http://bluegrasspolitics.bloginky.com Covering Kentucky politics and government Tue, 22 May 2012 21:44:15 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 http://bluegrasspolitics.bloginky.com/2012/05/14/two-state-boards-begin-review-of-richie-farmer-audit/ http://bluegrasspolitics.bloginky.com/2012/05/14/two-state-boards-begin-review-of-richie-farmer-audit/#comments Mon, 14 May 2012 19:31:42 +0000 Jack Brammer http://bluegrasspolitics.bloginky.com/?p=21710 By Jack Brammer jbrammer@herald-leader.com FRANKFORT — Two state boards began considering on Monday a critical audit of the Kentucky Department of Agriculture under former state Agriculture Commissioner Richie Farmer. The state Personnel Board unanimously voted to direct its staff to review seven findings that dealt with personnel issues in the audit released April 30 by state Auditor Adam Edelen. The board’s staff members are to report back to the board next month or as soon as possible. Meanwhile, the audit was presented Monday to the Executive Branch Ethic Commission, but commission executive director John Steffen would neither confirm nor deny any investigation. He did say that allegations in the audit were “of a serious nature.” The 151-page audit said “a toxic culture of entitlement” permeated the department under Farmer, a former basketball star at the University of Kentucky and a Republican candidate for lieutenant governor last year. He was agriculture commissioner for the last eight years. The audit listed 41 findings dealing with misuse of state employees and resources, including pre-selection of candidates for state merit jobs, using state employees to take Farmer hunting and shopping and making a state worker field-dress a doe that Farmer shot illegally while in a state vehicle in Franklin County.]]> http://bluegrasspolitics.bloginky.com/2012/05/14/two-state-boards-begin-review-of-richie-farmer-audit/feed/ 0 http://bluegrasspolitics.bloginky.com/2012/05/07/kentucky-will-get-about-4-6-million-from-settlement-with-drug-company/ http://bluegrasspolitics.bloginky.com/2012/05/07/kentucky-will-get-about-4-6-million-from-settlement-with-drug-company/#comments Mon, 07 May 2012 21:04:04 +0000 Jack Brammer http://bluegrasspolitics.bloginky.com/?p=21674 FRANKFORT -- Kentucky will get about $4.62 million in a settlement with Abbott Laboratories involving civil and criminal allegations that the drug company illegally marketed the drug Depakote. Attorney General Jack Conway announced Monday that Abbott has settled with 49 states, including Kentucky, the District of Columbia and the federal government in reaching two independent settlements totaling $1.6 billion. ]]> http://bluegrasspolitics.bloginky.com/2012/05/07/kentucky-will-get-about-4-6-million-from-settlement-with-drug-company/feed/ 0 http://bluegrasspolitics.bloginky.com/2012/04/30/beshear-will-talk-with-conway-before-deciding-whether-to-move-kasper/ http://bluegrasspolitics.bloginky.com/2012/04/30/beshear-will-talk-with-conway-before-deciding-whether-to-move-kasper/#comments Mon, 30 Apr 2012 20:36:35 +0000 Jack Brammer http://bluegrasspolitics.bloginky.com/?p=21641 FRANKFORT -- Gov. Steve Beshear said Monday he will meet with Attorney General Jack Conway before deciding whether to move by executive order the state's electronic monitoring system for prescription to his office. The system, known as KASPER, is now in the Cabinet for Families and Health Services. Some legislators this year wanted to move it to Conway's office to make it a law-enforcement tool but that provision was not included in a final bill to curb prescription drug abuse. "The thing that the attorney general stresses, which I agree with him on, is his need for access so his investigators can proceed when they need to pursue these doctors who are pushing drugs," Beshear said. Beshear noted that the new law does not take effect until mid-July. He said he will be discussing it with Conway before then. --Jack Brammer ]]> http://bluegrasspolitics.bloginky.com/2012/04/30/beshear-will-talk-with-conway-before-deciding-whether-to-move-kasper/feed/ 0 http://bluegrasspolitics.bloginky.com/2012/04/18/law-enforcement-officials-rally-for-prescription-drug-bill/ http://bluegrasspolitics.bloginky.com/2012/04/18/law-enforcement-officials-rally-for-prescription-drug-bill/#comments Wed, 18 Apr 2012 16:05:17 +0000 Jack Brammer http://bluegrasspolitics.bloginky.com/?p=21582 Patricia Jones of Laurel County pleaded with legislators in a Capitol Rotunda rally “to do something” to stop the prescription drug abuse that took the life of her son, Westley Brewer. “There’s a void in our life that will never be filled,” she said. She later said in an interview that her son got the drugs “from friends who went doctor-shopping to get them.” HB 1, which now goes to the Senate for its consideration, would move control of the state’s prescription monitoring system to Attorney General Jack Conway’s office and require physicians to use the system. Currently, only 25 percent of Kentucky physicians do so.]]