FRANKFORT- The sportsmen and women in the commonwealth will be happy to know they now have less interference from government overreach with the passage of SB 217. As the primary sponsor, I was pleased to see SB 217 regarding the Kentucky Fish and Wildlife Resources Commission pass off the House floor and go to the Governor this week. SB 217 provides that the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife is an independent agency by removing the oversight of the Tourism, Arts, and Heritage Board as the final decision-maker. The bill intends to maximize department efficacy by eliminating bureaucratic pressure and granting Fish and Wildlife the ability to facilitate the hiring of their agency personnel. I look forward to this major change taking place July 1.
April is here and that means the Kentucky General Assembly is nearing the end of the 60-day Regular Session. Lawmakers convened for days 57 and 58 of the session, undergoing a “vote-a-rama” to pass numerous bills lingering in the balance and fulfill their constitutional obligation of passing a two-year state budget. House Bill (HB) 1, the executive branch budget, received final passage by the Kentucky General Assembly on Wednesday, hours before the beginning of the veto recess period. Unlike recent years where we dealt with a deficit, this year, lawmakers had the opportune task of appropriating historic surplus of state federal funds stemming from the American Rescue Plan Act.
Some of the highlights in the state budget include:
8% raises for state workers on July 1, 2022, and additional raises based on a pay study for the following fiscal year;
$250 million in federal American Rescue Plan Act funds for clean drinking water;
Hundreds of millions of dollars to fully fund state pensions;
Funds to provide social workers with a $2,400 pay increase in addition to the across-the-board raises;
Funds to increase the SEEK formula from the current $4,000 per student to $4,100 per student in the first fiscal year and $4,200 in the second year;
$23 million to assist Kentucky State University with ongoing financial challenges along with a second appropriation of $15 million;
Funds to cover the full cost of all-day kindergarten at every public school district in the commonwealth;
Funds to cover 70% of transportation costs for public schools;
$25 million in grants for county clerks for elections and deed recording online;
$150 million in the fiscal year 2023-24 for a major overhaul of the state parks system; and
A budget reserve to cover 40 days of operations in the event of an emergency.
A budget is a reflection of your values and attitude toward your people. While this plan makes many necessary investments that were much needed, I also believe there are numerous areas where it misses the mark, specifically regarding education and our state parks.
The positive financial outlook presented a rare, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for Kentucky to invest in our future. While I am pleased to see money put toward long-overdue raises for our state workers, one notable item absent in the funding is a raise for our Kentucky teachers. It is also worth mentioning that there is no funding for universal pre-K, and the minimal SEEK increases and other education appropriations over the biennium may not be enough for school districts to give competitive raises. When adjusted for inflation, spending on education in this budget remains below levels from before the 2008 recession.
Both chambers also approved HB 243, the legislative branch budget, and HB 244, the judicial branch budget. I voted yes on all three; however, I still have my reservations and believe more could have been done to advance our state. After countless months of planning and negotiations, the spending plans relating to all aspects of state government are now with the Governor for his signature or veto.
In a major blow to public education in Kentucky, the legislature passed HB 9. The measure creates a funding model for charter schools and comes on the heels of the 2017 legislation that established them in Kentucky.
HB 9 authorizes two pilot charter school projects in Louisville and Northern Kentucky. It also changes the appeals process if education officials deny an application for a new charter school. If an application for a new charter school is denied, HB 9 allows the applicant to ask why and receive technical assistance from the Kentucky Department of Education to improve it. The department is required to assist. Another provision allows school districts with less than 7,500 students a way to “veto” a charter school appeal.
Across the country, the success of charter schools has a mixed record. I am also concerned that charters will be exempt from important standards like qualifications for administrators. I opposed this bill because it channels funds away from public schools and into private hands. HB 9, as written, allows private entities to buy textbooks, desks, and buildings, all with public funds. I fear that when public dollars go to private hands, it depletes our public education system, and the persons who will really pay the price for this will be the children.
I voted against the bill because I fear those affiliated with charter schools might see school funding as a lucrative opportunity. The wealthy mega-donors, billion-dollar corporations, and organizations who support charter schools have made no secret about their intentions. They have been pushing for these changes over the last decade. HB 9 paves the way for these groups to bring people in to teach and set an agenda that goes with the groups’ own agendas. I fear the ultimate goal is to get public taxpayer money and also set the standard curriculum.
