Government
Kentucky legislature asked to end long, worrying wait lists for adults with disabilities
Kim Thompson is happy her adult son, who is intellectually disabled, lives with her. “I want him at home,” the Louisville woman said of her son, Forest Thompson-Bell, 27. “I want to be very clear about that.” But Thompson, 54, is among thousands of Kentucky parents or other caregivers who worry about what will happen […]
Hydrogen tax rules draw fire from industry
The October announcement that the U.S. Department of Energy had selected seven regional hub projects for billions in federal money to spur the production of clean hydrogen was met with considerable fanfare from the fledgling industry, seen as crucial to helping decarbonize the American economy. But when the Biden administration’s Treasury Department released proposed regulations […]
Eastern Kentucky city restoring water service amid ongoing water shortage
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear says all customers of an Eastern Kentucky city’s water system should have water service restored as of Thursday as the city has faced an ongoing water shortage spurred by drought.? Beshear in a Thursday press conference said some customers in higher elevations of Fleming-Neon’s water utility in Letcher County could still […]
Moving Kentucky governor’s races to presidential election years gets nod from Senate committee
FRANKFORT — Kentuckians would begin electing their governors in presidential election years under a proposed constitutional amendment that advanced from committee Wednesday.? Sen. Chris McDaniel, R-Ryland Heights, sponsored? Senate Bill 10 — a measure that would set the stage for moving Kentucky elections for constitutional officers, including governor, to even-numbered years.? If the General Assembly […]
Sen. Douglas seeks continued study of Kentucky’s certificate of need law
FRANKFORT — Telling a Senate committee Wednesday that “we should not rush” the state’s policy conversations about certificate of need, a central Kentucky lawmaker presented his resolution seeking to reestablish a task force to examine the issue. Sen. Donald Douglas, R-Nicholasville, presented his resolution to the Senate Standing Committee on Health Services. He filed it […]
Northern Kentucky lawmaker files three bills loosening certificate of need requirements
FRANKFORT — Saying that Kentuckians should have options when it comes to where they get their medical care, a Northern Kentucky representative filed three bills Tuesday aimed at reforming the state’s certificate of need (CON) requirements.? The bills, filed by Rep. Marianne Proctor, R-Union, would increase health care expenditures minimums, removesome services like freestanding birthing […]
Kentucky Senate committee ponders coming crisis in child care
FRANKFORT — In a year when Kentucky’s child care providers are looking to the legislature for a financial lifeline, a Senate committee heard an overview Tuesday of what its chairman called “one of the most pressing issues” facing the General Assembly . Several members of the Senate Families and Children Committee, including chairman Danny Carroll, […]
’We desperately need something:‘ Kentucky lawmakers urged to put $200 million into housing
FRANKFORT — Without the help of a friend, Regina Quillen doesn’t know where she would go.? She lost virtually everything in her Letcher County home, a place that her father built and where she raised her children for 23 years, in the deadly flooding that hit Eastern Kentucky in July 2022.? She invested thousands of […]
Kentucky Senate leader proposes partisan elections for state school board
FRANKFORT —? Senate Republican Whip Mike Wilson wants voters to begin choosing Kentucky Board of Education members in partisan elections.? Wilson, of Bowling Green, filed Senate Bill 8 Tuesday. The legislation “would change the selection of Kentucky Board of Education (KBE) members from a unilateral appointment by the governor to an election by voters across […]
Weddle blames Beshear fundraiser for letting him make illegal political contributions
FRANKFORT — London Mayor Randall Weddle says he told a fundraiser for Gov. Andy Beshear’s reelection in late 2022 that he planned to make political contributions of others on his credit card, but instead of being warned that such a move would be illegal, the fundraiser told Weddle, “Okay sounds great.” Weddle also said that […]
House Republicans removed from committees last year have assignments restored
FRANKFORT — After they were removed from their committees for seemingly bucking GOP House leadership last session, five House Republicans received either new committee assignments or were reassigned to their former committees Monday.? The removal prompted Republican Rep. Felicia Rabourn, of Pendleton, to lead an effort to change House rules that would lessen leadership’s control […]
Some Republican Party officials in Kentucky defend Jan. 6 rioters,?echoing Trump rhetoric
On the third anniversary of the attack on the U.S. Capitol, some Republican activists in Kentucky rallied support for those who stormed Congress and asserted that information about the violence of Jan. 6, 2021 is being withheld from the public. The Republican Party of Kentucky’s central committee narrowly approved a resolution to that effect on […]