AIA Kentucky
 
Legislative Update

January 19, 2015



Part I of the 2015 General Assembly adjourned on Friday, January 9. The legislature will reconvene on Tuesday, February 3 for Part II. There are 26 legislative days remaining.

During the first four days, 261 bills were filed by the Senate and House. The Senate passed four pieces of legislation, including a Right-To-Work bill and legislation designed to combat the heroin epidemic. The House considered no legislation other than a few resolutions.

Rep. James Kay refiled his EPADS legislation which creates a mechanism for financing energy improvement projects. The bill is HB 100 and has been assigned to the Tourism and Energy Cabinet. House Speaker Greg Stumbo also filed HB 1 which amends the constitution to allow local option sales taxes. AIA Kentucky supports both pieces of legislation.

This will be the only report until the legislature reconvenes the first week of February. We will then resume weekly reports through the end of the session.

As a refresher, this report consists of three parts. The first is a brief summary of issues particularly relevant to AIA Kentucky. The second part is a list of all bills we are tracking and their current status. The last part is a compilation of relevant news stories from across the state. The goal is to give every AIA Kentucky member the level of content they desire on the General Assembly. We hope members will at least read the summary at the beginning of the report and that this will encourage you to dig a little deeper from time to time.
 
Greg Brotzge 
AIA Kentucky Lobbyist 
 
Bill Activity Report 

Below is the current status of bills AIA Kentucky is tracking.

Report created on January 19, 2015

  

HB1

SALES AND USE TAX (STUMBO G) AN ACT proposing to amend Section 181 of the Constitution of Kentucky relating to local levies of sales and use taxes.

Propose to amend Section 181 of the Constitution of Kentucky to authorize the General Assembly to confer upon the proper authority of any city or county the power to levy a local option sales and use tax, subject to specifically enumerated conditions and limitations; submit to the voters for approval or disapproval; supply ballot language.

 

Current Status:   

1/8/2015 - (H) Referred to Committee House Elections, Constitutional Amendments, and Intergovernmental Affairs

HB57

PUBLIC PROCUREMENT (DONOHUE J) AN ACT relating to public procurement.

Create a new section of KRS Chapter 45A making findings of the General Assembly and establishing policy of the Commonwealth of Kentucky to promote the Kentucky and United States economies by requiring a preference for iron, steel, and manufactured goods produced in Kentucky and the United States; create a new section of KRS Chapter 45A to define "manufactured in Kentucky," "manufactured in the United States," "Kentucky," and "United States," require preference for iron, steel, and manufactured goods made in Kentucky in construction and maintenance contracts and subcontracts; provide for a waiver of the Kentucky preference requirement; require a preference for iron, steel, and manufactured goods made in the United States if the Kentucky waiver is granted, and provide for a waiver of the United States preference requirement; create a new section of KRS Chapter 45A establishing a short title of "Kentucky Buy American Act"; amend KRS 45A.343, 45A.352, 65.027, 162.070, 164A.575, 176.080, and 424.260 to require compliance with the "Kentucky Buy American Act."

 

Current Status:   

1/6/2015 - (H) Referred to Committee House State Government

HB77

DELINQUENT TAXPAYERS (RIGGS S) AN ACT relating to prohibiting various state and local governmental entities from procuring goods and services from delinquent taxpayers.

Create a new section of KRS Chapter 45A, within the Model Procurement Code, to prohibit any state governmental body from entering into any contract to acquire goods or services from a delinquent state taxpayer; create new sections of KRS Chapters 65, 175, and 177, and amend KRS 160.160, 164A.575, 176.080, and 180.060 to similarly prohibit local government entities, local boards of education, public postsecondary educational institutions, the Kentucky Turnpike Authority, the state Department of Highways, and the Transportation Cabinet from procuring goods or services from a delinquent state taxpayer; amend KRS 131.190 to allow the state Department of Revenue to make the current list of delinquent taxpayers available to the various aforementioned entities to further compliance with the procurement prohibition.

 

Current Status:   

1/6/2015 - (H) Referred to Committee House State Government

 

    

HB100

EPAD (KAY II J) AN ACT relating to energy project assessment districts or EPAD.

Create new sections of KRS Chapter 65 to allow local governments to establish energy project assessment district programs in order to advance the efficient use of energy and water resources by allowing for energy projects to be financed by assessments imposed on only those properties participating in a program; define terms; establish the basic required parameters of a program; allow local governments to impose assessments on participating properties and provide the terms for the collection of the assessments, including the grant of senior tax lien status therefor; allow local governments to issue bonds to finance a program; prohibit a local government from imposing an assessment on property under a program except upon the request of the owner of record; provide that no provision of this Act shall be interpreted to expand the statutory powers of eminent domain belonging to a local government, state agency, or private entity; provide that a local government may only engage financing to administer a program from certain financial institutions; declare short title of the Act.

 

Current Status:   

1/6/2015 - (H) Referred to Committee House Tourism Development and Energy

SB1

CONTRACTS (STIVERS R) AN ACT relating to contracts.

