Legislative update: Senate back to work after ice, snow storm delays
By JIMMY HIGDON
14th District State Senator
Friday, Feb. 26, 2021 — Severe winter weather forced the Kentucky General Assembly to pause regular session activity during the week of February 15. My colleagues and I returned to Frankfort on Monday to resume legislative work on your behalf.
I hope that you and your family remained safe during the period of heavy ice and snowstorms. We really cannot say enough about the men and women who work to keep the roads clear and the lights on. Stories across the commonwealth included county personnel helping other counties, emergency efforts to get necessities to people who were without, and so much more. During crises, the general good in people shows through, and the storm is braved together. Thank you to all involved in helping restore normalcy.
Upon legislators returning to Frankfort, the House and Senate got back to crafting and passing legislation, including continued work on the state budget.
Bills deemed as “priority” seek to address the state’s most immediate challenges. Several priority measures relate to the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on the commonwealth. Some seek to apply effective solutions to unemployment insurance issues and the economy, while others promote stronger legislative oversight to improve government transparency.
A few priority bills continued through the legislative process this week. They included SBs 4, 6, 7, and 10.
SB 4 establishes procedures and requirements for the issuances of a warrant that authorizes entry without notice while maintaining the ability to act in situations involving a violent offender or life and death situation. Applications for warrants would have to be reviewed impartially by a judge and conducted in service with SWAT or a special response team trained for special situations. Additionally, due process protections would be put in place, making any evidence collected in violation of the law’s provisions inadmissible in court. SB 4 serves to make dangerous circumstances safer for both law enforcement and the public while strengthening the public’s trust in agencies.
SB 6 enacts new safeguards to ensure ethical behavior within the executive branch, particularly regarding members of gubernatorial transition teams’ actions and behaviors. Transition teams consist of folks who help a governor-elect transition from candidate to the official office. They will help select individuals who will serve in the various positions within the governor-elect’s administration and help determine policy goals and the new administration’s general framework.
If passed, SB 6 would require the existing Executive Branch Ethics Commission to set ethical conduct standards related to transition teams by developing a standard of ethical conduct agreement for transition team members to sign. It would apply to all members of a transition team and address registered or former lobbyists’ role. Members would be required to disclose certain information, such as their current employer, boards on which they serve as a member, and any non-state sources of funds they receive for their spouses or services. Additionally, the bill would prohibit transition team members from accessing non-public information regarding matters that could personally benefit them or their spouse, clients, or business they may belong to.
SB 7 directly responds to a challenging situation posed by ongoing unemployment issues. Due to the system, some benefits were awarded to people who did not qualify for them. This is to no fault of the recipients. SB 7 would establish a means by which recipients of overpayments could request a waiver to avoid paying those funds. Recipients would have to respond with a waiver request in no less than ten days from the date the Secretary of the Labor Cabinet deposits a notification in the mail.
On a related note, the General Assembly received testimony recently from State Auditor Mike Harmon on this topic. I encourage you to watch that testimony that took place during a meeting of the Senate Standing Committee on Economic Development, Tourism, and Labor. It is available online at ket.org/legislature/archives.
SB 10 also made passage in the Senate. This measure can lead to meaningful dialogue and create a conducive environment for considering solutions for challenges facing communities across the commonwealth. If passed, SB 10 would establish a Commission on Race and Access to Opportunity within the legislative branch to conduct studies and research where disparities may exist across sectors of educational equity, healthcare, economic opportunity, criminal justice, and more. The commission established would have the authority to hold monthly meetings, seek comment and testimony from various individuals and organizations, and provide research to recommend data-driven policy initiatives.
During this time of great divisiveness, I think it’s essential we consider the benefit of sitting with others in honest, open conversation with the intent to listen. No, that will not always lead to an agreement on policy, but it will lead to better understanding and rapport. While we all come from unique backgrounds, endeavors like SB 10 promote clearer pathways. I sincerely hope so.
Other bills passing in the Senate included:
SB 47 would be the first step in establishing Audiologists and Speech-Language Pathologists’ framework to practice in other compact member states. Interstate compacts can be best understood as contracts between individual states that carry the force of statutory law. States may enter into compacts as opposed to always relying on the federal government to establish top-down regulations. Interstate compacts are an effective tool among states to promote cooperation. Historically they have been used to settle boundary disputes.
SB 49 confirms the independent contractor status of certain home or community-based support services and facilitates payments for service providers through Medicaid where appropriate.
SB 51 takes a step towards making it easier for doctors to treat patients struggling with substance use disorders by prohibiting insurers from requiring critical evaluations known as utilization reviews (UR). A UR requirement for matters such as addiction treatment can be unnecessarily onerous. Prior authorization requirements can similarly prevent patients from receiving needed treatment when they are ready. Removing requirements on this front can allow us to save lives here in Kentucky.
