Education, Transportion, Health Care Bills
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, Rep. Steve Rawlings (District 66) shared summaries of a few bills that stood out to him after they were filed.
Higher Education Performance Reviews (HB 228): Without a doubt education is the greatest equalizer, unlocking doors to opportunity and knocking down barriers to a good quality of life for individuals and our commonwealth. The legislature made major investments in postsecondary education with the state budget passed in 2022, and now continues to look for ways to ensure Kentuckians have access to a university education. HB 228 holds collegiate leaders accountable for their institution’s success or lack thereof. It requires the boards of all public postsecondary institutions to implement an evaluation process for their faculty and evaluations to be conducted at least once every four years. The bill also gives the board of regents the ability to remove faculty, regardless of status, based on the outcomes of these evaluations.
Voluntary Paid Family Leave Insurance (HB 179): Voluntary paid medical leave insurance is an optional insurance product that allows employers of all sizes to choose to offer employees paid family medical leave insurance. HB 179 would amend statute to allow this product to be offered within Kentucky. Paid family leave insurance would provide a temporary wage replacement for workers who need to take leave to provide care to a sick family member; bond with a child after the child’s birth, adoption, or placement for foster care; care for a family member in the military who was injured in the line of duty; or for other reasons as outlined in the employer’s benefit plan. The length of paid leave benefits would also be determined by the employer’s plan.
Certificate of Need Modifications (HB 202, HB 203, HB 204): The certificate of need requirement has long been a point of discussion among policymakers considering how to improve access to quality healthcare. A certificate of need (CON) is simply a legal document required in Kentucky before a proposed acquisition, expansion, or creation of a healthcare facility can take place. HB 202 increases the financial amount required to trigger certificate of need requirements for healthcare providers and allows the amount to be indexed to inflation. HB 203 adds various health services to the certificate of need exemption list, therefore keeping them from going through the process to establish new service areas. HB 204 removes the dominate provider’s veto on medical provider applications, while still maintaining their participation in the evaluation process. I was the primary co-sponsor on these pieces of legislation and look forward to seeing them considered this session.
Notification of Driver’s License Expiration (HB 218): There are few things worse than realizing your driver’s license is expired when you need to use it. HB 218 would require the Transportation Cabinet to give notice of expiration to individuals that have drivers licenses nearing their expiration. This policy would help the people of Kentucky keep their identity documents up to date, and give people a reasonable amount of time to plan for a license renewal. Expanding Drivers Licensing Services (HB 213): Several years ago, the Transportation Cabinet began shifting driver licensing from circuit court clerks’ offices to regional drivers licensing facilities. This shifted driver’s license renewal to a model comprised of 32 facilities across the state, forcing many Kentuckians to travel an hour or more to renew their licenses in person. Therefore, I am proud to have sponsored HB 213 which directs the Transportation Cabinet to reestablish drivers licensing offices in all counties. This modification would simplify the driver’s license renewal process, and prevent Kentuckians from having to travel outside of their county to renew their license.