Government
Automatic transfer of kids accused of some gun crimes to adult court has cleared both chambers
More Kentucky juveniles would be tried as adults under a bill that has now been approved by both chambers of the legislature.? ‘Victims before perpetrators:’ Senate passes bill to try certain juveniles as adults? The House on Tuesday approved Senate Bill 20 which mandates that juveniles 15 or older would be transferred to circuit court […]
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 […]
House passes restrictions on filming food production, farming operations
After rejecting protections for whistleblowers and accidental violations, the House on Tuesday approved Senate Bill 16 restricting drone photography of food production plants and animal feeding operations. Democratic Rep. Al Gentry of Louisville offered an amendment protecting whistleblowers who film violations of safety or health laws.? Overbroad bill risks turning food plant workers, government inspectors, […]
Pastoral counselors added to school ‘guardian’ bill as it clears House committee
FRANKFORT — A bill authorizing armed “guardians” to fill vacant law enforcement positions in Kentucky schools was passed by a House committee Tuesday morning with several new additions, including one allowing pastoral counselors in schools.? Discussion among House Education Committee members largely centered on an amendment for Senate Bill 2 from Irvington Republican Rep. Josh […]
Self-managed abortions increased by about 26,000 after Dobbs decision, study shows
Self-managed abortions rose by more than 26,000 in the six months after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade nearly two years ago, according to a?peer-reviewed study?published Monday in JAMA, the American Medical Association’s journal. Researchers determined that an increase of approximately 27,838 online orders of abortion pills between July and December 2022 corresponded […]
School voucher proponents spend big to overcome rural resistance
AUSTIN, Texas — In rural Texas, public schools are the cultural heart of small towns. People pack the high school stadium for Friday night football games, and FFA classes prepare the next generation for the agricultural life. In many places, more people work for the school district than for any other employer. For years, many […]
Eastern and Western Kentucky rebuilding projects get House nod
FRANKFORT — A House shell bill was changed in a committee Monday afternoon to move millions of dollars from disaster relief funds into rebuilding projects in Eastern and Western Kentucky.? Twenty members of the House Appropriations and Revenue Committee voted for the new version of House Bill 752. The bill was later approved on the […]
‘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. […]
Kentucky’s new juvenile justice chief is veteran of managing adult corrections
A? longtime adult corrections official will head the Kentucky Department of Juvenile Justice, Gov. Andy Beshear announced Thursday.? The new commissioner, Randy White, worked in the Kentucky prison system for 27 years in multiple roles, including correctional officer, warden and most recently more than five years as deputy corrections commissioner, according to a release from […]
Taxpayers were overcharged for patient meds. Then came the lawyers.
Shalina Chatlani examined the health care system in Mississippi as a part of The New York Times’s Local Investigations Fellowship. This story cannot be republished. In 2018, when Mike DeWine was Ohio’s attorney general, he began investigating an obscure corner of the health care industry. He believed that insurers were inflating prescription drug prices through […]
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 […]