Politics
Republicans and Democrats futilely oppose partisan Kentucky school board elections bill
FRANKFORT — More than a dozen senators — both Republican and Democratic —?voted against a bill that would create partisan Kentucky Board of Education elections, but the measure ultimately passed the Senate Tuesday.? In a vote of 24-14, the Republican-controlled Senate approved a bill that would transform the appointed board into an elected one. The […]
House Education forwards ideas looking at management of Kentucky schools
FRANKFORT —?The House Education Committee gave approval to two pieces of legislation that would look at the management of public schools in Kentucky.? One bill would take a deep dive into the Kentucky Department of Education’s programming while a resolution opposed by Louisville school officials would create a task force to review Jefferson County Public […]
10,000 Kentuckians marched to demand racial equality. My grandmother was one of them.
I never got a chance to ask my grandmother about what March 5, 1964 was like for her. What she heard from speakers on the steps of the Kentucky Capitol. If she saw Martin Luther King Jr. or Jackie Robinson. What she felt standing with thousands of others from across Kentucky. She didn’t speak much […]
In bipartisan vote, House passes bill changing how Kentucky fills vacant U.S. Senate seats
With bipartisan support, a GOP-backed bill that would end the governor’s power to fill vacant U.S. Senate seats passed the House Monday.? Instead, voters in a special election would select a successor, if the bill becomes law.? Kentucky House Republican Floor Leader Steven Rudy, of Paducah, has previously said House Bill 622 is aimed at […]
Partisan games or power to the people? Kentucky’s GOP legislature clips governor’s wings
FRANKFORT — Republican lawmakers say a flurry of bills to limit the governor’s authority would give more power to Kentuckians. However, Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear chalks up the trend to partisan “games.” While the power struggle between Kentucky’s legislative and executive branches is nothing new, it’s become a recurring theme since voters elected a Democratic […]
If Kentucky had an empty U.S. Senate seat, voters not governor should fill it, House panel says
FRANKFORT — The day after Mitch McConnell announced he is stepping down as the U.S. Senate’s Republican leader, Republican lawmakers in his home state were working to trim the Kentucky governor’s role in filling future U.S. Senate vacancies. A state House committee on Thursday approved a bill that would require the governor to call a […]
Thayer seeks to end Kentucky’s limits on political giving, require more frequent reporting instead
FRANKFORT — Senate Republican Floor Leader Damon Thayer is seeking to eliminate state limits on donations to political campaigns and committees while increasing the frequency of campaign finance reports to every two weeks.? Thayer, of Georgetown, told the Kentucky Lantern after filing Senate Bill 100 that he is “making a few statements on my way […]
Kentucky reacts to McConnell stepping down as U.S. Senate GOP leader
FRANKFORT — As news in Washington broke that Sen. Mitch McConnell, the longest serving floor leader of the U.S. Senate, planned to step down from that role this November, eyes in Kentucky turned to the senator’s legacy.? McConnell, also Kentucky’s longest-serving U.S. senator, is routinely credited by Republicans for building the current state party, which […]
Runway project at Bluegrass Station loses key support after local outcry
FRANKFORT — Key supporters of a proposed airport expansion at Bluegrass Station, a state-owned industrial park at Avon in Fayette County, have changed their tunes after strong local pushback. Sen. Steve West, who represents Bourbon County, on Tuesday became the latest to abandon his earlier support for including the project in the next state budget. […]
Bill targeting source-of-income discrimination bans in Kentucky’s largest cities heads to governor’s desk
FRANKFORT — Legislation that critics say would undermine ordinances in Lexington and Louisville that ban discrimination by landlords against a prospective tenant’s source of income is headed to Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear’s desk.? House Bill 18, sponsored by Rep. Ryan Dotson, R-Winchester, won final passage Tuesday in the Kentucky House of Representatives after the Kentucky […]
Bill could jeopardize protection put in place 17 years ago after death of Harlan County miner
A long-time mine safety advocate says a bill approved by a Kentucky House committee will put coal miners at risk by undoing a key protection in a 2007 law. Tony Oppegard, a former mine inspector and attorney working nearly two decades representing coal miners and their families in wrongful death cases and other litigation, was […]
Kentucky’s Republican-controlled Senate passes three Democratic bills
FRANKFORT — Three Democratic-sponsored bills passed out of Kentucky’s Republican-controlled Senate Friday morning.? Two of the bills, Senate Bills 48 and 14, received unanimous approval and the third, Senate Bill 45, gained 32 votes from Republicans and Democrats, with three GOP senators voting no. With 23 days left for lawmakers to meet, these were the […]