> http://bluegrasspolitics.bloginky.com/2012/04/18/law-enforcement-officials-rally-for-prescription-drug-bill/feed/ 0 http://bluegrasspolitics.bloginky.com/2012/04/06/beshear-and-conway-join-key-lawmakers-in-pushing-for-anti-drug-bill/ http://bluegrasspolitics.bloginky.com/2012/04/06/beshear-and-conway-join-key-lawmakers-in-pushing-for-anti-drug-bill/#comments Fri, 06 Apr 2012 17:36:32 +0000 Jack Brammer http://bluegrasspolitics.bloginky.com/?p=21458 Steve Beshear, Attorney General Jack Conway and several key lawmakers are urging the legislature next week to approve a bill to regulate pain clinics. Beshear and Conway joined House Speaker Greg Stumbo, Senate Majority Leader Robert Stivers, Sen. Jimmy Higdon and Rep. John Tilley in issuing a joint statement Friday, calling on lawmakers to pass House Bill 4 when they return to Frankfort April 12 for the final day of the 2012 General Assembly. The bill ran into trouble March 30 before lawmakers left the Capitol for 10 days to give Beshear time to consider any vetoes. The Kentucky Medical Association has questioned parts of it. ]]> http://bluegrasspolitics.bloginky.com/2012/04/06/beshear-and-conway-join-key-lawmakers-in-pushing-for-anti-drug-bill/feed/ 1 http://bluegrasspolitics.bloginky.com/2012/01/31/prosecutors-warn-of-lay-offs-furloughs-if-budgets-are-cut-again/ http://bluegrasspolitics.bloginky.com/2012/01/31/prosecutors-warn-of-lay-offs-furloughs-if-budgets-are-cut-again/#comments Tue, 31 Jan 2012 19:08:06 +0000 Beth Musgrave http://bluegrasspolitics.bloginky.com/?p=20323 By Beth Musgrave bmusgrave@herald-leader.com FRANKFORT — The state’s prosecutors warned lawmakers Tuesday that they will have to layoff or furlough workers under Gov. Steve Beshear’s proposed two-year state budget. “We’ve got two options — layoffs or furloughs,” said Chris Cohron, the Commonwealth Attorney for Warren County and legislative chair for the state’s commonwealth attorney association. Beshear has proposed a cut of 2.2 percent to the state’s commonwealth and county attorneys. That’s less than the 8.4 percent cut he has proposed for most state agencies for the first year of the two-year budget. Under Beshear’s proposal, the agencies would generally receive the same amount in the second year of the budget. Cohron and John Estill, the Mason County attorney, told a House budget review subcommittee on Tuesday that more than 95 percent of their budgets are spent on workers. Any cuts will mean a reduction in hours for current employees through furloughs or layoffs.]]> http://bluegrasspolitics.bloginky.com/2012/01/31/prosecutors-warn-of-lay-offs-furloughs-if-budgets-are-cut-again/feed/ 1 http://bluegrasspolitics.bloginky.com/2012/01/04/stumbo-proposes-moving-prescription-drug-monitoring-to-attorney-general/ http://bluegrasspolitics.bloginky.com/2012/01/04/stumbo-proposes-moving-prescription-drug-monitoring-to-attorney-general/#comments Wed, 04 Jan 2012 22:56:41 +0000 Accountability Editor http://bluegrasspolitics.bloginky.com/?p=20021 By Jack Brammer jbrammer@herald-leader.com FRANKFORT — House Speaker Greg Stumbo hopes to crack down on doctors who overprescribe pain medications by moving the statewide prescription monitoring system to a law-enforcement agency. Stumbo, D-Prestonsburg, said Wednesday that he soon will file a bill to transfer the state’s Kentucky All Schedule Prescription Electronic Reporting System from the Cabinet for Health and Family Services to Attorney General Jack Conway’s office. “I think the system would be more effective if a law-enforcement agency administered it,” he said. Stumbo has faulted the Kentucky Board of Medical Licensure for not doing enough to go after doctors who over-prescribe narcotics in a state where drug overdoses are the leading cause of death for some age groups. The board should use data from KASPER to identify doctors who prescribe too many scheduled narcotics, he said.]]> http://bluegrasspolitics.bloginky.com/2012/01/04/stumbo-proposes-moving-prescription-drug-monitoring-to-attorney-general/feed/ 0 http://bluegrasspolitics.bloginky.com/2011/11/08/re-elected-attorney-general-jack-conway/ http://bluegrasspolitics.bloginky.com/2011/11/08/re-elected-attorney-general-jack-conway/#comments Wed, 09 Nov 2011 01:54:13 +0000 Rich Copley http://bluegrasspolitics.bloginky.com/?p=19685 http://bluegrasspolitics.bloginky.com/2011/11/08/re-elected-attorney-general-jack-conway/feed/ 0 http://bluegrasspolitics.bloginky.com/2011/11/08/conway-national-democrats-vs-ky-democrats/ http://bluegrasspolitics.bloginky.com/2011/11/08/conway-national-democrats-vs-ky-democrats/#comments Tue, 08 Nov 2011 23:54:01 +0000 Rich Copley http://bluegrasspolitics.bloginky.com/?p=19679 http://bluegrasspolitics.bloginky.com/2011/11/08/conway-national-democrats-vs-ky-democrats/feed/ 0 http://bluegrasspolitics.bloginky.com/2011/11/01/administrator-of-troubled-home-pleads-guilty-to-tax-exploitation-charges/ http://bluegrasspolitics.bloginky.com/2011/11/01/administrator-of-troubled-home-pleads-guilty-to-tax-exploitation-charges/#comments Tue, 01 Nov 2011 21:08:35 +0000 Beth Musgrave http://bluegrasspolitics.bloginky.com/?p=19611 http://bluegrasspolitics.bloginky.com/2011/11/01/administrator-of-troubled-home-pleads-guilty-to-tax-exploitation-charges/feed/ 0