With no questions on the floor, the Kentucky House passed a bill that would allow public agencies to require photo IDs from residents who request public records. House Bill 567 from Rep. Patrick Flannery, R-Olive Hill, gained approval from the House with a vote of 71-19 Friday morning. The 19 votes against the bill included 13 […]
Category: Frankfort
Posted inElections
KY parties could open primary elections under long-shot bills with bipartisan sponsors
A Republican and a Democrat are behind bills in the Kentucky House that would give the state’s two major political parties a chance to open their primaries to the fastest-growing group of Kentucky voters — independents. While any such change won’t come in time for this year’s May 19 primary when voters will nominate candidates […]
Posted inPolitics
Ky. House OKs plan to spend $801 million but doesn’t specify what for
Seven pieces of legislation — including a vague one-page plan for spending $801 million and the state’s road projects plan — were approved Tuesday by the House Appropriations and Revenue Committee and passed by the House within a few hours. With a Republican supermajority, GOP lawmakers easily had the votes to move the bills out […]
Posted inNews
Should Erlanger change its open records regulations?
What you need to know Erlanger has formed a task force to consider whether to change its public records request regulations. The task force is chaired by Council Member and former Mayor Tyson Hermes and met for the first time Tuesday afternoon. No official actions took place at the meeting. Task forces are recommending bodies […]
Posted inPolitics
Beshear criticizes constitutional amendments backed by top GOP lawmakers
Kentucky’s top Republican lawmakers — Senate President Robert Stivers and House Speaker David Osborne — have filed bills for two constitutional amendments that Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear isn’t a fan of. Senate Bill 262 from Stivers, of Manchester, proposes amending the Kentucky Constitution to allow summaries of proposed amendments to appear on voters’ ballots instead of the […]
Posted inElections
Sweeping elections bill draws bipartisan opposition but clears Kentucky House
An omnibus elections bill that, among other changes, would allow Republican U.S. Sen. Rand Paul to run for reelection and president at the same time, cleared the House in an unusually narrow vote Thursday. Forty lawmakers from both parties voted against House Bill 534, splitting the usually unified GOP caucus. But 53 GOP lawmakers approved the […]
Posted inPolitics
Senate president asks lawmakers to fund research collaborations by KY universities
Republican Senate President Robert Stivers wants the General Assembly to put $150 million into research consortiums to encourage Kentucky’s public universities to work together to benefit the state. Senate Bill 6 is a follow up to 2024 legislation Stivers successfully carried that sets up a research consortium endowment for Kentucky universities to encourage collaboration on projects. SB 6 […]
Posted inPolitics
Proposed makeover of utility regulator met with warnings consumers would lose their voice
A GOP-sponsored bill would remake Kentucky’s utility regulator by expanding its board from three to five members and giving the Republican state auditor two of the appointments. The governor would continue to appoint the other three members of the Public Service Commission (PSC). Senate Bill 8 also could make it harder for independent groups to […]
Posted inPolitics
Kentucky House passes bill to ban machine gun conversion devices
The GOP-controlled Kentucky House of Representatives passed a bill Monday afternoon to ban devices that can convert semi-automatic firearms into automatic weapons, though a significant number of Republicans opposed the measure. House Bill 299, sponsored by House Majority Whip Jason Nemes, R-Lousville, would allow local law enforcement to enforce at the state level an existing federal […]
Posted inPolitics
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 […]