SB 52 closes existing loopholes in state statutes that prevent the punishment of some law enforcement who commit sexual assault. It clarifies that a peace officer who sexually assaults a subject held in custody is guilty of the applicable class D felony in which they engaged.
SB 55 prohibits copayments or cost-sharing from being paid by any medical assistance recipients. It prohibits deductibles, copayments, and coinsurance requirements for Medicaid telehealth services and copayments charged in the Kentucky Children’s Health Insurance Program (KCHIP). SB 55 applies to Medicaid Services or any managed care organization (MCO) contracted by the Cabinet for Health and Family Services.
MCOs have long failed to reimburse for medical services. This has placed financial burdens on hospitals and driven up administrative costs. Another bill seeks to mitigate the challenges MCOs have created.
SB 56 limits the number of MCO contracts to operate the Medicaid program to three. Currently, there are five. Limiting them to three will increase efficiencies within the Medicaid program and lower administrative costs for healthcare providers.
SB 65 nullifies administrative regulations that were found deficient during the 2020 Legislative Interim and prohibits their re-enactment for a designated period if identical to or substantially the same. One regulation the legislature found deficient last year would have provided SNAP benefits to parents of children who have chosen to be absent in the child’s life.
SB 66 clarifies employment and background check requirements of prospective employees of publicly funded youth camps and sets a standard that a background check must meet as a requirement for employment.
SB 67 allows for the purchase of alcohol-to-go as long as it is associated with a takeaway or “to-go” food order. All existing laws and regulations on alcohol would apply to the alcohol-to-go sale, such as recognizing “dry territory” laws and license requirements.
SB 68 requires a distiller with a Class A or Class B license to produce a minimum of six-hundred gallons within one year at the distillery’s licensed premises. The bill exempts those that distill solely for training, educating, or conducting research so long as that product is not sold to the public for profit.
SB 86 authorizes local governments to adopt ordinances against open dumping of solid waste on land and in water and impose a civil fine of not less than $250 and not more than $500. The bill would also assure that any revenues resulting from local ordinances are returned to the counties in which they are imposed.
SB 93 provides authority to appoint board members to the State Board of Agriculture to the Kentucky Commissioner of Agriculture.
SB 115 seeks to build on the Read To Achieve (RTA) Program’s tremendous success. I added an amendment to this bill that was adopted which retains the RTA Program independently from school districts’ effort to replicate it. It is an important goal that every child is reading at grade level by leaving the third grade.
SB 131 Moves the Motorcycle Safety Education Commission and Program—which offers motorcycle rider training courses for novice and experienced riders—from the Justice and Public Safety Cabinet to the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet’s Office of Highway Safety. It also allows residents of other states to take rider training courses in KY if they are eligible for a motor vehicle instruction permit in their home state.
SB 135 relates to the postsecondary education performance fund. The bill revises the definition of “formula base amount” and establishes a definition of “funding floor” for purposes of priority funding for Kentucky institutions. SB 135 would add a hold-harmless and stop-loss prevention of 0% for the upcoming fiscal year and beyond. It also establishes how amounts distributed from the performance fund should be treated during the budget process.
SB 141 establishes guidelines for the distribution of funds remaining in the Kentucky coal workers’ pneumoconiosis fund. It would provide for the distribution of funds claimed by coal companies to pay wages, amounts owed to counties, cities, school systems, or school districts, and more. Finally, it provides excess funds to go to unpaid workers and the Kentucky coal employers’ self-insurance guaranty fund.
SB 148 declares the need for childcare in our communities as essential by requiring CHFS to identify emergency care providers who provide vital child care services during a state of emergency. It addresses a problem many families have struggled with throughout the last year concerning available childcare. The bill would return childcare classroom sizes to pre-COVID numbers and allow them to combine classes during the opening and closing hours once again.
SB 154 would allow advanced practice registered nurses and physician assistants to prescribe and order home health care services and establish reimbursement for home health care services if certified.
I received an update from the new President of the Kentucky Lottery, Mary Harville, detailing how lottery revenues were distributed here in the 14th Senate District. I congratulate her on her new role.
Our students received 6,017 grants and scholarships worth $9,045,834. This is part of the grants and scholarships awarded to students in:
- Casey County: 690 grants and scholarships worth $1,090,944
- Jefferson County: 26,519 grants and scholarships worth $40,550,760
- Marion County: 920 grants and scholarships worth $1,278,412
- Nelson County: 2,241 grants and scholarships worth $3,180,309
- Spencer County: 879 grants and scholarships worth $1,278,121
If you have any questions or comments about these or any other public policy issues, please call my office toll-free at 502-564-8100 or the legislative message line1-800-372-7181. You can also reach me at (270) 692-6945 (home) or email
. Stay safe. God bless.
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