Legislative Update - January 31, 2020
Discussions of bills, budgets, and barbershop choir echoed in the Capitol as we concluded the fourth week of the 2020 Regular Session. While legislation continued to move steadily through the Senate over the course of the week, we were welcomed by a variety of talented constituents in the chamber, including “The Kentuckians,” who relegated the Senate with a “barbershop” style rendition of “My Old Kentucky Home.”
Biennial budget discussions officially began while the Governor delivered his two-year budget proposal to the Kentucky General Assembly on Tuesday. The budget address is one of the first steps in preparing the state’s two-year financial plan. Now that the Governor has outlined his budget proposal, the House of Representatives gets the first opportunity to move budget bills in the legislature. Once the House passes its budget proposal, it will then advance to the Senate for further discussion and consideration. We still face several weeks of studies, negotiations and public hearings before we reach an official budget draft. The final budget document will likely look much different than what was proposed this week by the Governor, but the driving force behind it remains the same—we must move the Commonwealth forward on a path that is financially sound.
I was proud to sponsor Senate Bill (SB) 6, priority legislation aimed at ending the practice of legislative pension “spiking.” SB 6 would prohibit state lawmakers who contributed to the Legislators’ Retirement Plan from June 20, 2005, through Dec. 31, 2013, from using salary credited in another Kentucky retirement system to determine final compensation in the legislators’ plan. This practice is known as pension “spiking” and it’s time to end it once and for all. The bill overwhelmingly passed the Senate with bipartisan support and now moves on to the House.
SB 8 and SB 9 were both passed through to the House this week. SB 8 would amend the current school safety statute to expand school personnel with the designation of a school safety coordinator for each district, one school-based mental health counselor per 250 students and a trained and certified armed school resource officer. SB 9, also known as the “Born Alive Infant Protection Act,” is a pro-life measure that requires a physician to take all medically appropriate and reasonable steps to preserve the life and health of a born-alive infant.
We also passed a number of other bills in the Senate:
SB 57 is a bill that amends statue to provide school districts with flexibility in renovations of existing school facilities. It removes the requirement that bottle-fill stations and water fountains be installed for minor renovations. This fix will save school districts money, which is especially important during tough budget times.
SB 74 provides the authority for a judge to issue a warrant for a blood and urine test in DUI cases. Current law only permits a warrant to be issued if there is a death or serious injury involved.
SB 79 makes some clarifications to 2017’s SB 236. It defines what is considered to be a “substantiated” case of child abuse or neglect. A “substantiated” case would be a case where a ruling was upheld, or that was not appealed. The bill would maintain the requirement that an employee self-report substantiated findings to the Cabinet for Health and Family Services, while also ensuring due process for employees accused.
To those who have reached out to my office in the past weeks, thank you for staying engaged during these early weeks of session. It’s an honor to serve you in Frankfort.