Government
Pair of billionaires bankrolled super PACs that spent $10 million trying to defeat Beshear
FRANKFORT – Two billionaire mega-donors bankrolled a quartet of super PACs that spent nearly $10 million over five months last year in an effort to elect a Republican governor in Kentucky. Reports filed this week with the Federal Election Commission show that Jeff Yass, a billionaire options trader and “school choice” crusader from the Philadelphia […]
Youngest Kentuckians increasingly fall victim to accidental overdoses
Kentucky’s youngest children continue to be at risk of drug overdoses from accidental ingestion — with the number of fatalities and the strength of the drug, or combination of drugs, increasing. Eight children died from ingesting drugs and another 47 suffered an overdose in fiscal year 2022 among cases reviewed by the Child Fatality and […]
House passes two-year Kentucky budget, $1.7 billion in one-time spending
FRANKFORT — After hours of questioning and much criticism from Democrats, the GOP-dominated Kentucky House of Representatives on Thursday approved a $129.6 billion two-year state spending plan. The House also approved more than $1.7 billion in one-time spending from the state’s record-high “rainy day” fund which will pay down pension liabilities and fund infrastructure, in […]
Kentucky data could aid research into deaths related to epilepsy under bill headed for House
FRANKFORT —? Angie Nieters lost her 14-year-old daughter, Jami Smith, in September 2019 quite suddenly.? Jami, who had epilepsy with generalized tonic clonic seizures, lay down to take a nap after school, Nieters told members of the House Committee on Health Services Thursday.? “After 45 minutes, we went in there to check on her and […]
Kentucky pharmacies could continue vaccinating children under bill headed to full House
FRANKFORT — A House bill that would allow Kentucky pharmacies to continue administering vaccines to children ages 5-17 with parental or guardian consent passed unanimously out of a committee Thursday.? House Bill 274 is “not a mandate” to get vaccinated at a pharmacy, sponsor and pharmacist Rep. Danny Bentley, R-Russell, told members of the House […]
Beshear underscores support for DEI during Black History Month celebration
FRANKFORT — Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear reaffirmed his support for diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives during a Black History Month celebration Thursday at the Kentucky Capitol.? Amid a flurry of anti-DEI legislation in the Republican-controlled General Assembly, Beshear told the crowd in the Capitol Rotunda that “diversity is an asset” and makes Kentucky “more […]
Despite increase, House budget won’t save Kentucky child care from ‘cliff,’ advocates say
FRANKFORT — Faith Lutheran Learning Center, a child care provider in Lexington, is already operating on a budget deficit.? And while the GOP budget that came out of the House Thursday does some good for child care, center director Charla Heersche said it’s not enough to keep her out of the red. COVID-era federal dollars […]
School transportation would be fully funded for first time in decades under House budget plan
FRANKFORT — Kentucky House Republicans would fully fund school transportation in a state budget proposal that advanced from committee Wednesday.?? The House Appropriations and Revenue Committee in a special-called meeting approved bills funding all three branches of government, making one-time appropriations from the state’s “rainy day” fund and releasing tens of millions of dollars in […]
Auditor says juvenile justice review shows ‘lack of leadership’ from Beshear administration
FRANKFORT — A review of Kentucky’s Department of Juvenile Justice found “??disorganization across facilities” and a “lack of leadership from the Beshear Administration,” Republican Auditor Allison Ball said Wednesday. However, an administration spokesperson said neither the Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ) nor the Justice and Public Safety Cabinet was given the opportunity to review the […]
Cameron’s office agreed to $99,750 settlement in lawsuit over ‘ballot integrity’ task force records
Former Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron’s office agreed to pay $99,750 to settle a long-running open records dispute in December just days before Cameron left to become CEO of an organization devoted to combatting “woke capitalism,” among other objectives. American Oversight, an open records advocacy group based in Washington D.C., had sued Cameron’s office in […]
Pilot program to add speed cameras to roadway work zones heads to Kentucky House
FRANKFORT — Adding speed cameras to highway construction zones received a House committee’s approval with bipartisan support Tuesday.? Under House Bill 192, sponsored by Rep. John Blanton, R-Salyersville,? the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet would create a three-year pilot program starting in 2025 to add speed cameras to work zones in an effort to discourage speeding and […]
Kentucky Senate votes to bar college ID as a primary form of voter identification
FRANKFORT — Kentuckians could no longer use university-issued identification cards as their primary voter ID under a bill that cleared the Republican-controlled Senate Tuesday along party lines.? Republican Secretary of State Michael Adams decried the legislation, Senate Bill 80, in a Tuesday interview with the Kentucky Lantern ahead of the Senate vote. Looking to the […]