STATE NEWS

FRANKFORT —The House Education Committee on Thursday overhauled and expanded Senate-approved restrictions on diversity programs without hearing from the bill’s Senate sponsor. Rep. Jennifer Decker, R-Waddy, presented a substitute for Senate Bill 6 that goes much further than the version approved by the Senate and sponsored by Senate Republican Whip Mike Wilson. Decker’s substitute would
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FRANKFORT —Wildlife conservation and sportsmen groups on Tuesday voiced strong opposition to a bill that would put wildlife management under the purview of the Kentucky Department of Agriculture and its Republican commissioner.  Senate Bill 3, sponsored by Sen. Jason Howell, R-Murray, would move the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources (KDFWR) from the tourism
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FRANKFORT — Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear told a crowd gathered to commemorate a historic civil rights march that he has vetoed a bill that would preempt local anti-discrimination ordinances.  It’s the governor’s first veto of this legislative session. Critics have warned the bill would preempt local ordinances in Kentucky’s largest cities prohibiting discrimination against tenants
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FRANKFORT — A maternal health bill nicknamed “Momnibus’ was unanimously approved by the Kentucky House Tuesday after about 20 minutes of discussion.  The bipartisan Momnibus came out of a working group of Republican and Democratic women in the House and the Senate.  The Momnibus legislation would expand the Health Access Nurturing Development Services (HANDS) program
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FRANKFORT — More than a dozen senators — both Republican and Democratic — voted against a bill that would create partisan Kentucky Board of Education elections, but the measure ultimately passed the Senate Tuesday.  In a vote of 24-14, the Republican-controlled Senate approved a bill that would transform the appointed board into an elected one. The
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FRANKFORT — Despite opposition from Republicans and Democrats, a GOP-backed measure that paves the way for school districts to hire “guardians” to fill vacant law enforcement officer roles on school campuses passed out of the Kentucky Senate Tuesday.  Senate Bill 2, sponsored by  Sen. Max Wise, R-Campbellsville,builds upon his 2019 School Safety and Resiliency Act that
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Gov. Andy Beshear and Dr. Steven Stack will join state and local officials, along with several Kentucky families today to mark the fourth anniversary since the first case of COVID-19 was diagnosed in the state and to dedicate “A Day of Compassion” in the Commonwealth. “Our fight against this once-a-century global pandemic was marked by…

Gov. Andy Beshear was joined by Louisville Councilman Phillip Baker, who represents Metro Council District 6, as he vetoed House Bill 18, which would make it harder for many Kentuckians – including those with disabilities, senior citizens, low-income families and homeless veterans – to access affordable housing. The bill removes local government control and autonomy,…

FRANKFORT — Kentuckians could be charged with a new crime — “interference with a legislative proceeding” — under a bill backed Wednesday by Republicans on the House Judiciary Committee. The committee’s Democrats passed their votes on House Bill 626.  The bill’s primary sponsor, Rep. John Blanton, R-Salyersville, said the legislation was written with three scenarios in
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A bill that could bring freestanding birth centers back to Kentucky was approved by a House committee Wednesday despite objections from a Northern Kentucky physician.  Dr. Allana Oak, an obstetrics physician with St. Elizabeth Healthcare, told the House Licensing, Occupations and Administrative Regulations committee the bill omits physician oversight of birth centers, which she recommends….