The Kentucky House on Thursday approved a two-year state spending plan described by budget chair Jason Petrie as “restrained” and fulfilling “needs, not wants.” House Bill 500, approved on a mostly party line vote, allocates more than $30 billion in General Fund revenues and adds $617 million to the $3.7 billion already filling the Budget […]
Author Archives: Kentucky Lantern
Posted inPolitics
Justice Department sues Kentucky, four other states for voter data
The U.S. Department of Justice is suing five additional states, including Kentucky, for not providing voter registration data, including sensitive information such as driver’s license and Social Security numbers. Kentucky Secretary of State Michael Adams, a Republican, said in a Thursday statement that he would “not voluntarily commit a data breach” of Kentuckians’ private information […]
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GOP sponsor says scholarships funded by US tax credit would also benefit public schools
A bill opting Kentucky into a tax credit program promoted by the Trump administration to fund scholarships for K-12 students is winging its way through Kentucky’s Republican-controlled legislature. The Senate Education Committee gave its approval to House Bill 1 Thursday morning, the day after the measure arrived in the Senate. Eleven Republicans voted in favor of the […]
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Kentucky children keep dying in ‘preventable’ drug overdoses
This story discusses child abuse. Report child abuse to Kentucky’s Statewide Child Abuse Hotline at 1-877-597-233. Kentucky’s poison control line is 800-222-1222. Kentucky children are increasingly ingesting and overdosing on unsafe substances like cannabinoids and fentanyl, with the rate increasing by more than 100% in the last five years, a new report shows. The annual report from Kentucky’s Child Fatality and […]
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Surge in KY utility disconnections raises alarms as federal funding falls short of need
Kentucky electric utilities made more than 268,000 utility disconnections over a recent 12-month period as federal funding to prevent disconnections fell far short of Kentuckians’ financial need, according to a recent analysis of state and federal data. The February report examined disconnection data reported by 23 electric utilities to state utility regulator Kentucky Public Service Commission across […]
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Bills to curb violence against KY teachers, pay them for unused sick leave advance
Two education bills from Scott County Republican Sen. Matt Nunn passed out of a Senate committee Thursday. One aims to address student violence against Kentucky teachers, while the other creates an optional cash-out sick leave policy for school districts. Neither received opposition in the Senate Education Committee and are now headed to the Senate floor […]
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KY Supreme Court unanimously strikes down Republican lawmakers’ 2022 charter school law
Kentucky Supreme Court justices all agreed that the Republican-controlled legislature’s 2022 law allowing charter schools is unconstitutional. In a Thursday opinion written by Justice Michelle Keller, the seven justices ruled that the law did not meet the requirement in the Kentucky Constitution for lawmakers to “provide for an efficient system of common schools” across the state. “With due respect […]
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Florida’s DeSantis jabs back at Beshear while in KY to push balanced budget amendment
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis during a Wednesday visit to the Kentucky capital pushed back at recent comments by Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear about him on national TV. DeSantis, a Republican, said he did not “really know much about” Beshear, a Democrat, but someone had shown him a clip of Beshear’s appearance on “The Daily Show” with Jon […]
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Limits on artificial intelligence in mental health therapy win OK from legislative panel
This story mentions suicide. If you or someone you know is contemplating suicide, call or text the suicide prevention lifeline at 988. Proposed legislation that cleared a legislative committee Wednesday would limit how Kentucky mental health practitioners use artificial intelligence. Rep. Kim Banta, R-Fort Mitchell, said she wants Kentucky to have a law in place […]
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KY Senate committee backs bill to restore voting rights to some with felony convictions
A bipartisan bill that would pave the way for Kentucky to restore voting rights to some people who have served sentences for felony convictions passed out of a Senate committee Wednesday morning. Kentucky voters would have the final say at the ballot box in November if the General Assembly approves Senate Bill 80, sponsored by Sens. […]
