Crime, Disaster Recovery, Mental Health, Death Benefits, Veteran Suicide
Rep. Mark Hart (District 78)
Rep. Mark Hart (District 78) reviews the second week of the 2024 Regular Session, noting the assembly has 51 legislative days left to complete its legislative agenda. More than 300 House bills and resolutions are filed for consideration, and Rep. Hart believes there could be hundreds more before the deadline to file House bills in late February.
Education, Transportion, Health Care Bills
Rep. Steve Rawlings (District 66)
The 2024 Regular Session is off to a fast-paced start. The work that all the legislators did throughout the Interim period is shown in the amount of legislation proposed. In the first two weeks of the Regular Session more than 200 bills have been filed with the clerk. Many of these will be moved to committee in the next few weeks for consideration of their passage. This week, I wanted to share summaries of a few bills that stood out to me after they were filed.
Legislation Introduced to Reform CON
Reps. Marianne Proctor (District 60), Steve Rawlings (District 66) and Steve Doan (District 69) have co-sponsored legislation addressing changes to Kentucky’s Certificate of Need program.
Sen. Schickel Discusses Priorities
Sen. John Schickel (District 11)
Sen. Schickel discusses his priorities, efforts to facilitate good governance, and Kentucky’s bicameral system and budgeting process. He also updates state income tax reduction, the effect of HB 8 from the 2022 session
Senate Bill 5 Passes Committee (updated)
Sen. Gex Williams (District 20)
Sen. Williams is actively pursuing a minor yet impactful adjustment to Kentucky’s hunting and fishing regulations with Senate Bill (SB) 5, a designated 2024 legislative priority for the Senate.
AN ACT relating to coverage for annual pap smears
Rep. Kim Banta (District 63)
Rep. Banta provides a working draft of a bill related to insurance coverage of annual pap smears.
AN ACT relating to postincarceration supervision
Rep. Kim Banta (District 63)
Rep. Banta provides a working draft of a child protection bill regarding postincarceration supervision.
Update: The Future of Certificate of Need
Rep. Marianne Proctor (District 60)
One of the more integral functions of the time we spend preparing for our legislative session is the meeting of our task forces. Task forces have proven to be a vital part of crafting legislation in focus areas that we deem to need more attention than we can offer them in a traditional committee. One of these areas being Kentucky’s Certificate of Need program.
Interim Joint Committee Reports
Rep. Steve Rawlings (District 66)
Joint Interim Committee updates from Appropriations and Revenue, Agriculture, Banking and Insurance, Education, Transportation and Judiciary.
Efforts to Expand KEES Funding to Homeschoolers
Sen. John Schickel, R-Union, was joined by Laura Edwards, a certified teacher and homeschooling mother of six, along with Rep. Steve Rawlings, R-Burlington, and others during Wednesday’s Interim Joint Committee (IJC) on Education meeting. One of the key topics of discussion centered around expanding funding opportunities for homeschool students under the Kentucky Educational Excellence Scholarship (KEES) program.