Week 4 is busy for state senators

With the Senate's adjournment on Friday, we have officially reached the halfway mark on the 2023 30-day Legislative Session. Week four was the most productive yet, as the Senate passed over 20 bills, sending them to the state House of Representatives for consideration.

I was pleased to sponsor Senate Bill 52 which passed out of the Senate this week:

Senate Bill 52 requires the county clerk in a county containing a consolidated local government to keep document storage fees in a separate fund. It will require the reporting of and specifying uses for fee revenue. SB 52 cuts red tape.

There were several other bills receiving passage this week:

Senate Bill 3 establishes an Educators' Employment Liability Insurance Program to provide teachers with coverage of excess liability. The Kentucky Department of Education would be tasked with implementing the program. The measure would give Kentucky teachers and each certified district employee with primary liability insurance coverage of no less than $1 million to protect the employees from liability arising in the course and scope of pursuing employment duties.

Senate Bill 5 ensures parental engagement in decision making regarding a student's access to sexual materials that may be inappropriate or harmful to minors. SB 5 establishes grievance levels for parents and guardians and outlines how parental complaints must be addressed, and all decisions must be publicized.

Senate Bill 12 establishes a physician wellness program, which would provide counseling, coaching, or similar services to address issues related to career fatigue. SB 12 sets protections for physicians who participate in a wellness program, prohibits retaliation, discrimination or adverse action against a physician participating in the program, and affirms the obligation to disclose a physician's impairment or inability to practice medicine in a competent, ethical and professional manner to the Kentucky Board of Medical Licensure.

Senate Bill 28 helps Kentucky's small farm wineries thrive and boosts the commonwealth's rich spirits industry by allowing small farm wineries to sell and deliver up to 12,000 gallons of wine to a retailer annually. Wineries would be responsible for paying wine wholesale tax and reporting self-distributed wines.

Senate Bill 30 is a consumer protection measure providing more information on, and easing the process of canceling automatic renewals of service or product subscriptions. The bill would require businesses be more transparent in subscription details and provide consumers with a simplified means of canceling them.

Senate Bill 46 reforms the State Veterinarian's Office to meet the demands of Kentucky's growing agriculture industry and better respond to disasters. It establishes several new divisions within the office aimed at emergency preparedness and response, regulator field services and animal health programs.

Senate Bill 60 allows individuals who have completed and passed a licensed motorcycle safety education course to obtain their full motorcycle operator's license and forgo the permit process and additional testing requirements. This will help individuals receive their credentials more quickly and includes active duty military personnel, along with their spouses and dependents, to do so by mail.

Senate Bill 62, named the "Personal Privacy Protection Act," prohibits a public agency from requiring an individual or nonprofit organization to compel the release of personal information, release personal information in possession of the agency, or require a contractor or grantee with the public agency to provide a list of nonprofit organizations to which it provides financial support.

Senate Bill 65 nullifies administrative regulations found deficient by the Administrative Regulations Review Committee during the 2022 Legislative Session. It prevents any administrative body from creating regulations substantially similar or identical to the nullified regulations until June 1, 2024.

Senate Bill 80 is a dual-purpose measure that:

Provides protections to health care workers providing medical care in an emergency room by making a person receiving care guilty of third-degree assault if he/she injures or attempts to injure a health care worker with a deadly weapon or dangerous instrument, or causes or attempts to cause them physical injury.Strengthens protection of Kentucky's children from sexual predators by prohibiting a registered sex offender from loitering within 1,000 feet of a school, playground, day care, public swimming pool, or splash pad. Senate Bill 80 also prohibits registered sex offenders from being the sole operator or occupant of any mobile business within 100 feet of those locations.

Senate Bill 99 aims to identify essential information about how funds are being distributed from the East and West Kentucky Relief Funds that the Governor created and future relief funds that may be created. The bill directs that a government agency head, cabinet secretary, or appointed official provide a report and analysis of all relief funds. The bill mandates specific information about the fund transactions be included to promote transparency and accountability. This information must be reported or submitted to the LRC by the end of each fiscal year.

Senate Bill 107 mitigates political influence upon the Kentucky Board of Education and the education commissioner by establishing the Kentucky Board of Education Nomination Committee and sets requirements for the political balance of appointees and appointees' term limitations. The bill would require the education commissioner to be confirmed by the Senate, subject them to an annual review by the Kentucky Board of Education.

Senate Bill 112 permits counties to reveal tax information to taxing jurisdictions when requested for audit purposes.

Senate Bill 135 provides information on services and supports for perinatal mental health disorders to better assist mothers facing postpartum challenges. It requires the Cabinet for Health and Family Services (CHFS) to work with maternal and mental health professionals to develop information on postpartum depression and a perinatal mental health disorder assessment tool available on its website. Additionally, it requires CHFS to create a panel focused on identifying gaps in perinatal mental health disorders and exploring grants and other funding opportunities.

You can follow the previously mentioned bills and more at legislature.ky.gov and watch live legislative activity at KET/org/legislature. You can also track the status of other legislation by calling 866-840-2835, legislative meeting information at 800-633-9650, or leaving a message for lawmakers at 800-372-7181.