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Ky. House speeds through bills to ease future tax cuts, shift $450M GRANT program to Agriculture
The Kentucky House sped to passage Friday morning an amended state revenue bill that could ease the path to hit triggers for tax cuts in future years, in line with the Republican supermajority’s long-term goal to eliminate the income tax. The GOP-dominated chamber also cleared a late-amended bill to...
The Strongman Fantasy
Quite a few Americans like the idea of strongman rule. Why not a dictator who will get things done?. I lived in eastern Europe when memories of communism were fresh. I have visited regions in Ukraine where Russia imposed its occupation regime. I have spent decades reading testimonies of people who lived under Nazi or Stalinist rule. I have seen death pits, some old, some freshly dug. And I have friends who have lived under authoritarian regimes, including political prisoners and survivors of torture. Some of the people I trusted most have been assassinated.
By any other word these actions would still be the same — just call it racism
Let’s call this what it is – soft-core racism. Over the past several sessions the Kentucky General Assembly has attracted a well-earned reputation for punching down on many of the constituencies it is reputed to represent. Last year it heaped abuse upon transgender kids, essentially laughing in the face of Sen. Karen Berg (D-Louisville), whose trans son committed suicide. Two years ago it placed unreasonable limits on women with unwanted pregnancies from getting abortions. And it is constantly scapegoating the Commonwealth’s teachers for poor student performance, ignoring its own hand in underfunding public schools, and now it’s looking to change the state constitution so it can send taxpayer’s money to private schools.
Kentucky House moves to cut DEI programs, impacting protected groups
The Kentucky House has voted to eliminate diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives at public colleges and universities – a move that could potentially ban state schools from offering programs geared toward federally protected classes of religion, race, sex, color or national origin. The move came Friday when House members...
Can public tax dollars go to private schools? Kentuckians will answer on November ballot
The Kentucky Senate has passed a controversial “school choice” bill, setting the stage for Kentucky voters to decide if they want taxpayer dollars to go to private and charter schools. House Bill 2, sponsored by House Majority Caucus Chair Suzanne Miles (R-Owensboro) cleared the House Wednesday on a...
State Senate restores most Medicaid cuts made in the House
The state Senate has largely eliminated cuts to Medicaid that were proposed in the House budget. A top state official had warned the House plan would create a hole next year in the federal-state health plan that covers 1.5 million low-income Kentuckians, a third of the state's population. “We are...
Sweeping GOP crime bill clears Kentucky Senate despite judiciary chairman’s opposition
A GOP-backed omnibus crime bill won state Senate approval Friday over the objections of the Republican chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee. “Long after I’m gone, we are going to be paying for it — figuratively and literally,” warned Sen. Whitney Westerfield in an impassioned speech that did not dissuade his colleagues from backing House Bill 5.
So the Lege wants schools to teach civics – hahahaha!
If you haven’t been following the 24GA session, you have missed a true lesson in civics gone wrong. Nevertheless, in its infinite wisdom, the Republican SuperBadMajority© is about to pass a mandatory course on civics for high school students to take before they can graduate. HB 535 has passed the House and is awaiting a committee hearing in the Senate Education Committee. Oh wait – that really doesn’t need to happen before it can get one or two readings on the Senate floor.
So you say you want a strongman?
Historians almost never miss a chance to explain how the past can provide guidance for the present. It’s part of their job description. But Yale historian Timothy Snyder demurred on TV the other day when MSNBC’s Nicole Wallace asked him how, between now and election time, would he deal with pro-Putin Trump loyalists, their “erasure of history” and their “willful ignorance of our place in the world.”
Nine minutes. To reverse nearly a half-century of open records law.
Approximately nine minutes. That was the duration of the March 12 floor debate in the House of Representatives on House Bill 509. Approximately nine minutes to reverse nearly a half century of open records law and effectively repeal statutorily established and enforceable rights of public access to records based on their nature and content rather than on the place where they are stored.
Senate committees reject two bad House bills
In a rare occurrence, especially on the same day, two different committees in the Kentucky Senate rejected bills that had already passed the House. However, the chairs of the committees said they may bring the bills back up for a vote, possibly as soon as Friday. HB 367 – Limits...
Kentucky House approves ‘school choice’ amendment despite bipartisan opposition
A “school choice” amendment bill — a top priority for Republican lawmakers in the 2024 General Assembly — cleared the Kentucky House of Representatives Wednesday afternoon following more than two hours of contentious floor debate. In a 65-32 vote, legislators passed House Bill 2, which would...
Louisville launching five-year plan for universal preschool
Kentucky’s largest city took steps Tuesday to implement universal, free and optional preschool for its 3- and 4-year-old citizens. Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg announced that a new nonprofit called Thrive by 5 Louisville will work over the next five years with both public and private dollars to get children in the city better prepared for kindergarten by providing grants to providers and assistance to families.
‘Public money for nonpublic schools’ amendment meets bipartisan resistance but clears House
After a couple hours of debate, 12 House Republicans joined Democrats in opposing a constitutional amendment that would allow Kentucky lawmakers to give public dollars to nonpublic schools. However, 65 Republicans supported the priority legislation, House Bill 2, in a 65-32 vote on Wednesday. If also approved by the Senate,...
Kentucky House passes bill that adds loopholes to open records law
The House approved a Republican-backed bill that open government advocates have repeatedly warned would add loopholes to Kentucky’s open records laws. Rep. John Hodgson (R-Fisherville) recently said in the House State Government Committee that House Bill 509 seeks to modernize state open records laws, which were established in the 1970s before widespread use of email and text messages. He reiterated that intent on the floor Tuesday.
KY Senate unveils massive one-time spending bill, but no raises for K-12 teachers
The Senate is looking to spend, but apparently not for teachers. The first version of House Bill 1, a large one-time appropriations bill already passed in the House, proposed $1.8 billion in spending from the state’s Budget Reserve Trust Fund. The version unveiled Wednesday by Senate Appropriations & Revenue Chair Chris McDaniel (R-Ryland Heights) would clear a whopping $3.5 billion.
General Assembly announces calendar changes
Legislative leadership announced Wednesday, which is day 50 of the 60-day regular session of the 2024 General Assembly, they have made a series of adjustments in the meeting schedule for the remaining days of the session. While lawmakers will meet as usual on Thursday and Friday of this week, several...
Opponents from across the political spectrum testify against sweeping crime bill
Kentucky’s Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday heard a slew of testimony from across the political spectrum opposing an omnibus crime bill. Senate Judicial Committee Chair Sen. Whitney Westerfield (R-Fruit Hill) said that while House Bill 5 was up only for discussion Tuesday, he expects a committee vote on the legislation Thursday.
A hard look at the new Republican Party and the threat it poses
It is clear that Donald Trump has finally completed his takeover of the Republican Party. He has easily won almost all the primaries. Haley is gone, McConnell has caved, and Trump has placed a MAGA loyalist and a family member in charge of the Republican National Committee. We can no...
Bill aimed at curbing Kentucky's youth 'vaping epidemic' passes House
A bill to curb what its sponsor called the youth “vaping epidemic” in Kentucky passed the state House on Monday and is now in the Senate. Sponsor Rebecca Raymer (R-Morgantown) told her colleagues that she was inspired to work on the issue after hearing from school officials across the state about how “rampant the vaping is in our schools.”
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