Senate President Robert Stivers (R-Manchester) and House Speaker David Osborne (R-Prospect) will serve another term in the legislature’s top seats after the Kentucky state House and Senate Majority Party elected their leadership last week. Republicans hold supermajorities in both the House and Senate and gained additional seats in this general election. Eighty Republicans and 20 […]
Author Archives: Mark Payne
Mark Payne is the government and politics reporter for LINK nky. Email him at mpayne@linknky.com.
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Posted inTop 3
How non-citizens could patch the state’s workforce problem
Governor Andy Beshear often points to Kentucky’s low unemployment rate, which sits at 3.9%, as proof that the state’s economy is doing well. Republicans, however, often cite the Commonwealth’s workforce participation rate — 56.8% in December 2021 — as proof that Kentuckians aren’t participating in the workforce as a reason to cut crucial benefits in […]
Posted inTop 3
State lawmakers weigh creating Office of Gun Violence Prevention
A freshman lawmaker from Louisville is looking to improve gun safety in Kentucky by trying to create an Office of Gun Violence Prevention within the Kentucky Department for Public Health. On Tuesday, Rep. Keturah Herron (D-Louisville) spoke about the idea to the Commission on Race and Access to Opportunity and said she plans to introduce […]
Posted inNews
NKU announces President Ashish Vaidya’s departure: ‘A very logical time to do it’
Northern Kentucky University and President Ashish Vaidya aren’t parting ways because of the university’s recent budget troubles. That’s according to Rich Boehne, chair of NKU’s Board of Regents. The announcement that Vaidya and the university are parting ways came Thursday during a special Board of Regents meeting. Vaidya said in a statement released after the […]
Posted inFrankfort
State task force learns about benefits cliff: ‘The government is effectively holding him back’
The state’s Benefits Cliff Task Force released recommendations Wednesday to help Kentucky better bridge the gap between when someone is no longer eligible for benefits and when their income is high enough to be able to afford to live independently. The task force was formed during the 2022 Interim session, when legislators meet to discuss […]
Posted inPolitics
Challenge for McConnell’s Senate leadership status reveals party rifts
Kentucky Sen. Mitch McConnell faced a challenge for Senate Minority Leader from Florida Sen. Rick Scott after Republicans failed to reclaim the majority in the upper chamber of Congress, leading to arguments over who is to blame for the results. But, McConnell won reelection on Wednesday as Senate GOP leader with 37 votes to Scott’s […]
Posted inFrankfort
Beshear: Kentuckians allowed to possess cannabis if purchased legally in another state
Gov. Andy Beshear announced he’s taking executive action to allow Kentuckians with certain health conditions to use and possess small amounts of medical cannabis purchased in another state starting on Jan. 1. 2023. Beshear also said he’s issuing an executive order to regulate the sale of Delta 8, which contains THC but at a lower […]
Posted inFrankfort
Kentucky Supreme Court hears arguments over abortion bans
Kentucky’s highest court will soon decide whether or not to continue to uphold or pause the state’s two abortion bans while the case moves through the justice system. The Kentucky Supreme Court heard oral arguments on Tuesday about whether to uphold the state’s two abortion bans triggered after the Dobbs decision overturned Roe v. Wade […]
Posted inFrankfort
Kentucky Supreme Court to hear oral arguments over state’s abortion bans
On Tuesday, The Kentucky Supreme Court will hear oral arguments over the state’s two abortion trigger laws that went into effect after the Dobbs decision, which overturned Roe v. Wade earlier this year. Roe v. Wade federally protected the right to an abortion, but the decision was returned to individual states after the Dobbs decision. […]
Posted inFrankfort
Judge rules redistricting maps constitutional despite partisan gerrymandering
Franklin County Court Judge Thomas Wingate ruled last week that the redistricting maps passed by the legislature in early 2022 are constitutional, if only because Kentucky’s constitution doesn’t prohibit partisan gerrymandering. Gerrymandering is when a political group tries to change a voting district to create a result that helps them or hurts those who are […]