I voted no; however, HB 9 passed the Senate 24-14 after receiving approval in the House. It now goes to the Governor for further action.
Another troubling bill that aims to revamp public assistance benefits and combat fraud is headed to the Governor’s desk after it received final approval from the Kentucky General Assembly. HB 7 creates new rules around the presumptive eligibility for benefit recipients and seeks more accountability from the state Cabinet for Health and Family Services. It would also establish penalties for fraudulent sales of benefit cards.
HB 7 includes a waiver that can be used at the state health cabinet to expand SNAP for the elderly and the disabled as well as calls for the creation of community engagement programs in the cabinet by April 2023. Other provisions set rules around self-attestation and determination of Medicaid eligibility and verification. The legislation also establishes the Benefits Cliff Task Force and requires the cabinet to develop an online benefits cliff calculator.
HB 7 somewhat improved after undergoing modifications throughout the process, but the bill still has many shortcomings. I think the overall bill punishes people, potentially just for being poor. No one likes fraud, but estimates show that instances of fraud in the nutrition program are around 0.002% of cases. On a per-capita basis, Kentucky already has the highest rate of investigating and charging intentional program violations of any state in the southeast. Now, we are going to spend more money than we are going to save by taking food off of people’s plates, and that is not what we should do.
The House voted 70-22 on the final passage after we approved HB 7 in the Senate with a 24-12 vote. It now goes to the Governor, who can sign it, allow it to become law without his signature, or issue a veto.
Lawmakers also considered dozens of pieces of legislation that will have impacts throughout the commonwealth in the final days before veto recess.
Several bills that received final passage:
HB 8 is a tax reform measure that reduces the state personal income tax rate to four percent. It also places new taxes on electric vehicles, among other things. I fear an overhaul of the state tax system, as set out in HB 8, could be damning to future state budgets without additional revenue. The role of government is to provide services people rely on every day. HB 8 hinders the commonwealth’s ability to properly fund essential services like roads, public education, etc. It moves Kentucky away from an income-based tax model toward a consumption-based model, which I am concerned will financially burden our most vulnerable. It passed the Senate as amended by a vote of 27-8-1.
HB 248 prohibits public funds from being used in support of a constitutional challenge of any legislative act or resolution, except in the case of the Attorney General. I opposed the bill because it is another measure that directly conflicts with the separation of powers. It passed 28-8.
HB 314 changes various operations and procedures of the Louisville Metro Government. Namely, it allows for the incorporation and annexation of municipalities in Jefferson County. As I have stated before, I believe in local control; I do not think the legislature should interfere with local affairs. Therefore, I voted no; however, it passed the Senate 26-8-1.
HB 315 appropriates federal funds from the State Fiscal Recovery Fund for $300,000,000 in the fiscal year 2022-23 to the Broadband Deployment Fund. It passed the Senate 35-1. I voted yes.
HB 44 requires school attendance policies to include provisions for student mental health days. I supported this measure because our kids have been dealing with a lot amid a global pandemic. It passed the Senate 33-3.
HB 63 requires the assignment of school resource officers to schools by August 1, 2022. I opposed the bill as I believe this is a decision best left to the school district. It passed the Senate 26-8.
HB 499 creates a funding mechanism for the Employee Child-Care Assistance Partnership program. In Kentucky, we have many childcare deserts, and this attempts to address that. I voted in favor, with it passing the Senate 33-3.
HB 215 enhances penalties for importing and trafficking carfentanil, fentanyl, or its derivatives from 50 percent of the sentence served to a minimum of 85 percent. The bill also prohibits the use of pretrial diversion for those offenses. It passed the Senate 30-3; I voted no.
The Senate considered many other measures, including the two-year road plan (which I plan to cover more in the next update), which received final passage in the days leading up to the veto period. A handful made it through with bipartisan support, while others passed with considerable opposition. The Senate is now in the “veto period” to allow the Governor adequate time to review.
Members will return to Frankfort today, and tomorrow, April 13 and 14, for days 59 and 60. Even though only two days remain in the 2022 session, you can still stay up-to-date on all bills and other legislative actions by logging onto the Legislative Research Commission (LRC) website at http://www.legislature.ky.gov.
If I can ever be of assistance, please do not hesitate to contact me. To share feedback on an issue, you can email me at Robin.Webb@lrc.ky.gov or call the General Assembly Message Line at 1-800-372-7181. Kentuckians with hearing loss can use Kentucky Relay by dialing 711.
