentucky Legislative Ethics Commission reported that $6.2 million was spent on lobbying during the 30-day session which concluded March 26.

Century Aluminum of Kentucky, which was pushing legislation to allow it and other businesses to purchase electricity on the free market, spent $108,687 on lobbying during the session. Altria Client services, which represents Phillip Morris USA and U.S. Smokeless Tobacco, spent $107,353 during the legislative session. The Kentucky Chamber of Commerce spent $90,639 in the 2013 session, making it the third top spender.

Rounding out the top five are two medical organizations — the Kentucky Hospital Association and the Kentucky Medical Association. According to the Legislative Ethics Commission, the Kentucky Hospital Association spent $78,213 on lobbying while the Kentucky Medical Association spent $62,930.

Beshear indicates special session on redistricting likely this year

By Jack Brammer and Beth Musgrave
jbrammer@herald-leader.com
bmusgrave@herald-leader.com

FRANKFORT — Gov. Steve Beshear indicated Tuesday that he is likely to call a special legislative session this year to redraw the boundaries of state legislative districts.

“I hope to deal with redistricting sometime before the next regular session in January so that it will not become a distraction when we’re preparing the budget for the commonwealth for the next two years,” Beshear said. “I will continue to discuss this possibility with legislative leaders.”

Beshear’s comments came after House Speaker Greg Stumbo told him in a letter Tuesday that the Democratic-controlled House “stands ready” to tackle redistricting if he should decide to call a special session.

Lawmakers are not scheduled to meet again in session until the 2014 General Assembly begins in January. Only the governor can call a special session and set its agenda.

“I believe this is an issue better resolved sooner than later,” Stumbo said in his letter to Beshear. “We need to avoid costly litigation that, no matter how it is decided, will end with the same result: new legislative districts for the House and Senate.”

Beshear will decide on Medicaid expansion by July 1

By Beth Musgrave
bmusgrave@herald-leader.com

FRANKFORT — Gov. Steve Beshear said Monday that he will decide by July 1 whether to expand Medicaid, the federal-state health care program for the poor, elderly and disabled.

During a Capitol news conference Monday on an unrelated topic, Beshear said his administration is looking at several factors, including cost, before deciding whether to expand the program that serves about 830,000 people in Kentucky.

It is estimated that more than 400,000 people in Kentucky could be eligible for the program if it expands to include people at 133 percent of the poverty level. For a single person, 133 percent of the poverty level is $15,000.

Beshear said he is getting a lot of pressure from the medical field — particularly hospitals — to approve the expansion. Many Republicans have opposed expansion, saying the state can’t afford it.