By LISA AUTRY – One of the state lawmakers tasked with reforming Kentucky’s retirement systems says if structural changes aren’t made, the plans can’t be salvaged. The public pension systems are facing a combined unfunded liability of more than 30-billion-dollars. State Senator Joe Bowen of Owensboro co-chairs the Public Pension Oversight Board. He anticipates less…
by Nick Storm, @NStorm_politics – Kentucky U.S. Rep. Andy Barr, R-Lexington, and U.S. Rep. Paul Tonko, D-New York, co-chairs of the Congressional Horse Caucus are introducing legislation to bring uniformity to medications within horse racing. The bill, filed on Thursday, is a revamped version of legislation brought in 2015. The legislation establishes an authority to create and implement…
by RONNIE ELLIS, CNHI News Service – FRANKFORT – When state lawmakers last spring signed off on Gov. Matt Bevin’s reorganization of the Kentucky Retirement System Board of Trustees, many thought that brought to an end a suit by a member of the board removed by Bevin’s earlier executive order. Certainly that’s what Bevin and…
by Ryland Barton – Two union groups have filed a lawsuit to try and block Kentucky’s new “right-to-work” law, which forbids employers from requiring workers to pay union dues. In January, Kentucky became the 27th state to pass such a measure, which supporters say makes the state more competitive when trying to get companies to move to…
BY: Morgan Watkins , @morganwatkins26 – The state government plans to close the juvenile detention center where 16-year-old Gynnya McMillen died last year, according to state Sen. Whitney Westerfield. Westerfield, a Hopkinsville Republican, told the Courier-Journal that the Kentucky Department of Juvenile Justice gave him a call Tuesday afternoon and told him they are closing the…
FRANKFORT –Earlier this year, a small black box with a bright red light appeared on the wall next to a door leading to Gov. Matt Bevin’s communications office. Where reporters could once walk in and request an in-person statement from Bevin’s press team, the door now only opens for those with a key card. Bevin…
by Kevin Wheatley – LEXINGTON — As national Democrats look to wrest control of the U.S. House of Representatives from Republicans in next year’s midterm elections, state Sen. Reginald Thomas believes the road to a majority must pass through Kentucky’s 6th Congressional District. Thomas, in an interview with Pure Politics at his church Tuesday, said his…
BY BILL ESTEP bestep@herald-leader.com Federal spending on safety-net programs, such as food stamps and health care for poor Kentuckians, would see significant cuts under President Donald Trump’s proposed budget. The budget has not been released, but parts have surfaced in national media reports. For instance, Trump proposes to cut spending on food stamps, formally called…
By RONNIE ELLIS CNHI News Service – FRANKFORT – A consulting firm tasked with analyzing Kentucky’s unfunded public pension fund crisis says the state could address the problem more quickly if it committed to a fixed-dollar annual contribution similar to a 30-year mortgage. But that will require a lot more money up front – and…
By Gil Corsey –CONNECT LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) — A new law may be making the fight with juvenile crime in Louisville a tougher battle to win. Senate bill 200 showed good intentions for troubled teens in Kentucky but produced some bad outcomes in the largest city in the state. The 113-page law was billed as,…