Lawmakers passed a few final bills, took up confirmations and made small changes to the state budget on the last day of the 2024 legislative session Monday. The Senate confirmed the state’s new education commissioner, Dr. Robbie Fletcher, with a 36-1 vote. Fletcher appeared in front of the Senate Education Committee Friday to answer questions from legislators and lay out his vision for the future of education in the Commonwealth. Specially called committee meetings Monday morning saw small clean up changes to the budget in an amended version of Senate Bill 91 and changes to the revenue measur ..read more

The General Assembly convened on Friday for day 59 of the 60-day legislative session. This comes following the veto period over the recent weeks where the Governor issued several vetoes of legislation passed by the House and Senate. On Friday, the lawmakers took action to override many of those decisions. House Bill 1 A compromise version of legislation with $2.7 billion worth of one-time investments was line-item vetoed by the Governor. The bill contains a $450 million investment in infrastructure, funding for many local projects, investments in higher education, money to assist in economic ..read more

The following is an op-ed piece authored by Kentucky Chamber President and CEO Ashli Watts I love politics. I always have. I remember growing up in the 90’s watching presidential debates between Bill Clinton, George Bush and Ross Perot, and was a college freshman during the Bush/Gore election and learning all about “hanging chads.” This part of history was so formative for me that I received not only a bachelor’s degree, but a master’s degree, in political science. Being a student of politics, I learned to appreciate civil discourse, differing views of arguments and spirited, passionate debat ..read more

Lawmakers passed a negotiated revenue measure the final night before the start of the veto recess in Kentucky’s 2024 legislative session. The legislation – House Bill 8 – contained several provisions that impact state business taxes. Passing a revenue measure is routine in Kentucky’s legislative sessions, though the past several years have seen major reform packages passed, including landmark legislation to phaseout the state’s individual income tax. The 2024 revenue measure included more modest and mostly technical changes to the state’s tax code. However, there are several measures relevant ..read more

The House and Senate are making major one-time investments in a bill passed late Thursday, the final day before the veto period. House Bill 1 saw spending of $1.8 billion in its original version and then $3.5 billion in the Senate’s version. The legislation has since been in a Free Conference Committee and the compromise with a final spend of $2.7 billion was unveiled and passed Thursday. The compromise maintains a large investment in infrastructure with a total of $450 million going to the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet to support the State Supported Construction Program and select construc ..read more

UPDATED: The school safety bill passed in 2019 had a goal of adding more school resource officers (SRO) and mental health professionals in schools, requires active shooter training for certain school employees, and requires that districts appoint a school safety coordinator. Kentucky state Senator Max Wise noted the 2019 bill was landmark legislation that many other states have adopted and made law to protect children as well. But Kentucky is still experiencing gaps especially when it comes to ensuring each school does have a school resource officer on campus. Building on the 2019 legisl ..read more

UPDATED: In an effort to address commercial truck driver shortages and support a growing economy, House Bill 7 saw final passage in the Senate Thursday to allow autonomous vehicles (AVs) to operate in the Commonwealth. Sponsored by Representative Josh Bray, House Bill 7 passed with a committee substitute that featured language requiring a human driver be present in autonomous semi-trucks for the first two years after the bill would take effect, among other technical changes. A similar bill passed the House and Senate in the 2023 legislative session but fell short of becoming law after Governo ..read more

UPDATED: The state’s next two-year budget is on its way to the governor. House Bill 6 has been in a Free Conference Committee where members of leadership from the House and Senate take both of their versions of the legislation and find compromise. The Free Conference Committee Report (FCCR) allocated additional money in the SEEK formula, the funding model for K-12 education. It allocates $4,326 per pupil in the first fiscal year and $4,586 in the second, an increase of $612 per student over the two-year period. Lawmakers stated this increase should allow local school districts to provide teac ..read more

A bill that authorizes insurers to offer paid family leave insurance plans to give Kentuckians more options when it comes to caring for family members passed the Senate floor Thursday morning. House Bill 179, sponsored by Rep. Samara Heavrin, would help Kentucky employers who would like to offer an additional benefit to their employees by amending state law to allow voluntary paid family leave to be offered as an insurance product. Companies could choose to purchase this insurance to provide the benefit to their employees.   Paid family leave insurance would provide a temporary wage repl ..read more

The state’s next two-year budget was passed by the Senate Wednesday evening, one of the final days before the veto period. House Bill 6 has been in a Free Conference Committee where members of leadership from the House and Senate take both of their versions of the legislation and find compromise. The Free Conference Committee Report (FCCR) decided to put additional money in the SEEK formula, the funding model for K-12 education. It allocates $4,326 per pupil in the first fiscal year and $4,586 in the second, an increase of $612 per student over the two-year period. Lawmakers stated this incre ..read more