Higdon: Gov. signs pro-life bill; senate honors Georgia Davis Powers

Sen. Jimmy Higdon talks with Senate Pro Tem David Givens of Greensburg on Wednesday on the floor of the state senate. LRC photo

By JIMMY HIGDON
14th District State Senator

Friday, Feb. 5, 2016, 4 p.m. — The fifth week of the 2016 Legislative Session in Frankfort was historic in a number of ways. Gov. Matt Bevin signed his first piece of legislation, Senate Bill 4. We also said goodbye to former state Senator and civil rights activist, Georgia Davis Powers.

A memorial service was held to honor the Powers, who was the first African-American and first woman elected to the Kentucky Senate. Her visitation attracted Kentuckians from all corners of the state to pay respects to her and her family. First elected to the Senate in 1967, Powers was a pioneer in Frankfort who fought hard to end discrimination across the state.

We had a busy week in the General Assembly. Senate Bill 4 was the first pro-life bill to pass both chambers in over a decade. SB 4 would require a woman to consult a doctor either face-to-face or by video-conference at least 24 hours prior to going forward with an abortion procedure.

Other bills advancing to the House of Representatives after passing the Senate include:

– Dubbed the “Jailers with No Jails Act,” Senate Bill 96 would require fiscal courts in counties with no jails to annually pass ordinances which outline the responsibility of their county jailer.

– Pension reorganization legislation, given the designation of Senate Bill 2, was the result of the two years’ worth of work by the Public Pension Oversight Board. SB 2 would make state retirement systems’ transactions more transparent, hold the systems accountable when contracting out services, and require that pension trustees have actual investment experience.

– Senate Bill 15 is meant to strengthen the expression of religious or political viewpoints in public schools and public postsecondary institutions. SB 15 would set forth in statute what some protected activities for students are by enumerating the rights of students to express religious and political viewpoints in public.

– Funeral planning is the subject of Senate Bill 103. It would require someone’s prepaid and preplanned funeral arrangements to be followed after their death.

In other matters, upon the announcement of Rep. David Floyd’s retirement, I find myself torn. I am very happy that my great friend and comrade is retiring to devote time to his top priorities, God and family, and I think we should all take note. I am sad, however, that the most dedicated public servant in the Kentucky General Assembly is retiring. Nevertheless, we still have work to complete for our great state and David will be in office until December 31, 2016.

Additionally, I would like to thank all those who participated in my legislative survey sent out a few weeks ago. The results are below:

– The majority of participants support pro-life legislation
– 54 percent of respondents do not believe we should eliminate the death penalty in Kentucky
– A large majority of respondents—over 71 percent—support modernizing Kentucky’s tax code
– Over 57 percent of respondents say Kentucky should pass legislation allowing voters in cities to pass a sales tax of as much as one percent to fund major projects
– 54 percent of respondents believe Kentucky should not be a right-to-work state
– A majority of participants—64 percent—believe medical marijuana should be legalized
– Felony expungement legislation was also popular, with 73 percent in support
– Another large majority, 72 percent, supported restoring voting rights to convicted felons who have completed the terms of their sentences
– A statewide smoking ban was unpopular by a small margin; 48 percent were against it, 44 percent were for it and eight percent were undecided
– Support for tort reform was at 46 percent, non-support at 18 percent, and 35 percent were unsure.
– Prevailing wage also received divided support; 35 percent supported it, 30 percent were against and 34 percent were undecided.
– Raising the minimum wage had majority support with 62 percent

If you have any questions or comments about these issues or any other public policy issue, please call me toll-free at 1-800-372-7181 or email me at Jimmy.Higdon@LRC.ky.gov. You can also review the Legislature’s work online at www.lrc.ky.gov.

Senator Jimmy Higdon (R-Lebanon) represents the 14th District including Casey, Marion, Nelson and Spencer counties, as well as part of Jefferson County. He is the Chairman of both the Veterans, Military Affairs and Public Protection Committee, and the Budget Review Subcommittee on Transportation. He is the Vice Chair of the Licensing, Occupations and Administrative Regulations Committee and the Transportation Committee, as well as a member of the 2012 SS HB 1 Implementation and Oversight Committee; the Budget Review Subcommittee on General Government, Finance, and Public Protection; the Economic Development, Tourism and Labor Committee; the Education Committee; the Health and Welfare Committee; the Program Review and Investigations Committee; and the Tobacco Settlement Agreement Fund Oversight Committee.

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