Ag Commish Quarles Adds RunSwitch VP as Comms Director
Agriculture Commissioner Ryan Quarles has named a member of RunSwitch PR as the Communications Director of the Kentucky Department of Agriculture. Kirk Hilbrecht replaces Sean Southard, who left the Department of Agriculture in late January to become the spokesman for the Republican Party of Kentucky. Southard, and now Hilbrecht both joined the Department of Agriculture...
WSJ Praises GOP Income Tax Cut, Says Dems ‘Could Regret’ Being Against Plan
The Wall Street Journal Editorial Board is praising the Kentucky General Assembly for a “tax-cut turnaround.” GOP-led lawmakers passed legislation this session that would incrementally reduce the income taxes in the state. The move drew Gov. Andy Beshear’s veto, but Republican supermajorities overrode the veto, making the legislation law. In the editorial, the Wall Street...
Legislators Adjourn 2022 Session After Final Two Days of Overriding Vetoes and Passing Bills
From LRC Public Information Officer Mike Wynn FRANKFORT – It wasn’t until 1992 that a constitutional amendment removed the lieutenant governor as head of the Kentucky Senate and made the General Assembly a fully independent branch of state government. Since then, few legislative sessions have demonstrated that independence more than the one that concluded this...
House Whip Chad McCoy Withdraws from May Primary, Announces Retirement
House Majority Whip Rep. Chad McCoy, of Bardstown, will retire at the end of his term, he announced following the closure of the 2022 regular legislative session. McCoy was first elected in 2016 to the 50th House District, which includes all of Nelson County. “It’s an incredible privilege to serve Bardstown and Nelson County in...
Republican Supermajorities Override Beshear Vetoes
News Release from the Legislative Research Commission FRANKFORT— The Kentucky General Assembly spent the second to last day of the 2022 legislative session overriding gubernatorial vetoes related to the state budget, taxes, education and more. Lawmakers voted to override 17 of Gov. Andy Beshear’s vetoes on the executive branch budget for the next biennium outlined...
What it Means to ‘Move the Clincher’
FRANKFORT – There are a lot of interesting phrases that get tossed around the state Capitol during legislative sessions, and not just the curse words in the halls when bills fail to get a vote. One of the phrases is a motion that is made following a vote on a bill that has passed, the...
On the Move: Katherine Kington North Joins KY Assoc. of Health Plans
The former Communications Director for the Kentucky State Treasury is now the Director of External Affairs with the Kentucky Association of Health Plans (KAHP), the trade association representing all commercial insurers and Medicaid managed care organizations in the Commonwealth. Katherine Kington North most recently served as Communications Director for the Kentucky State Treasury. Prior to...
2023 Preview: Beshear Veto Showcases GOP Ready to Pounce on Social Issues
With the stroke of his veto pen Gov. Andy Beshear has wandered into a hot-button social issue important to conservative voters, and some in his liberal base. On Wednesday, Beshear, D-Kentucky, vetoed Senate Bill 83 the “Save Women’s Sports Act” which directs the Kentucky High School Athletic Association Board of Control to pass and enact...
Teacher Group Files Ethics Complaint Against Rep. Kim Banta Over Charter Schools Vote
FRANKFORT – A Republican Kentucky lawmaker is facing an ethics allegation after taking a vote on legislation creating a funding mechanism for charter schools in the state. The former advocacy group turned teacher’s union, KY120United-AFT held a press conference Monday morning to announce they have filed an ethics complaint against Rep. Kim Banta, R-Ft. Mitchell....