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Q: How much would Trump’s mass deportation order cost?
A veteran western Kentucky Democratic activist has a question for MAGA xenophobes salivating over Donald Trump’s promise that if he wins in November, he’ll order “the largest domestic deportation operation in American history.”. “Have they thought about how much this would cost?" asked Leslie McColgin, a rural...
All KY anti-LGBTQ bills defeated
Tonight the Kentucky General Assembly adjourned without advancing any anti-LGBTQ laws. Advocates like you successfully defeated ten bills aimed at restricting the health, rights, and well-being of LGBTQ Kentuckians. Bills that posed the greatest threat included House Bill 47, a measure aimed at weakening local LGBTQ Fairness Ordinances across the...
The Wrap for Monday, 4/15
It’s Tax Day, it’s Sine Die Day, it’s Trump In Court Day ... and it’s The Wrap Returns Day!. After time away due to the flu (get your shot!), we’re back to give you a one-stop-shop on what’s up with politics in Kentucky. The Lege hasn’t gaveled out yet, but we’ll have some news from earlier in the day.
Legislature rejects pleas, cuts tobacco-prevention spending
In a year when the American Cancer Society asked the Kentucky legislature to increase spending on tobacco prevention, lawmakers cut it and passed an anti-vaping bill that some say could increase cigarette use in the state. The two-year state budget’s allocation for tobacco prevention — about $8 million shy of...
Our readers are smarter than our legislators
The so-called “Safer Kentucky Act” — better known as the “Lock Up Everyone” act — is now law. HB 5 was passed, vetoed by the governor, and the veto overridden. Now today, on the last day of the session, the sponsors of this misbegotten bill are having a signing ceremony, celebrating putting more people (including the homeless) in jails and prisons.
Westerfield to Senate: Poll shows GOP voters in Kentucky support gun removal measure
In what he said could be his last speech on the Senate floor, Sen. Whitney Westerfield assured his colleagues that “the politics … are safe” to support a law that would temporarily remove firearms from Kentuckians at risk of harming themselves or others. Speaking on Friday night,...
Democrats hope to force vote on abortion exceptions as session winds down
Democrats are hoping to force lawmakers to take a stand on loosening Kentucky’s near total ban on abortion before going home Monday. Sen. David Yates (D-Louisville) announced Thursday that he is filing a discharge petition for his Senate Bill 99, which would create exceptions in the abortion ban for rape and incest. He filed the bill on Jan. 9 and said it has been “deliberately shelved.”
Veto of mass incarceration bill gives Kentucky supermajority a shot at redemption
As I sort through the remains of this session, I keep returning to something I’ve heard said, only half-jokingly, about Kentucky: We waited until after the Civil War to join the Confederacy. It feels like the legislature is doing it again. White grievance and white supremacy animated this session....
Vetos, bills left behind, and abortion exemptions w/ Erin Marshall
Aaron and Chris share legislative updates as #KYGA24 gears up for the final two days of law makin’ and veto overridin’. Then they check in with Erin Marshall, the single mom who has launched an exciting campaign taking on Jamie Comer in Kentucky’s first congressional district. Listen in to hear why she’s running, what she hopes to accomplish, and most importantly, how YOU can help her campaign.
Beshear lets school ‘guardians’ bill become law without his signature
Kentucky school districts will have the option of employing armed “guardians” to fill vacant law enforcement positions on campuses under a bill that became law Tuesday without Gov. Andy Beshear’s signature. Senate Bill 2 is a Republican-backed measure that built upon a bipartisan school safety law that...
Beshear lets ‘teens tried as adults’ bill become law
Three years ago, Republicans supported and Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear signed a bill adding conditions that a judge should consider before moving a child who commits a felony offense with a gun to adult court. On Tuesday, Beshear allowed a bill to become law that undoes that legislation. Senate Bill...
‘The Best Political Video of 2024 (So Far)’
A quartet of veteran Kentucky Democratic activists isn’t surprised that a Mother Jones story about First District congressional hopeful Erin Marshall’s campaign rollout video was headlined “The Best Political Video of 2024 (So Far).” Neither is the Kentucky state director for Planned Parenthood Alliance Advocates. “But...
17 bad and good bills that are dead – for now
With only two legislative days left, the only bills that can still be passed are ones that have “crossed over”: bills that have passed one chamber and are now waiting on the other chamber to vote. If they are not passed in the other chamber before Sine Die on Monday, they are dead for this session. But as we all know, bills have often come back from the dead during these last two days.
All the Governor’s vetoes, and why he issued them
As we head into the last two days of this year’s session, there are 21 bills that Governor Beshear has vetoed. All vetoes require a “veto message” to accompany the veto, explaining why the bill was vetoed. Below we have listed all the bills vetoed by Governor...
Here’s the list of budget line-item vetoes
Vetoes normally apply to an entire bill. Even if the governor likes some parts of a bill, he or she has to either veto the entire bill, or let it become law. Appropriations bills are different. Here, the governor has the ability to veto single line items in the bill. Just like regular vetoes, these line-item vetoes can be overridden when the lawmakers return for their final two days of session. But, sometimes the line items stay vetoed, and the appropriations bill takes effect without those items being funded.
The vetoes so far
This week, both Jazmin and Robert are sick, but still managed to do a show about Andy Beshear's vetoes this session so far. Robert is a graduate of UK's Martin School for Public Policy. He works as a data scientist in Louisville, where he lives w/ wife Kelsey and their daughter. (Read the rest on the Contributors page.)
Governor signs into law a ‘landmark’ bill eliminating out-of-pocket costs for prostate, other screenings
Governor Andy Beshear has signed into law legislation that will eliminate out-of-pocket costs for high-risk men being screened for prostate cancer and other cancer screenings. Out-of-pocket costs pose barriers to prostate cancer detection and treatment, disproportionately impacting lower-income individuals, people of color, and those with limited healthcare access. These financial burdens exacerbate health disparities and increase risks for vulnerable populations.
Teamsters laud Gov. Behears’ veto of legislation to allow driverless trucks, cars on KY roads
With the support of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear vetoed House Bill 7 (HB7), legislation that would have allowed driverless trucks and cars on Kentucky roads. “This bill and others like it are written by and for Big Tech, and Gov. Beshear made the right call...
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