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Kentucky Senate votes to bar employers, schools from requiring COVID-19 vaccine
FRANKFORT — Following a 40-minute debate, the state Senate approved a bill that would prohibit the COVID-19 vaccine from being required for student enrollment, employment or medical treatment in Kentucky.? Senate Bill 295, sponsored by Sen. Lindsey Tichenor, R-Smithfield, advanced 25-11 with one member abstaining.? The bill protects “individual liberties,” Tichenor said, but met bipartisan […]
Kentucky House approves freestanding birth centers bill
FRANKFORT — Freestanding birth centers could open in Kentucky under narrow guidelines if a bipartisan bill passed by Kentucky’s House Tuesday becomes law. Time is running short in this session — Tuesday was the 56th day of the 60-day legislative session — and the bill still needs to head to the Senate for committee and […]
Bill giving foster parents child care benefits for remote work has passed Kentucky legislature
The House unanimously passed a Louisville Democrat’s bill aimed at enabling more Kentuckians to become foster parents. The Monday move means Senate Bill 240, sponsored by Sen. Cassie Chambers Armstrong, is nearly law. It heads now to Gov. Andy Beshear’s desk for a signature or veto.? The bill will allow foster parents in Kentucky to […]
‘Game changer’ for kinship care families sails out of Kentucky legislature
Long awaited financial help will be coming to “kinship care” Kentuckians who are raising a minor relative such as a grandchild or niece, thanks to a bill that received unanimous approval in the House Friday. Senate Bill 151 now heads to Gov. Andy Beshear’s desk for a signature or veto. It passed the Senate in […]
Criminal immunity for Kentucky medical providers who make mistakes wins unanimous OK
A bill giving Kentucky’s health care providers criminal immunity for medical mistakes — which one lawmaker thinks will enshrine protections for in vitro fertilization by default — is on its way to Gov. Andy Beshear’s desk. House Bill 159, which would decriminalize medical mistakes made by health care providers, passed the House in February unanimously. […]
Republican bill making childhood vaccines more accessible headed to Kentucky governor’s desk
A bill that would make routine vaccinations more accessible to Kentucky minors hit some snags in the Senate Friday but passed 26-11 after 15 minutes of debate.? House Bill 274, which passed the House chamber unanimously, would allow Kentucky pharmacies to continue administering vaccines to children ages 5-17 with parental or guardian consent. It is […]
Bill would guarantee parents access to minors’ medical records with exceptions for abuse, neglect
FRANKFORT — Members of the Kentucky Senate Health Services committee passed — along party lines — a bill to ensure parents and guardians have access to medical records of the minors in their care unless those records are protected because of abuse or neglect.? House Bill 174 passed the House in early March. Now that […]
Kentucky’s ‘Momnibus’ bill advances in legislature?
FRANKFORT — Members of the Senate Health Services Committee voted unanimously Thursday to advance the maternal health bill which supporters call “Momnibus.”? Momnibus — or House Bill 10 — came out of a bipartisan summer working group of female lawmakers who looked into Kentucky’s dismal maternal mortality and how to address it. Male lawmakers have […]
Bill seeking a change in certificate of need law fails in House committee
FRANKFORT — A bill that opponents said would effectively repeal Kentucky’s certificate of need law failed in a bipartisan vote of the House Health Services Committee Thursday. House Bill 204 would have blocked the ability of a dominant provider to sue a certificate of need (CON) applicant during the process. It failed as 13 committee […]
As legislature heads into home stretch, here’s some of what remains to be done
FRANKFORT — With eight days left in this session and a slew of decisions pending, the Kentucky House and Senate reconvene Thursday afternoon after a three-day break. High on lawmakers’ to-do list will be finalizing the next two-year state budget. The Senate also must consider changes to the tax code approved with little public notice […]
Kentucky families face difficult decisions if child care funding doesn’t come through?
Courtney Rhoades Mullins faces a difficult predicament: the Eastern Kentucky woman is expecting twins in May but doesn’t know if she can find child care for them any time soon.? One location, she said, might have openings in April of 2025. Another could take the twins — when they are 3 years old.? That “leaves […]
?‘Adult-oriented business’ bill advances in Kentucky legislature, foes call it ‘anti drag’
A House committee on Tuesday advanced a Senate bill to regulate “sexually explicit” performances hosted in “adult-oriented businesses” which opponents have labeled as “anti drag.”? Members of the House Veterans, Military Affairs & Public Protection Committee voted to approve the latest version of Senate Bill 147, sponsored by Sen. Lindsey Tichenor, R-Smithfield. The Senate passed […]