Andy Beshear has called a Republican-backed bill that would move the state’s wildlife management agency from his administration to the agriculture department an unconstitutional “power grab”, and has called on Senate Republicans to stop protecting leadership of what he calls the most corrupt part of state government.
Author Archives: Kentucky Lantern
Posted inPolitics
Kentucky Supreme Court hears from insurers fighting over share of state’s Medicaid business
A dispute involving six insurance companies over a share of Kentucky’s $15 billion a year Medicaid business moved to the state Supreme Court Thursday where justices tried to sort out a long running battle over the lucrative contracts. Litigation has stretched on several years, largely over Anthem Kentucky’s claim it was unfairly shut out of […]
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Democrats walk out to protest ‘alternatives to pregnancy termination’ bill
In 2017, Central Kentuckian Heather Hyden faced an “upsetting, awful” and “horrific experience.” The baby she carried — a “very wanted pregnancy” — had a lethal fetal anomaly. She was induced in February of that year, medical care she would be unable to receive in Kentucky today because of the state’s near-total ban on abortion. […]
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‘Adult-oriented’ businesses would be subject to new restrictions under bill approved by Senate
A bill placing new restrictions on “adult-oriented” businesses, which opponents have blasted as “anti-drag,” passed the Kentucky Senate Wednesday 32-6. It can now go to the House for consideration. Senate Bill 147 prohibits “adult-oriented” businesses from being located within 933 feet of a child care facility, children’s amusement establishment, school, park, recreation facility or place of […]
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Is in vitro fertilization under threat in Kentucky too? Law matching Alabama’s deepens concerns
Kentucky’s abortion laws, which are virtually identical to Alabama’s, jeopardize IVF in the state, and lawmakers are rushing to protect the procedure through bills that would shield providers from liability and prosecution.
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House GOP approve bill loosening Kentucky child labor law
Republicans in the GOP-dominated Kentucky House of Representatives approved Thursday legislation allowing some teenagers to work longer and later hours over strong opposition from their Democratic colleagues. House Bill 255, sponsored by Rep. Phillip Pratt, R-Georgetown, repeals Kentucky’s existing child labor laws and aligns them with federal laws, which are less restrictive for minors aged […]
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Kentucky House advances SNAP bill some worry will cause food insecurity
After an hour-long debate on the Kentucky House floor, lawmakers advanced a bill that is aimed at upping workforce participation but which some worry will cause food insecurity. House Bill 367 would give the General Assembly power over decisions about work requirements for Kentucky’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, better known as SNAP. It passed 61-33 […]
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Lawmakers pitched on economic, educational value of increasing state support for child care
Kathy Donelan doesn’t like the options facing her Highland Heights child care and preschool center if the state doesn’t put money into the child care industry this session. “I could close,” Donelan told members of the Senate Families and Children Committee Tuesday as she testified in support of the Horizons Act, a $300 million, two-year […]
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Kentucky water utilities could opt out of putting fluoride in drinking water under advancing bill
Kentucky water utilities would no longer be required to add or adjust fluoride in tap water supplies — a state requirement since the mid-20th century aimed at improving Kentuckians’ dental health — under a bill approved by a legislative committee Thursday. House Bill 141 is the latest effort by Rep. Mark Hart, R-Falmouth, to remove […]
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Conservative student testifies ‘I’m used to being in the minority’ as anti-diversity bill advances
A bill that would curb diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs in Kentucky’s public universities advanced from a legislative committee Thursday after undergoing several changes. The original Senate Bill 6 would have allowed employees and students to sue public universities and colleges on grounds they were discriminated against for rejecting “divisive concepts.” Under the committee substitute version, the Kentucky […]
