Kentucky’s laws haven’t caught up to the digital age and rampant sexual extortion targeting children, advocates said Wednesday. That’s why they’re pushing for swift passage of Senate Bill 73, which makes sextual extortion — or sextortion — a felony. The bill would also make it easier to collect legal damages from a perpetrator and require […]
Author Archives: Kentucky Lantern
Posted inPolitics
Top Republicans say Kentucky lawmakers must wait to respond to new Trump policies
Top Republicans in Kentucky’s legislature are waiting to see what federal mandates come from the Trump administration before enacting policies based on them at the state level. Both House Speaker David Osborne, of Prospect, and Senate President Robert Stivers, of Manchester, told reporters this week that the General Assembly would be “reactionary” or “reactive” to […]
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Kentucky schools could face $40 million ‘shortfall,’ says state education commissioner
The Kentucky Department of Education is predicting a “funding shortfall” of about $40 million in state support for local school districts. In a weekly letter to colleagues released Tuesday afternoon, Education Commissioner Robbie Fletcher wrote that KDE is predicting the shortfall for funding in the 2024-25 academic year, after “a detailed review of preliminary data.” […]
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Kentucky shelters are struggling to meet need as cold, state law drive people inside
When temperatures plunge to dangerous levels as they have this week, Jessica Lee’s nonprofit in Somerset runs low on space for all the people seeking to come indoors. So she gets on the phone to shelters around the region. Sometimes she’s helped shuttle people as far as Owensboro or Chattanooga. But that doesn’t work for […]
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Spending to lobby Kentucky lawmakers hits a new high
Written by the Kentucky Lantern’s Tom Loftus Health industry groups, business organizations and electric utilities helped drive spending on lobbying the Kentucky General Assembly to a record $28.1 million in 2024. That total spent by nearly 900 corporations, associations and other groups to influence Kentucky lawmakers soared above the previous record of about $25.5 million […]
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Blood donations needed after winter storm disrupts supply
The winter storm that hit Kentucky in early January hurt the state’s blood supply, the Kentucky Blood Center said Monday. The wintry conditions — snow, ice and freezing temperatures — caused the blood center network to cancel mobile drives and close early, lowering donor turnout. KBC says it lost about 800 donations last week. Supply […]
Posted inPolitics
Beshear touts KY economy, urges end to ‘attacks’ on public schools
In his annual State of the Commonwealth address to Kentucky’s Republican-controlled General Assembly, Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear renewed talk of economic wins and a need to overcome division while also calling on lawmakers to “stop the attacks on our public school system.” Beshear addressed a joint session of the House and Senate for more than […]
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Not total déjà vu, but Kentuckians can expect another income tax cut
Republican supermajorities in the Kentucky General Assembly are expected to begin the 2025 legislative session the same way they began the 2023 session with a popular bill that will cut the state income tax rate by one-half of 1 percentage point. In 2023 the legislature cut the individual income tax rate from 4.5% to 4%, […]
Posted inPolitics
KY lawmaker under ‘no delusion’ bill restoring abortion access will pass. She’s filing it anyway.
Lexington Democrat Rep. Lindsey Burke is under “no delusion” that Kentucky’s Republican-controlled legislature will hear, much less pass, a bill to reinstate abortion access. But, during the 2025 legislative session, she’s going to file it anyway. It will mark her third annual attempt. Most Kentuckians lost abortion access when, in June 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court […]
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Kentuckians warned of scam requesting money for free information
Secretary of State Michael Adams advised Kentuckians about a new scam around finance filings. In a Friday press release, Adams said scammers are attempting to sell Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) filings — but those are available online for free. “My Office does not solicit Kentuckians to purchase records, or charge exorbitant fees,” said Adams. “Beware […]
