Senator Joe Bowen’s Weekly Frankfort Report
| February 7, 2012 Kentucky Senator Joe Bowen continues to keep us updated on things in Frankfort. We are happy to continue to bring these weekly reports to you on this site. Please feel free to contact at the numbers below with any comments or cocerns. Also 
remember the Chamber of Commerce Legislative Session this Saturday Morning 8 a.m. at the WKU -Owensboro Center on New Hartford Rd.
The Senate passed several bills this week. Of these bills, I would like to highlight three education initiatives.
Many students feel bored with the pace of high school during their senior year. Senate Bill 86, which passed with bipartisan support, helps focus our students on the higher challenges required of them. It provides an early graduation option to high school students who meet course requirements, grade point average, and college readiness standards. If they attend a Kentucky public college or university, they will also receive a 24 credit hour head start with which to begin their studies.
Conversely, our special-needs children who are intellectually and/or developmentally challenged also work hard in their way to reach certain academic standards. Senate Bill 43 recognizes the course work of these students by providing an alternative diploma. These special children who continue their studies at the high school level are dedicated young people who should take pride in their achievements and should be recognized for it.
Most of you probably notice that schools are closed during elections because some schools are also used as polling places. But what happens if there is no polling place there? Senate Bill 21 permits school districts where no schools are used as a polling place to adjust their calendar to keep schools open during a regular, special, or primary election. It would also allow a district to schedule election days as instructional or make-up days. This is a more efficient use of space and allows for greater continuity in our children’s education.
Finally, the Right to Life Rally was on Wednesday. As usual, the Capitol Rotunda was packed with lots of folks, including many families, all of them pro-life across the spectrum. The pro-life platform is one I have always supported. I had the honor of speaking to the crowd about my dedication to the cause. My comments simply expressed that the true champions were those in the audience. There are currently two pro-life bills in the Senate that will reach the floor at a later date.
Finally, the budget still looms over us in the Senate as we await the House review. Preliminary talks in the Senate budget committee on which I serve have started and long days and nights lay ahead as we attempt to craft a budget with limited resources.
If you would like to learn more about our work, you can check us on the World Wide Web at www.lrc.ky.gov. If you would like to leave a toll-free message for me, the number is 1-800-372-7181. A taped message of information on legislative committee meetings can be heard at 1-800-633-9650 and to check the status of a bill, you may call the toll-free Bill Status Line at 1-866-840-2835.
Senator Joe Bowen’s Weekly Frankfort Report
| January 9, 2012 The first week of the 2012 Session was a combination of the ceremonial and the new. We gaveled in on Tuesday with the traditional establishment of the membership of the Senate and approval of our chamber’s rules. Over 200 bills have already been filed in the General Assembly and will start making their way through the committee process beginning in earnest next week.
On Wednesday, the Governor gave his State of the Commonwealth address. He spoke of the challenges facing the Commonwealth but, unfortunately, I didn’t hear any concrete proposals to solve them. For example, he brought up tax reform and expanded gambling with no details to what these two complex policy positions would mean to the tax-payer. While it is good that he is acknowledging the weakness of our job climate at the beginning of his second term, his proposal to bring together a task force to offer recommendations is not constructive. We have had numerous studies done already. I have no idea who will be on the tax force or what their qualifications will be. Last year, the Senate proposed that a group of independent tax experts and economists, not just study the issue, but rewrite the entire tax code. Kentucky has the highest effective personal income tax rate of our surrounding states. That is a fact. What we need is a code that will create wealth through more jobs, not the redistribution of wealth.
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The Governor also focused on the expansion of gambling. Again, there was no proposal although I understand that he is looking at a possibility of nine casinos around the state. The details remain elusive. The people need to be informed of all the pros and cons of any proposal in an open and transparent way.
The Senate has offered bipartisan solutions for the above challenges. But we are only one chamber in one branch of state government. We stand ready to work with the Governor where we can. I certainly hope that I will be able to look back four years from now and reflect that he was a governor who had a dynamic vision for Kentucky and I was able to partner with him to achieve a better home for our children and grandchildren.
Next week, the Senate will be looking at redistricting as we work toward the goal of cohesive and balanced voter districts that meet all the legal requirements of equal representation in Frankfort and Washington, D.C.
This is a very brief overview of how things look in the opening days of this session. It is much too early to predict all of the more than 1000 bills we will consider before the final gavel falls in April. I will continue to write each week about the work we’re doing in the Senate. But there are many other ways to stay informed about the legislature, as well.
The Kentucky Legislature Home Page, www.lrc.ky.gov, provides information on each of the Commonwealth’s senators and representatives, including our phone numbers, addressees, and committee assignments. The site also provides a bill tracking service, and committee meeting schedules.
By going to our eNews page, www.lrc.ky.gov/pubinfo/listserv.htm, you can subscribe to frequent e-mail updates on what’s happening at the Capitol. In addition, the General Assembly has its own blog, Capitol Notes, www.lrc.ky.gov/pubinfo/capitol_notes.htm, that will allow you to receive legislative updates at your leisure.
You can also stay in touch with General Assembly action in the following ways:
- A taped message containing information on legislative committee meetings is updated daily at 1-800-633-9650.
- To check the status of a bill, you may call the toll-free Bill Status Line at 1-866-840-2835.
- To leave a message for any legislator, call the General Assembly’s toll-free Message Line at 1-800-372-7181. People with hearing difficulties may leave messages for lawmakers by calling the TTY Message Line at 1-800-896-0305.
You may write any legislator by sending a letter with the lawmaker’s name to: Capitol Annex, 702 Capitol Avenue, Frankfort, Kentucky 40601.
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