Politics

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.

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.