8 March 18, 2021
This Week at the State Capitol ‘
The Kentucky Senate
and House of Representa-
tives convened only two
days this week. But in
terms of bills passed and
the number of hours spent
debating legislation, they
were two of the busiest
legislative days so far this
year.
Bills that took steps for-
ward in the Kentucky Gen-
eral Assembly this week
include measures on the
following topics:
Newborn protection.
House Bill 155 would al-
low the use of a "newborn
safety device" when a new-
born is being anonymously
surrendered by a parent at
a participating staffed po-
lice station, fire station, or
hospital. The device would
allow a parent planning to
surrender an infant to do
so safely using a receptacle
that would trigger an alarm
once a newborn is placed
inside so that medical care
providers could immedi-
ately respond and provide
care to the child. The bill,
which was already ap
proved by the House, was
approved this week by the
Senate Veterans, Military
Affairs, and Public Protec—
tion Committee and now
goes to the full Senate.
Fish and wildlife. House
Bill 394 would ensure
that the state’s Fish and
Wildlife Resources Com-
mission would have sole
authority to appoint the
commissioner of the De—
partment of Fish and Wild-
life Resources. The bill was
approved by the Senate
Natural Resources and En-
ergy Committee and now
goes to'the full Senate for
consideration.
Administrative regula-
tions. Senate Bill 65 would
nullify administrative regu-
lations that took effect af-
ter being found deficient
by lawmakers last year
during the legislative in-
terim, the period of time
between regular sessions
of the General Assembly.
The bill passed the House
Licensing and Occupations
Committee and now awaits
consideration by the full
House.
School choice. House
Bill 563 would give families
more options when making
decisions about schools.
The bill would allow stu-
dents to use education op
portunity accounts, a type
of scholarship, to attend a
public school outside of his
or her district. Individuals
or businesses who donate
to organizations that issue
education opportunity ac-
counts would be eligible
for a tax credit. Under an
amendment to the bill,
the provisions of the leg-
islation dealing with using
education opportunity ac-
counts for private school
tuition would apply only
to students in Kentucky’s
most populous counties
—Jefferson,v Fayette and
Kenton Counties. Another
amendment to the bill
would allow the state to
fund full-day kindergarten
for every public school dis»
trict in the commonwealth.
This bill passed the House
51-45 and now goes to the
Senate.
Capitol security. Senate
Bill 227 would require Ken-
tucky State Police to brief
the leadership of the Gen—
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COMMUNITY
eral Assembly and the Leg-
islative Research Commis-
sion on security matters
relating to the Capitol cam-
pus. The bill was approved
by the House 91—0. It now
goes back to the Senate for
consideration of a House
amendment to the bill.
NO-kIIOCk warrants.
Senate Bill 4 would limit
and set guidelines for the
use of no—knock warrants,
which allow officers to
enter a premises without
notice. Under the legisla-
tion, such warrants would
be allowed in limited in-
stances if someone was
in immediate danger or in
other cases, such as those
involving violent crimes or
terrorism. These warrants
would have to be executed
by a SWAT team or a team
with special training. The
bill would also specify in
statute that it would be
perjury if an officer made
a false statement in an ap-
plication for a no-knock
warrant. The bill, which
already passed the Senate,
was approved this week by
the House Judiciary Com-
mittee and now goes be-
fore the full House.
Scholarships. House Bill
25 would expand access to
Kentucky Educational Ex-
cellence Scholarships by
removing a provision that
prevents convicted felons
from being eligible. The
bill passed the Senate Edu-
cation Committee and now
goes to the full Senate.
Probation and parole.
House Bill 440 would allow
meetings with probation
or parole officers required,
under the terms of .a per:
son’s probation or parole to
be conducted via videocon—
ference. The bill passed
the Senate Judiciary Com-
mittee and now goes to the
full Senate.
Public safety. Senate Bill
211 would increase the
punishment for crimes
committed during a riot.
It would provide conse-
quences for local govern-
ments who are grossly
negligent for failing to
protect public safety and
property. The bill includes
sections intended to dis-
courage local governments
from attempts to defund
law enforcement agencies
and to prevent taunting a
police officer in a way that
“would have a direct ten—
dency to provoke a Violent
response from the perspec-
tive of a reasonable and
prudent person.” The bill
also specifies situations in
which a persOn would be
guilty of unlawful camping
on state property. The bill
passed the Senate
and now goes to the House
for consideration.
School breakfasts.
House Bill 384 would allow
a school that participates in
the Federal School Break—
fast Program to authorize
up to 15 minutes of the
student attendance day to
provide the opportunity for
children to eat breakfast
during instructional time.
The bill passed the Senate
Education Committee and
now goes to the full Senate.
Driver safety. House Bill
439 would require a vi—
sion test when renewing a
driver’s license, starting in
The bill passed the
Senate 314. It now. goes
back to the House, Which
already approved the origi-
nal version of the bill, for
consideration of Senate
changes to the legislation.
Commission on race and
opportunity. Senate Bill 10
would create a Commis-
sion on Race and Access
to Opportunity in the leg—
islative branch. The, com-
mission would conduct
studies and research ‘on is-
sues Where disparities may
exist in areas including
educational equity, child
welfare, health, economic
opportunity, juvenile jus-
tice, and criminal justice.
The bill passed the House
65-24 this week. It 'now
goes back to the Senate,
which already approved
the original version of the
News Outlook
bill, for consideration of
changes to the bill made
by the House.
Lawmakers are still
working toward approving
a state budget for the next
fiscal year, which begins
July 1. Throughout this
year’s session, lawmakers
have said their intention
is to pass a spending plan
before the start of veto
recess, which begins on
March 17.
To offer your feedback
to lawmakers on the issues
under consideration, call
the General Assembly’s
Message Line at 800-372-
7181.
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