Sen. Higdon meets with constituents at Monday’s ‘Coffee with the Legislators’

By JIM BROOKS
Nelson County Gazette / WBRT Radio

Monday, Jan. 3, 2021 — Sen. Jimmy Higdon welcomed about 45 people to “Coffee with the Legislators” Monday morning at the Fairfield Inn & Suites in Bardstown.

Higdon originally was to appear with 50th District state Rep. Chad McCoy, however, McCoy’s flight home had been canceled over the weekend, stranding him at a distant airport until a later flight on Monday.

Higdon spent about an hour offering a preview of the upcoming 60-day session of the Kentucky General Assembly set to start Wednesday, Jan. 4, 2022.

REDISTRICTING. The legislature this session will tackle redistricting Kentucky, which will affect Congressional Districts in order to equalize their size.

The east and western parts of Kentucky have declined in population, while the population between Interstate 65 and 75 has grown substantially, Higdon explained.

The 1st Congressional District in Western Kentucky has lost about 50,000 people, while Hal Rogers’ 5th District has lost about 30,000 people in the past 10 years.

According to the draft maps Higdon has seen, Nelson County will remain part of a single Congressional district.

The General Assembly will also redistrict the state House and Senate districts, which must all be equal, plus or minus 5 percent.

There will be no changes to Nelson County’s state House district, Higdon said. Because Higdon’s 14th District is too large in population, it will need to lose people. As far as the new 14th District senate district, Nelson and Marion counties will remain in Higdon’s district, he said.

STATE BUDGET. Due to one-time federal funds, the state expects to have a budget surplus of $4 billion. $1 billion is American Rescue Plan Act funds, which are restricted. Part of the other $3 billion they want to put in the state’s “rainy day” fund.

Because much of the money is one-time funding the state won’t appropriate any of the surplus for anything that creates recurring costs.

Higdon said he would like the next budget to include pay raises for state employees and teachers. With fewer state employees, Higdon said he would like to see the state eliminate unfilled jobs and allocate those dollars to pay raises.

Pay for Kentucky State Police needs to be improved. The state has 1,200 trooper positions authorized, but only 700 of those jobs are filled.

“If you’ve ever wondered why you can drive 15 or 20 mph over on the Bluegrass Parkway without any fear of getting a ticket, that’s probably why,” he quipped.

Some money will be allocated to help the Western Kentucky storm victims.

The budget will also include more funding for expanding broadband internet access in rural parts of the state.

EDUCATION FUNDING. Education funding is roughly 50 percent of the state budget, Higdon explained. He said that instead of the state providing raises for teachers, he said he expects to see greater funding of SEEK dollars going to the state’s school districts. The SEEK funds can be used for raises as determined by the local school boards, he said.

The General Assembly will have a bill to insure that all children have adequate reading skills by the time they leave the third grade by creating a reading program, he explained.

GAS TAX, HIGHWAY FUNDING. The state’s gas tax and vehicle sales tax generates about $1.5 billion, half of which goes back to communities in revenue sharing. The rest helps cover transportation cabinet expenses and funding for rural and secondary road paving.

State road construction projects are actually funded by federal funding to the tune of about $750,000. Due to the passage of new legislation in Congress, the federal funding will go to about $850,000, which will also require a match of state funding.

Priority road projects this session include the Brent Spence bridge in Cincinnati, the Mountain Parkway and the I-69 bridge in Henderson between Kentucky and Indiana.

US 150 CONSTRUCTION PROJECT. Work continues around the intersection of KY 245 and US150. The project will continue east to the Washington County line. The final design of the new US150 isn’t completed.

Higdon said he hopes to have funding for right of way acquisition and utility relocation included in the upcoming state budget.

WESTERN BYPASS. Higdon said funding was allocated in the past budget for right-of-way acquisition and utility relocation. In the upcoming budget, he said he hoped to have construction funding for the proposed bypass in the state road plan.

COUNTY SCHOOL MERGER. Several people asked Higdon about how to stop the Nelson County Board of Education’s new district facilities plan. One woman added that she was turned down from being on the Local Planning Committee and she believed Superintendent Wes Bradley violated state guidelines for creating that committee.

Higdon said the final approval for the plan to move middle school students to the high school campuses was the Kentucky Board of Education. He suggested that concerns about the plan be sent to the state board.

HIGDON SURVEY STILL AVAILABLE. Higdon’s constituent survey is still online and active, allowing 14th District residents to weigh in on these and other state issues. To find the survey, simply Google search for “Higdon senate survey” or click here.

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