By Rep. Mark Hart
District 78
I joined my fellow members of the House in passing several good, meaningful pieces of legislation this week. Without a doubt, the most important bill approved is the state’s $12 billion budget, which provides funding for the majority of our state’s agencies, programs, and services. This budget creates the opportunity to shift our state’s budget philosophy towards realizing a level of fiscal discipline, financial stewardship and strategic investment that will vastly improve our quality of life without jeopardizing the values we hold strong.
The budget we passed this year will help our state weather the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, while thoughtfully planning for the future. Among other items, the spending plan places a record high amount in our state’s rainy day fund, requires the Office of Unemployment Insurance add 90 positions to help with claims processing, and fully fund the state’s commitment to state employee and teacher’s retirement.
While the budget may have topped our legislative to-do list, there were several other bills and resolutions on our agenda. With hours that progressed well into the evening, we sent quite a few bills to the Governor’s desk. I thought I might review some of those bills in this week’s update:
HJR 77: You may remember that the General Assembly approved HB 1, SB 1, and SB 2 at the beginning of this session. These bills better defined a governor’s authority during this pandemic and during a state of emergency in general. Unfortunately, these bills are being challenged in court. While we recognize their fate is undetermined while it is being litigated, some executive orders did need to be extended in the case they are implemented. HJR 77 is an effort to do that. We know there are appropriate and reasonable steps that are beneficial to individuals and businesses, including extending continuing education requirements, waiving penalties and interest on businesses that have been shut down, price gouging, and waiving co-pays on vaccines on testing. After carefully evaluating each executive order and emergency regulation set to expire earlier this month, we chose to renew only a handful. While we have no idea when the courts will decide what happens to SB 1, SB 2, and HB 1, we have to have a precedent for how these will be managed in the future.
HB 405: This measure holds the Governor’s office accountable and reinforces the idea of coequal branches of government by establishing that if any of the federal funds from the American Rescue Plan are allotted, expended or appropriated without the involvement of the General Assembly, the Governor’s Office of the Budget Director would have to put $902,200 into the state’s budget reserve trust fund. HB 405 also creates the School Funding Task Force for the upcoming interim, a group that will focus heavily on how the Support Educational Excellence in Kentucky (SEEK) fund is working.
HB 320: Delivering internet to every part of our state is one step closer to reality with the passage of HB 320. This measure seeks to deliver broadband service to households and businesses in hard to reach rural areas by allowing the electric cooperatives regulated by the Public Service Commission to qualify for the financial assistance available through the Broadband Development Fund. The measure also contains language that more than doubles the amount of money available to the fund to $250,000. HB 320 builds on legislation passed during the 2020 legislative session when the fund was created to harness state resources and engage both public and private sector companies to reach the ‘last mile,’ the term used to describe hard to reach, rural areas that do not have the population necessary to attract some companies.
HB 95: With hundreds of thousands of Kentuckians living with diabetes, addressing the skyrocketing cost of lifesaving medication by capping the cost of insulin was a priority. HB 95 mandates that prescription insulin cost no more than $30 per thirty day supply. The price cap would be in place regardless of the amount or type of insulin needed to meet the person’s insulin needs. The bill would also not prevent an insurer from setting the cost of insulin lower than $30. This legislation sends a clear message that Kentuckians should have access to lifesaving medication. It will save countless Kentucky lives once it becomes law and will clear the way for a healthier Kentucky.
HB 472: Another piece of legislation that I am particularly proud of is HB 472. This measure would extend the statute of limitations for misdemeanor sex offenses in criminal and civil cases, allowing more time for victims to report the crime. Multiple studies show that most children who experience sexual abuse do not disclose it, or significantly delay reporting it. Because of the existing statute of limitations on these crimes, this often leaves many adult victims of childhood sexual abuse without recourse. HB 472 will extend the criminal statute of limitations for misdemeanor sex offenses against minors from five to ten years, which gives the victims more time to seek justice for these crimes.
HB 254: Another measure aimed at protecting the innocent. It raises the penalty for possessing, viewing or distributing matter portraying a sexual performance by a minor under the age of 12 years to a class C felony. Under the provisions of HB 254, offenders will be charged with a class C felony for the first offense, and a class B felony for each subsequent offense. Our law enforcement community works tirelessly to identify, arrest, and prosecute those who take advantage of our most vulnerable. HB 254 gives them greater tools in their work to keep these severely troubled people off the streets.
Though we passed quite a lot of meaningful legislation, we still have work to do on the last two days. We will reconvene on March 29 and 30 to consider any overrides of Executive branch vetoes and also look at other pieces of legislation like the transportation budget, a liability reform bill from the Senate that mirrors language from our own House version passed in the first week of session, and HB 321 which requires the Department of Revenue to adhere to any extension of the 2020 federal income tax return filing or payment for Kentucky income tax purposes.
In the meantime, I can be reached here at home anytime, or through the toll-free message line in Frankfort at 1-800-372-7181. Please feel free to email me at Mark.Hart@lrc.ky.gov. If you would like more information about any legislation passed in these last few remaining days of the 2021 Legislative Session, please visit the legislature’s website www.legislature.ky.gov.
