2013 General Assembly

Beshear Still Deciding on Special Session for Tax Reform, Redistricting

Kenny Colston — Sun, 21 Apr 2013 11:00:00 +0000

Even though they managed to pass pension and tax reforms in this year's regular legislative session, Kentucky lawmakers haven't necessarily dodged a special session.

A few big issues remain for lawmakers, mainly the redrawing of legislative districts and further tax reform.

Governor Steve Beshear has continued to discuss the need for more tax reform, largely to pay for education. And he says he's not ruling out calling a special session sometime this year.

"I'm going to have continuing conversations through the summer with House and Senate leadership on that too. We're just taking it one step at a time and see where we go,” the Governor said.

Beshear is also considering whether redistricting should be tackled in a special session. Legally, lawmakers have until next year, but Beshear says he wants candidates to know their districts well before campaigning begins.

Here's a Look at the Weird and Wacky Laws Signed into Law in Kentucky

Kenny Colston — Mon, 08 Apr 2013 13:45:39 +0000

With action by the governor on every bill passed in the 2013 session, some of the more interesting new laws are starting to stick out.

There are always a few bills that get lobbyists and lawmakers rolling their eyes, and this year is no different.

For example: did you know a bill was signed into law describing Ale-8-One as "an original" Kentucky soft drink? We also now have a law honoring Winchester as the birthplace of beer cheese.

Another law re-classifies a handful of Kentucky cities as larger than they really are.

Thanks to Kentucky lawmakers, someone in a family trust or small business can now bid for items at an auction outside of those entities.

And lastly, there's a law that lets people hunt coyotes anytime, any place, with shotguns. Kentuckians can now rest assured that they can legally bag as many of animals as they want.

Gov. Beshear Signs Pension Bills, Measure Allowing Alcohol Sales On Election Day

Kenny Colston — Thu, 04 Apr 2013 20:34:26 +0000

Governor Steve Beshear has signed bills allowing alcohol sales on election day, reforming the state's pension system and finding revenue to pay for the reforms

The governor signed the bills Thursday, two days before his deadline to do so.

The pension bills would raise almost $100 million in revenue to pay for the underfunded pension systems. The reforms also put new hires into a 401k-style pension plan.

Opponents of the pension bills say they will hurt state workers by giving them weaker retirement plans and they question whether the bills raise enough money to fund the systems.

Beshear has still not acted on a bill that prepares Kentucky to grow industrial hemp, if it's legalized on the federal level. If he doesn't sign or veto it by Saturday, it will become law automatically.

Major Bills Still Awaiting Gov. Beshear's Signature

Kenny Colston — Sun, 31 Mar 2013 10:00:00 +0000

Many of the bills Kentucky lawmakers passed in the final hours of this year's legislative session are still awaiting action by Governor Steve Beshear.

Beshear has not yet signed or vetoed high-profile bills that would prepare Kentucky to grow industrial hemp, allow alcohol sales on election day and simplify voting for military service members stationed overseas.

Supporters of industrial hemp have questioned whether Beshear intends to sign the hemp bill. If he vetoes it, he won't be at any risk of having his veto overridden, since the legislature has adjourned for the year.

Beshear has until Saturday to either sign the bills or veto them outright. However, state law says that if Beshear doesn't act, the bills become law anyway.

Kentucky PAC Forms With Goal to Eliminate Reproductive Rights as Campaign Issue

Kenny Colston — Thu, 28 Mar 2013 20:51:50 +0000

The key issue for a new Louisville-based political action committee is candidates' use of reproductive rights as a campaign issue.

Reproductive Rights for Kentucky PAC was born from the recent controversy when University of Louisville Hospital attempted to merge with Denver-based Catholic Health Initiatives. Critics of the merger raised concerns about CHI's adherence to Catholic religious directives—that certain reproductive health practices, such as tubal litigations, wouldn't be permitted at University Hospital.

The new PAC is chaired by Honi Goldman, a Louisville media relations executive and a critic of the CHI-University Hospital merger. (CHI and University entered into a partnership last year.)

Goldman said the group will support candidates who realized there are bigger issues to deal with than reproductive ones.