News Outlook
’August 05, 2021 11
Nearly two months of
the 2021 Interim are on
the books. The Kentucky
General Assembly re-
mains focused on press-
ing issues preparing for
our return during the
2022 Regular Session
next January.
Recent focus has
turned back to increasing
COVID-19 cases, most
hotably the "delta vari-
ant," as state is near-
ing an 8 percent positivity
rate. Forty—five percent
of state's residents
were. vaccinated when I
submitted this legislative
update. I encourage you
to remain cautious and
choose to take neces—
sary measures to protect
yourself and those you
love. If you are interested
in obtaining a vaccination,
visit vaccines.gov/ search
or kycovid19.ky.gov.
Special legislative com-
mittee meetings included
several in which I serve
as a member, such as the
ICJ's on Local Govern-
inent, State Government,
and Transportation. An:
()ther important meeting
Was UCs on Appro-
priations and Revenue
(A&R).
l First, during IJC
{)n Local Government
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meeting, members of law
enforCement provided
updates on the challeng-
es they face. Testimony
called for attention to
staggering shortage of
officers. Our state and
nation have endured a
difficult past eighteen
months. Tensions have
been high, .as bad actors
in our streets have in-
creased the rate of seri-
ous crimes. Meanwhile,
law enforcement has en-
dured excessive levels of
criticism and even calls
for defunding of depart-
ments. Defunding of law
enforcement is not some-
thing I nor the majority
of lawmakers will accept.
Our law enforcement offi-
cers deserve our support
and will continue to have
it.
The DC on State Gov-
ernment was presented
Census data and how
it will impact the bien-
nial redistricting require-
ment. According to data
provided,‘ Bath, Laurel,
and Menifee Counties
population sizes in-
creased '3—9%, Jackson
and Powell County lost
less than % of their popu-
lation, and Estill County's
population size decreased
3—9%.
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________92w_m_,__
SENATOR BRANDON STORM: ULY INTERIM UPDATE
The emphasis during
this meeting was on Ju-
dicial redistricting, which
has not been done in Ken-
tucky since the 18905.
Supreme Court of Ken-
tucky Chief Justice, John
Minton, noted that at that
time, Kentucky had just
its first governor, and the
President of the United
States was Grover
Cleveland. Judicial re-
districting is overdue,
and redistricting efforts
will assure Circuit and
District Court Judges will
be distributed to areas of
need.
On July 7, the IJC on
A&R included a visit from
the state budget director,
who updated lawmak—
ers on federal funding
received in response to
pandemic. Most have
heard of the Coronavirus
Aid, Relief, and Econom-
ic Security Act and the
American Rescue Plan
Act. Still, in total, there
were seven separate bills
passed by congress that
allocated funds to Ken-
tucky. Those precious
taxpayer dollars are now
flowing through various
state agencies after being
prioritized by the lawmak-
' ers. During previous
legislative session, the
General Assembly allocat-
ed about half of our Com-
monwealth's federal fund-
ing. There is just over
$1 billion more left to be
distributed. We intend to
remain as diligent in ap-
propriating the rest of
funds as we were with the
other half.
The General Assem-
bly made notable invest-
ments with the first half
of federal funding alloca-
tions. Lawmakers appro-
priated funds to grow the
state "rainy day fund"
over $1 billion, expand
broadband internet, pay
off most of the $800 mil-
lion federal unemploy-
ment insurance (UI) loan
unilaterally taken out by
the Governor’s admin-
istration, address water
and wastewater needs,
and much more.
An entire legislative up-
date could be dedicated to
an A&R committee meet-
ing alone. I encourage
you to find archived foot-
age of forum for more
details. That is available
at ket.org/legislature/ar—
chives.
I am pleased to serve
as Vice-Chairman of the
Senate Transportation
Committee during the
Regular Session and as
a member of the IJC on
Transportation. The IJC
on Transportation heard
. testimony from the Ken-
tucky Transportation
Cabinet (KYTC). Cabinet
representatives detailed
the challenge we face to
meet our. infrastructure
needs. There are current-
ly two billion dollars in
maintenance needs. The
problem is the continuing
inflation of maintenance
costs along with decreas-
ing road fund revenues.
The General Assembly
has prioritized precious
taxpayer dollars, restor-
ing $180 million to the
road fund that has his-
torically been diverted.
A program called Strate-
gic Highway Investment
Formula for Tomorrow,
also referred to as SHIFT,
was initiated during the
previous gubernatorial
administration. It is a
data-driven approach to
prioritizing road fund
dollars. The Senate had
passed a bill to make
SHIFT a statutory re-
quirement, but it did not
clear the other legislative
chamber.
Other information
gathered this past month
includes an update on UI
and state road fund.
The Governor's adminis-
tration informed the UI
Task Force that it has
chosen to scrap its last
16-month effortto update
its unemployment system
and restart bidding for a
business to modernize
it. Members of the legis-
lature want to see relief
for the thousands who
continue to struggle to
receive their UI claims.
That is Why the General
Assembly allocated near-
ly $50 million to the ex-
ecutive branch for those
upgrades. The Governor
and his administration
must consult with the leg-
islature. We have stood
Willing to assist since the
onset of the pandemic.
It is a true honor to rep-
resent Laurel, Jackson,
Estill, Powell, Menifee,
and Bath Counties in the
Kentucky State Senate. I
will continue to keep you
updated on topics and pol-
icy discussions during the
interim. If you have any
questions or concerns,
do not hesitate to contact
my office'toll-free by call-
ing 502—564-8100. You can
also email me at brandon.
storm@lrc.ky.gov. Stay
safe. God bless.
FOR knewsrou.com
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