Rural Kentucky remains a legislative priority

For rural Kentucky, economic challenges, including limited job opportunities and declining industries, weigh heavily on residents. Access to quality healthcare and education can be scarce, amplifying issues as a whole. Infrastructure deficiencies, such as inadequate roads and limited broadband access, hinders progress, and connectivity. Because of these issues, we take steps in ensuring that rural Kentucky is considered in the legislation that we pass.

For this update, I will share how we have worked to benefit agriculture and the wellbeing of rural Kentucky as a priority through this regular session. 

Water or Wastewater Assistance for Troubled or Economically Restrained Systems (WWATERS): HB 563 is aimed at helping struggling rural water and wastewater systems that do not qualify for normal funding. The measure creates two revolving loan funds. The first will address maintenance and upgrade needs and can be awarded as a grant, loan, no-interest loan, or forgivable loan. The second is an emergency fund to restore service after disasters.

Offering options to preserve farmland: Agricultural districts have provided Kentuckians a way to keep land in agricultural production for more than four decades. The program provides an optional alternative that protects land from being annexed or condemned without mitigation. Land in an agricultural district is taxed at the agricultural rate and are eligible for other incentives. HB 418 decreases the minimum acreage required to qualify as an agricultural district from 250 to 50 acres.

Securing watershed dams: Kentucky is currently home to approximately 200 watershed dams, most of which were built between 1960 and 1970 with federally appropriated funding. As age and neglect have taken their toll, we begin to see failures, resulting in dangers to the communities around them. Last month, the legislature passed HB 130, a measure that establishes the framework for future funding to be used for the restoration of dams throughout the Commonwealth that have become a liability to their corresponding water conservation district. HB 130 was signed into law earlier this month.

Addressing veterinarian shortage: The shortage of veterinarians in the Commonwealth impacts not only pet owners but also farmers and our food supply. The House approved HB 553, which establishes a student loan repayment program for eligible veterinary students in underserved areas of the Commonwealth. This will help increase interest in veterinary practice, hopefully filling in the discrepancies we are seeing in the veterinary workforce. 

Banning surveillance on farms: Rapid advancements in technology led to an influx of citizens across the state utilizing drones both professionally and as a hobby. As a consequence, this technology has been used to spy on agricultural producers. To rectify this situation, the Senate passed SB 16, which would prohibit the operation of any unmanned aircraft or recording device on or above any commercial animal or food manufacturing facility without written consent of the owner.

Matching funds through the Kentucky GRANT program: Lawmakers created the Kentucky Government Resources Accelerating Needed Transformation Program (GRANT) program to help communities match the funds required to obtain access to federal grants. Rural communities throughout the Commonwealth often struggle to obtain federal assistance because they lack the money necessary for a required match. We’ve provided more than $200 million in the current fiscal year to use as seed money, and continue to emphasize what an opportunity the program is. After some evaluation, it appears the program would be a better fit for the Economic Development Cabinet than it is for the Department of Local Government.

Two more measure remain for consideration on April 15, the final day of this session.

Expanding economic development opportunities in rural Kentucky: Attracting jobs and economic investment to rural Kentucky has to be a priority to ensure success throughout the state. HB 13 updates the Kentucky Product Development Initiative (KPDI), a program designed to help local communities develop potential economic development sites, to make it more accessible to smaller counties. We also provided $35 million in each year of HB 1, an investment bill.

Limiting foreign ownership of Kentucky land:  HB 575 prohibits the purchase of Kentucky’s agricultural land by countries that the federal government has identified as countries with which we do not share friendly relations. This legislation does not hinder previous foreign operations and provides exemptions for research opportunities.