Rep. Mary Lou Marzian Withdraws From Primary
LOUISVILLE What was an incumbent standoff created by Republican redistricting in the Kentucky House has now led to an uncontested race for Rep. Josie Raymond as Rep. Mary Lou Marzian announces she is dropping out of the race, and ending her time in the legislature. Marzian, a Democrat, has represented the 34th House District for...
Are Republicans in Danger of Reigniting Beshear’s Teacher Base Ahead of Election?
A slim majority of Republicans in the Kentucky House of Representatives passed a funding mechanism on Tuesday that would send public tax dollars to charter schools in Kentucky and set up two pilot charters including one in Louisville’s west end. The single-day legislative melodrama that led to the passage of the bill in the House...
Nine Days Left of KY Session; Here’s What Happened This Week
Article by Mike Wynn, Legislative Research Commission Public Information Officer FRANKFORT — The final days of the 2022 legislative session are well in sight, and lawmakers are redoubling efforts to count votes and move bills, including some high-profile measures this week on gambling and medical cannabis. The Kentucky General Assembly has nine days left in...
Kentucky Budget Bills Collide
The House and Senate have passed their versions of the two-year state spending plans, but the documents, as always, will need to be reconciled. The exercise in reconciliation generally takes place in public meetings that end with decisions being made behind closed doors, where this year legislative leaders in the House and Senate will weigh...
Lawmakers Seek to Swing Executive Branch Ethics Commission Towards GOP
Republican lawmakers are seeking to limit the governor’s power to appoint members to the commission which monitors those lobbying the governor and constitutional officers and executive branch personnel. The bill comes as the agency tasked with upholding ethics is seeking to hire a new director. House Bill 334, would allow the legislature to reorganize the...
Sen. Westerfield Shifts to Support Nemes Marijuana Bill
Legislation that narrowly allows the use of medical marijuana for a limited number of qualifying conditions now has the support of one of its biggest opponents, the Kentucky Senate Judiciary Chairman. State Sen. Whitney Westerfield, R-Crofton, announced his support for House Bill 136 before the bill is expected to go before a House committee. Westerfield...
Former Sen. Joe Bowen Dies at 71
Former Republican state Sen. Joe Bowen, of Owensboro, has died, according to friends and lawmakers in Frankfort. Bowen served in the Senate representing the 8th Senate District from 2011 to 2018, he also served a single term in the Kentucky House of Representatives from 2005 to 2006. He did not seek re-election in 2018. He...
Where Things Stand in the Legislative Session
With 41 days down in the 60-day session lawmakers have sent a handful of bills to the governor and have more than a thousand bills and resolutions filed between the two chambers. The last day for new bill filings passed last week with lawmakers filing 898 bills and resolutions in the House of Representatives this...
House GOP Introduce Measure to Eliminate Income Tax
Republicans in the Kentucky House of Representatives have introduced legislation that would lead to the elimination of income tax in Kentucky. House Appropriations and Revenue Chairman Rep. Jason Petrie, R-Elkton, filed House Bill 8 on Friday which would lower Kentucky’s 5 percent income tax incrementally over a period of years until it is eliminated and...