Politics

A southern Kentucky legislator says one of the biggest questions heading into the next legislative session is how lawmakers will react to the absence of David Williams. The longtime Republican Senate President resigned his seat in the legislature late last year to become a Kentucky circuit judge.

Robert Stivers of Manchester is expected to become the next Senate leader when the 2013 General Assembly begins January 8. Democratic Rep. Wilson Stone of Allen County told WKU Public Radio he'll be interested to see what--if anything--changes when Stivers leads the Senate through his legislative agenda.

"People would say that President Williams really had good discipline within his caucus. And so that allowed him to be really powerful not only in the Senate, but really in Frankfort in general," said Stone, a Democrat from Scottsville. "Now, whether Robert Stivers now will have that same discipline, and move in the same direction, I don't know. It's hard to say."

Gov. Steve Beshear will deliver the annual State of the Commonwealth address in early February.

Spokeswoman Kerri Richardson said that the exact date hasn't yet been pinned down.

Beshear is expected to highlight his legislative priorities in the speech that will be delivered to a joint session of the Legislature.

Lawmakers are set to arrive in Frankfort on Tuesday to start the legislative session. But after a week, they're scheduled to adjourn until Feb. 5 when they return to get down to business.

Republican Andy Barr will be sworn in as the newest member of Congress from Kentucky Thursday afternoon in Washington. Barr, a Lexington attorney, won election in November over Democrat incumbent Ben Chandler in a contentious race to represent Kentucky's 6th Congressional district.

Barr will serve on the House Committee on Financial Services, which he says he considers a top tier assignment. He said he'll be able to use the committee assignment to work on solving Kentucky's job crisis by pushing to lift regulations that are preventing community banks from making needed loans to individuals and small businesses.