While the final days of the 2022 General Assembly legislative session were filled with the passage of some controversial bills, there was also the passage of legislation from the Northern Kentucky Caucus.
Starting March 31, the legislature entered a veto period that will give the governor 10 days to veto, sign bills into law, or leave them alone, allowing them to automatically become law. The legislature then will convene for two final days to override the governor’s vetoes.
We’re going to explore some of the legislation Northern Kentucky legislators have worked on. This isn’t an exhaustive list, and LINK nky will continue to publish more information on legislation passed by the Northern Kentucky Caucus.
House Bill 290 – Campus Due Process Legislation
Sponsored by Rep. Kim Banta (R-Ft. Mitchell) and co-sponsored by Kim Moser (R-Taylor Mill), House Bill 290 is known as the Kentucky Campus Due Process Protection Act. Banta also introduced the legislation last year, but the year it made it to the governor’s desk.
“In the course of a year, we have closely reviewed each school and their policies, their housing policies, their residential contracts, their appeals procedures, reviewed what departments are over these processes and the millions of dollars that fund them,” Banta said to LINK nky in February. “I have also worked without public universities, advocacy groups such as the Kentucky Student Rights Coalition and the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE), and groups to protect survivors of sexual violence.”
The goal is to provide procedures when a student allegedly does something that leads to suspension or expulsion from a university.
“When colleges or universities are quick to act, without regard for a students’ rights, it can lead to the wrongful deprivation of the students’ interests,” Banta said. “Due process is a guarantee of fairness. We should hold students accountable for offenses. However, we should also make sure that we hold students accountable through a fair, consistent, and equitable system that recognizes what’s at stake for Kentuckians. The Kentucky Campus Due Process Protection Act is that guarantee.”
House Bill 263 – Kami’s Law – Increase Penalty for Child Abuse for children under 12
Rep. Ed Massey (R-Union) is the primary sponsor of House Bill 263, which would increase the penalties for those convicted of abusing a child under the age of 12. It was already signed into law by Gov. Andy Beshear.
The bill came to Massey from House Speaker David Osborne (R-Prospect) and one of his constituents, Oldham County seventh-grader Kiera Dunk, a passionate advocate against child abuse and of Kami and her family. Kami was a victim of child abuse that nearly killed her, leaving her with permanent disabilities.
“I’ve worked on a number of important bills during my time in the House, but this is by far one of the most meaningful,” Massey added. “What happened to Kami should never happen to a child, and Kiera is doing everything possible to ensure that it doesn’t. Both girls are fighters, and their stories remind us that we have an obligation to pass laws that protect our most vulnerable.”
House Bill 564 – Election Reform Bill
Reps. Buddy Wheatley (D-Covington) and Rachel Roberts (D-Newport) were secondary sponsors on HB564, which would expand in-person voting days, voting hours during early voting, protect election officials, and provide additional election security.
Republican Secretary of State Michael Adams also supported the measure.
“Grateful for the bipartisan vote by House Elections Committee to pass HB564, which makes voting easier, adds legal protections for election workers, and codifies in law our existing practice of not connecting our election machines to the internet,” Adams said on Twitter.
House Bill 242 – House Biennial Highway Construction plan
As the primary sponsor, Rep. Sal Santoro (R-Union) has been instrumental in the work on House Bill 242, which will provide funding for the Brent Spence Bridge project.
The Commonwealth applied for $2 billion in federal funding for the Brent Spence project. The project’s estimated cost is $2.8 billion, leaving roughly $800 million to be covered by the States of Kentucky and Ohio.
“The total cost of this is $2.8 billion, and Kentucky provides $1.3 billion of this,” Santoro said in a committee meeting. “This is over a few years. We are working with Ohio.”
Sen. Chris McDaniel (R-Taylor Mill) chairs the Senate Appropriations and Revenue Committee and also was involved with the bridge funding, as he oversees the Senate budget.
The final matching funds from the House and Senate budgets are $250 million. This is more than the $200 million proposed in the Senate budget but equal to Gov. Beshear’s budget proposal. After the budget conference committee’s last meeting Tuesday, Sen. Chris McDaniel (R-Taylor Mill) noted that they were able to settle on the higher number after discussions.
“The governor originally had that number, and they came to us after the product had cleared both chambers and said that it was their belief that would be the most competitive when they put the grants into the federal government,” McDaniel said.