The growth in Northern Kentucky has been unbelievably fast, according to Kentucky Senate President Robert Stivers (R-Manchester).
That’s why the Senate GOP is holding their caucus retreat in the region before the start of the 2023 Legislative session. Senate leadership held a press conference Wednesday at Hotel Covington ahead of the retreat.
Stivers was joined by Northern Kentucky’s two new senators-elect, Shelley Funke Frommeyer in the 24th District and Gex Williams in the 20th District, Senate Appropriations and Revenue Chair Chris McDaniel (R-Ryland Heights), Senate Majority Leader Damon Thayer (R-Georgetown), Senate Pro Tem David Givens (R-Greensburg), Majority Caucus Chair Julie Raque Adams (R-Louisville), Majority Whip Mike Wilson (R-Bowling Green), and Sen. John Schickel (R-Union).
Stivers said that one of the main reasons they came to NKY is because it’s the home of A&R Chair McDaniel and is also represented by Majority Floor Leader Thayer — but it’s also one of the fastest growing regions in the state.
“This has become one of the fastest growing areas and really a huge hub and economic driver for the state of Kentucky,” Stivers said, noting that around 450,000 people live in the region.
It’s also one that requires and is a model for regional workmanship, according to Stivers.
“I don’t think anything goes on up here without the three judges (/executive) and a lot of the mayors coming together to figure out what’s best,” Stivers said.
Earlier in the day, the caucus was joined by Covington Mayor Joe Meyer, CTI CEO Tim Schroeder, representatives from Blue North, and Erlanger Mayor Jessica Fette.
McDaniel said he “…wanted to give them the flavor of innovations from the riverfront all the way down to more southern parts of the district, both on the governmental as well as the economic development side.”
One of the main drivers of that development is the Brent Spence Bridge, which is not just a bridge for Northern Kentucky, Stivers noted.
“We need to make sure that continues to progress because 10% of all commercial traffic goes across that bridge,” Stivers said.
The Kentucky legislature provided $1.3 billion in funds for the Brent Spence Companion Bridge without tolls during the 2022 legislative session. Then the Commonwealth, along with Ohio, applied for a Multimodal Project Discretionary Grant that’s expected to provide around $2 billion in funding from the federal Infrastructure Bill.
“The applications are interesting,” McDaniel said. “They’re at the federal government level at this point.”
While the region waits on word from the federal government for the bridge, Northern Kentucky is moving forward with a life sciences lab that was also funded during the 2022 legislative session.
McDaniel said they are working on a location and developing the operation.
“I believe that they’re anticipating some good movement on that over the next several months,” McDaniel said.
While the group hit on the region’s bright spots, one issue that has emerged in recent weeks is Northern Kentucky University reporting a more than $24 million budget deficit and parting ways with its President Ashish Vaidya, despite receiving record funding from the legislature in 2022.
McDaniel said it’s sad to see that the university is having financial problems because it’s critical to a thriving economy in the region.
“We’re going to keep an eye on what they have going over there,” McDaniel said, noting that the university has not approached the legislature for additional funding.
Statewide, the issue of abortion remains on the minds of Kentuckians after voters voted down Constitutional Amendment 2 — which would have eliminated the right to an abortion in the Commonwealth’s constitution.
The Kentucky Supreme Court heard oral arguments in early November about whether to uphold the state’s two abortion bans triggered after the Dobbs decision overturned Roe v. Wade earlier this summer.
Stivers said the caucus plans to discuss whether they will consider exceptions such as rape and incest to the abortion bans.
“This is something that we’ve not gotten together as a caucus [to discuss] since the elections — and the constitutional amendments that both were on the ballot — we’re going to talk about both,” Stivers said, also referring to Constitutional Amendment 1, which would’ve given the power to the Senate President and the House Speaker to call the legislature back into session.
Further, Stivers said that each caucus member has their personal opinions, but the Senate GOP is caucus-driven in their decision-making.
“It’s a little premature to ask us, but here in a few days, we’ll let you know,” Stivers said.
