Briefs
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 […]
Beshear’s In This Together PAC brings in almost $100,000 in latest report
FRANKFORT — Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear’s parents and several longtime donors to his political committees gave to his new political action committee in February. The new Beshear PAC is called In This Together, and it raised nearly $100,000 in contributions last month, according to a report it filed Wednesday with the Federal Election Commission. Beshear […]
Senate committee OKs bill to change Kentucky’s process for filling US Senate vacancies
A House bill that would change how Kentucky fills vacancies in U.S. Senate seats is moving in the Senate.? The Senate State and Local Government committee forwarded House Bill 622 in a vote of 10-1 Wednesday. Sponsored by House Republican Floor Leader Steven Rudy, of Paducah, the bill would end the governor’s power to fill […]
State school board picks a new commissioner, but no announcement until contract is approved
The Kentucky Board of Education is set to start contract negotiations with a finalist for state education commissioner after two days of candidate interviews. Three finalists named in Kentucky’s education commissioner search The board authorized its chair,? Sharon Porter Robinson, to enter into negotiations with the preferred candidate, said a news release from the Kentucky […]
UofL Health opens $78 million hospital in Bullitt County
LOUISVILLE — UofL Health has opened a new hospital in Bullitt County that it says will help improve access to health care in Kentucky, which suffers from a shortage of medical providers.?? UofL Health’s $78 million South Hospital, which is located off Interstate 65 at Brooks exit 121 has 40 inpatient beds and room for […]
Looser child labor standards revived by committee that had temporarily blocked bill
FRANKFORT — A bill that would allow some teenagers to work longer and later hours advanced out of a Senate committee Friday just a day after the same committee had blocked it. House Bill 255, sponsored by Rep. Phillip Pratt, R-Georgetown, was passed 7-4 out of the Senate Economic Development, Tourism, & Labor Committee in […]
Baptist Health, Humana restore ‘in network’ coverage for Medicare Advantage patients
Baptist Health and Humana have ended a months-long standoff over Kentuckians with health coverage through Medicare Advantage and commercial insurance plans, the two companies announced Thursday. Effective April 1, Baptist physicians again will accept those patients as “in network”— meaning they would not be subject to potentially higher costs or limits on services. The news, […]
Senate budget restores Medicaid funding that House cut, but process is far from over
The Kentucky Senate has largely eliminated cuts to Medicaid that were proposed in the House budget. A top state official had warned the House plan would create a hole next year in the federal-state health plan that covers 1.5 million low-income Kentuckians. “We are pleased that the Senate’s proposed budget restores funding to Medicaid so […]
Amendment allowing public money for nonpublic schools breezes out of Senate committee
A constitutional amendment that could pave the way for charter schools and publicly funded vouchers to attend private schools in Kentucky is one step closer to going on the November ballot. The Senate Education Committee voted 11-2 in favor of House Bill 2 during a special meeting Thursday afternoon. Kentucky Education Association President Eddie Campbell […]
$150 million plan unveiled for biomedical center in Covington, would include new home for NKU law school
A lofty economic development plan for Northern Kentucky was unveiled Wednesday that would create a biomedical center campus in downtown Covington with a new facility for Northern Kentucky University’s Salmon P. Chase College of Law and the University of Kentucky College of Medicine in it. Republican state Sen. Chris McDaniel of Ryland Heights, chairman of […]
Child labor, food assistance bills stall in Kentucky Senate committee but could get another chance
FRANKFORT — A Senate committee on Thursday blocked House bills that would loosen state restrictions on child labor and tighten eligibility for food assistance, but the measures are not necessarily dead. The committee could consider both bills again at a specially-called meeting Friday, said Sen. Max Wise, chairman of the Senate Standing Committee on Economic […]
Bill making animal torture a felony on first offense advances
FRANKFORT — The Kentucky Senate Judiciary Committee advanced a bill Thursday that would make it a Class D felony to torture a dog or cat on the first offense? Doing so is already a felony on subsequent offenses, according to the sponsor, Rep. Susan Witten, R-Louisville.? She spoke alongside Kentucky Humane Society celebrity rescue Ethan, […]