Legislative update: Higdon outlines focus of upcoming interim committee meetings

By JIMMY HIGDON
14th District State Senator

Friday, May 29, 2020 — Senator Jimmy Higdon and members of the Kentucky General Assembly have announced that Interim Joint Committees will make issues related to COVID-19 the top focus of the interim session meeting agendas. Each of the committees meeting the week of June 1-5 have placed at least one topic related to COVID-19 on its respective agenda. Those items can be viewed below:

Transportation

• Effect of COVID-19 State of Emergency: Vehicle Registration Renewal System
• Effect of COVID-19 State of Emergency: Vehicle Transfer Process
• Effect of COVID-19 State of Emergency: Road Fund and Highway Construction
• Effect of COVID-19 State of Emergency: Permit and Road Testing

Education

• Update on COVID-19 Issues Pertaining to K-12 Schools
  Kevin Brown, Interim Commissioner
  Kentucky Department of Education

Appropriations and Revenue

• Report From the Office of State Budget Director on Actions Taken by the Consensus Forecasting Group and the Executive Branch Response
  John Hicks, State Budget Director
  Office of State Budget Director
  Kevin Cardwell, Deputy State Budget Director
  Governor’s Office for Policy and Management
  Greg Harkenrider, Deputy Executive Director for Economic Analysis
  Governor’s Office for Economic Analysis
  Janice Tomes, Deputy State Budget Director
  Governor’s Office for Policy and Management
  Correspondence Related to Appropriations and Allotment Adjustments
  Received >From Jenny Bannister, Deputy Director, Office of Budget Review
  Legislative Research Commission

Agriculture

• How COVID-19 has Impacted the Agriculture Industry

Judiciary

• Supreme Court’s Reopening Task Forces
  Chief Justice John D. Minton, Jr.
  Kentucky Supreme Court

• Executive Powers Under KRS Chapter 39A
  Attorney General Daniel Cameron
  Office of the Attorney General
  Victor Maddox, Assistant Deputy Attorney General
  Office of the Attorney General
  Amy Burke, Assistant Deputy Attorney General
  Office of the Attorney General

• Declaring an Emergency: State Cross Comparisons and Recommendations for Reform
  Josh Crawford, Executive Director
  Director of Criminal Justice Policy, Pegasus Institute

Natural Resources

• Changes to Regulatory Enforcement Policy in Response to COVID-19
  Rebecca Goodman, Secretary
  Energy and Environment Cabinet
  John Lyons, Deputy Commissioner
  Department for Environmental Protection
  Gordon Slone, Commissioner
  Department for Natural Resources

“Difficult challenges are facing Kentucky due to the effects of COVID-19. It is essential that we are thoroughly prepared to deal with the ramifications this pandemic has had on our economy,” Senator Higdon said. “Kentucky faces a revenue shortfall of more than $450 million, and unemployment is at unprecedented levels. My colleagues and I found it necessary to make COVID-19 the focus of our work over the Interim Session. I am eager to get to work alongside them and the administration. Kentuckians have, and are, facing health and financial uncertainties. We are committed to showing our constituents that their voices are heard, and their struggles are not unnoticed.”

Higdon was recently named co-chairman of the Interim Joint Committee on Transportation. He also serves as a co-chair of the Budget Review Sub-Committee on Transportation and as a member of the Interim Joint Committees on Economic Development & Workforce Investment; Education; and Veterans,, Military Affairs, & Public Protection, among others.

As Kentucky grapples with the effects of the pandemic, the General Assembly will continue to monitor and address any additional topics related to COVID-19. The Interim Session begins June 1 and ends December 1. You can find the interim session schedule and more information regarding the legislature’s work online at www.legislature.ky.gov. You can also tune in live to legislative coverage at www.ket.org/legislature.

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