Amend KRS 336.130 to prohibit mandatory membership in or financial support of a labor organization as a condition of employment and to name this section the "Kentucky Right to Work Act"; amend KRS 336.180 to conform; amend KRS 336.990 to make a violation of the Act a Class A misdemeanor, award damages, and provide injunctive relief; create new sections of KRS Chapter 336 to exempt existing contracts or agreements; require the Attorney General to investigate complaints and prosecute those who violate Section 1 of the Act; amend KRS 67A.6904, 67C.406, 70.262, 78.470, 78.480, and 345.050 to conform.

 

Current Status:   

1/9/2015 - received in House

SB2

CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT (BOWEN J) AN ACT proposing to amend section 29 of the Constitution of Kentucky relating to administrative regulations.

Propose to amend Section 29 of the Constitution of Kentucky to permit the General Assembly or an agency or committee it creates to review, approve, or disapprove any administrative regulation of the executive branch during or between regular sessions of the General Assembly; submit to the voters for approval or disapproval; supply ballot language.

 

Current Status:   

1/9/2015 - (S) THIRD READING, passed 24-11

  
Week in Review - 1/16/2015

 

Second GOP candidate files for attorney general
Just days after state Sen. Whitney Westerfield, R-Hopkinsville, filed his paperwork to run for Attorney General, a second GOP entrant, Lawrence County Attorney Michael T. Hogan of Louisa filed to enter the Republican primary.

 

Justices must act fast if gay marriage to be settled in June
Time is running short for the Supreme Court to get same-sex marriage on its calendar if the justices want to tackle the issue before their current term ends in late June.

 

53% of Kentuckians Think E-Cigarettes Should Be Taxed Like Traditional Cigarettes
Most adult Kentuckians believe e-cigarettes should be taxed similarly to regular cigarettes, according to poll results released Thursday.

 

Low Gas Prices May Be Good For Motorists, But Not Kentucky's Road Fund
Kentucky lawmakers are preparing for a drop in funding for the state's Road Fund.

 

Stumbo proposes $3.3 billion bond to prop up Kentucky Teachers' Retirement System
House Speaker Greg Stumbo filed a bill Friday that would authorize the state to borrow $3.3 billion through bonded debt to prop up the Kentucky Teachers' Retirement System.

 

Draft of report on Kentucky legislature remains untouched, unreleased after nine months
In October 2013, the Kentucky legislature faced a growing scandal: a lawmaker who resigned over accusations that he sexually harassed women at the Legislative Research Commission; allegations that sexual misconduct and favoritism made the LRC a hostile workplace; and the abrupt departure of longtime LRC director Bobby Sherman, whom police investigated for shredding documents at the Capitol days after he quit.

 

What Are the Priorities For the Kentucky General Assembly's Health Committees?
The Kentucky General Assembly has wrapped up the first week of the 2015 session, leaving committees with numerous bills to review.

 

Stumbo wants lawmakers to join Ky. beer battle
The ongoing beer battle between Anheuser-Busch and craft brewers is now tapped into the Kentucky legislature with House Speaker Greg Stumbo's filing of a bill to prevent larger brewers from directly distributing their products to retailers in Kentucky as the beer maker currently is in two areas.

 

Nearly a Year After Kentucky Legislature's OK, Cannabidiol is Still Unavailable
When the Kentucky legislature unanimously passed a law last spring decriminalizing the anti-seizure medication cannabidiol oil, a handful of legislators had tears rolling down their cheeks.

 

Former Ky. Supreme Court Justice Will T. Scott makes it official, enters GOP gubernatorial primary
On a bitter, gray morning outside the old Jefferson County Courthouse, former Kentucky Supreme Court Justice Will T. Scott announced his campaign for the Republican gubernatorial nomination on Tuesday.

 

Summary
Questions or comments may be directed to Legislative Chair Eric Steva, AIA, Lobbyist Greg Brotzge or Executive Vice President Janet Pike
 
Janet D. Pike, Hon. AIA
Executive Vice President
AIA Kentucky
(859) 223-8201
[email protected]
In This Issue
Bill Activity Report
Week in Review
Summary

 

 

 

 

SAVE THE DATE
March 4, 2015
AIA KY Legislative Day
Details coming soon...

HIGHLIGHTS
2014 Legislative Day
 
Rob Deal, AIA and Tony Kleyer, AIA talk with Rep. Brad Montell of Shelbyville

Rex Cecil, AIA and Joe Schwab, AIA talk with Rep. Ron Crimm of Louisville

Sen. Carroll Gibson of Leitchfield talks with Joe Jones, AIA and Tom Lett, AIA

Daniel Ware, AIA, Raymond Mack, AIA and Mathew Triplett, AIA

Rep. John Tilley of Hopkinsville and Martha Tarrant, AIA

Rex Cecil, AIA and Rep. James Kay of Versailles

Eric Steva, AIA and Jeff Stivers, AIA talk with Sen. Perry Clark of Louisville