by Kevin Wheatley, @KWheatley_cn2 – LOUISVILLE — With two Democratic challengers nipping at his heels, state Senate Minority Caucus Chairman Gerald Neal appealed to more than 75 assembled in the basement of King Solomon Missionary Baptist Church on Tuesday that his experience in the General Assembly should earn him another term. Neal fended off spirited remarks from former legislative…
by JOSH JAMES – Both the House and Senate versions of the two-year state budget include billions more in federal and state dollars than the previous spending plan passed in 2014 – and the boost appears to be driving yet another increase in lobbying. Lobbying spending has broken records on an almost yearly basis the past few…
Tom Loftus, @TomLoftus_CJ – FRANKFORT, Ky. – Gov. Matt Bevin’s inaugural committee paid $52,251 in leftover expenses during the first three months of 2016 including a $6,812 payment for bells to a Bevin company, Bevin Bros. Manufacturing, of East Hampton, Conn. But Kelly Knight, who co-chairs the committee, said the committee bought the bells at cost and…
by STU JOHNSON (KPR) – Significant public pension debt has led to consternation among state officials during the almost-completed General Assembly session. Governor Bevin has pointed to the pension problem as the reason for his decision to recommend funding cuts. Comprehensive tax reform at the state level has been cited as a way to create more revenue…
by Darla Carter – New parents would have more time to leave their newborns at a safe place, without facing prosecution for giving them away, under legislation passed this week in Kentucky. The legislation, which was approved by the House on March 29, would expand the time that parents have to drop off their baby at a…
by RYLAND BARTON – Kentucky lawmakers are deadlocked on a state budget with no resolution in sight. If a compromise isn’t reached by April 15th, Gov. Matt Bevin will likely have to have to call a special legislative session—which costs taxpayers about $70,000 per day. If lawmakers don’t come up with a state budget by June 30th,…
by Scott Wartman, swartman@nky.com – Every time residents in Grant County see their area in the news, they brace themselves for the worst. “Grant Countians don’t like the stigma from this,” said Dave Cahoon, pastor at Mt. Olivet Christian Church in Williamstown, the county seat. “When Grant County makes the news, we’re like, ‘Oh boy, this…
by BETH MUSGRAVE AND JACK BRAMMER, bmusgrave@herald-leader.com, jbrammer@herald-leader.com FRANKFORT — Negotiations over a two-year, $21 billion state spending plan broke off Thursday after House and Senate leaders couldn’t come to an agreement over cuts to higher education and how much money should go into a fund for pension payments. The impasse put in jeopardy a compromise on the budget…
by Deborah Yetter, @d_yetter – Governor Matt Bevin addressed concerns about the embattled Benefind system during a press conference on Thursday FRANKFORT, Ky. – Gov. Matt Bevin and his top human service officials on Thursday acknowledged widespread problems in the state’s new public benefit system but said they are working furiously to correct the errors that have disrupted lives of…
by The Associated Press – FRANKFORT, KY. — Kentucky lawmakers have finished work to close a legal loophole blamed for shielding sexual predators whose young victims can’t say exactly when and where they were abused. The bill won final passage Tuesday in the Senate and goes to Gov. Matt Bevin. The measure stems from a court ruling…