2008 Legislative Session Bills Preview from KY Resources Council

2008 REGULAR SESSION: Bills We're Watching: Preview Edition Posted: December 12, 2007
2008 REGULAR SESSION: Bills We're Watching: Preview Edition

This list profiles the environmental, conservation, consumer and general government bills that will be tracked by the Council during the 2008 session. This is the first of many updates, and previews those bills that have been “prefiled” and which will be introduced during the first week of the 2008 legislative session, which begins on January 8 and continues until April 15. The deadline for prefiling bills is

Once the session begins, this list will be updated at least weekly, and will be supplemented with more detailed analysis on key bills.

DO YOU WANT OFF THE LIST? HERE’S HOW

If you do not wish to receive this list, please send an e-mail message to us at FitzKRC@aol.com and you will be removed immediately from the distribution list.

Feel free to forward this to anyone you feel might be interested, and to utilize, reprint or quote from the bill analyses. We ask only that you attribute KRC as the source when you use our analytical material (so we can take all the blame for anything we’ve gotten wrong!)

DO YOU KNOW SOMEONE WHO WANTS TO RECEIVE THESE ALERTS?

Send this to a friend, and tell them to write us at FitzKRC@aol.com if they want to receive e-alerts.

WANT TO READ THE BILLS OR CONTACT LEGISLATORS?

For a copy of any bill, or to check the status of the bill, to track which committee it has been assigned to for hearing, and other legislative information, visit the Legislature's Homepage at http://www.lrc.ky.gov/legislation.htm

To find your legislators email, go to http://www.lrc.ky.gov/whoswho/email.htm

The phone number to reach a legislator in person is 502-564-8100 (this is not toll-free).

The toll-free meeting schedule information line is 1-800-633-9650. The toll-free message line is 1-800-372-7181, to leave a message for a legislator or an entire committee. The TTY message line is 1-800-896-0305. En Espanol, el nombre es 1-866-840-6574. The toll-free bill status number is 1-877-257-5541.

THE BEST WAY TO REACH LEGISLATORS – IT’S NEVER BEEN EASIER!

Did you know that for a single fax to 502-564-6543, you can reach all of the legislators that you want to contact? You can send a faxed letter, for example, to all Senators and Representatives by listing their individual names on a cover sheet and asking that each get a copy of your letter. The good folks at the LRC fax room will copy your fax and distribute it to all that you list (the recipients must be listed by name.) The LRC web page has a list of all legislators and all committee members.

To email all legislators with one email, send your email to Legislators2008@lrc.ky.gov.

Please note that the Council does not have a position on each bill listed. Some bills are tracked for general interest; others simply to assure that they do not become vehicles for mischievous amendments. Where KRC has taken a position concerning a bill it is indicated with a plus (+) or minus (-). The primary sponsor and current status of the bill are also noted by Committee or chamber.

BR 4 (Wuchner and Burch) (Education)

Would require certain amounts of physical activity as part of elementary and middle school curricula beginning in 2009-10 school year.

BR 9 (Stine)

Would require Kentucky Board of Education to adopt regulations requiring all public preschool through eighth grade programs to implement, no later than the 2008-2009 school year, 30 minutes per day or 150 minutes per week of structured moderate-to-vigorous physical activity.

BR 18 (Boswell)

Proposed constitutional amendment to allow casino gaming.

BR 38 (Boswell)

Companion bill setting standards for gambling at horse tracks and casinos if amendment is adopted.

BR 53 (Wilkey)

Would establish process for expungement of criminal records for Class D felonies.

BR 54 (Wilkey, Hoover)

Would create student loan forgiveness program for lawyers working for certain agencies and for legal services organizations.

BR 67 (Glenn)

Would create a lifetime combination hunting and fishing license for Kentuckians over 65 years old.

BR 74 (Thayer) and BR 123 (Owens, Cherry, Larry Clark) (State Government)

Would eliminate gubernatorial primary runoff elections.

BR 117 (Burch) (Health and Welfare)

Would require booster seats for children under 8 years old and between 40 and 57 inches in height and specify penalties.

BR 122 (Damron)

Would prohibit use of public funds for membership in a private organization that holds closed meetings where all members are not permitted to be present.

BR 135 (Stacy, Jenkins) (State Government)

Would establish compensation rules where one legislative chamber adjourns without consent of the other chamber.

BR 157 (S. Lee)

Increases penalty for torture of a cat or dog to a Class D Felony.

BR 171 (Higdon) (State Government)

Proposed constitutional amendment to require revenue and appropriation bills to be introduced in odd-numbered-year sessions, limit all sessions to 30 days, and require 3/5 vote for revenue and appropriations bills.

BR 192 (Thayer) (State Government)

Proposed constitutional amendment to eliminate office of Treasurer and assign duties elsewhere.

BR 194 (Owens, Crenshaw) (State Government)

Would amend state constitution to provide for automatic restoration of voting rights to felons on completion of sentence.

BR 202 (Burch) (Transportation)

Would prohibit use of cell phones in moving vehicles except for emergency use and hands-free apparatus.

BR 206 (Pendleton) (Judiciary)

Extends protections of animal cruelty laws to dogs and cats and makes killing or “causing injury or suffering to any animal” (other than those we hunt, trap, fish or “process” for food) a Class D felony.

BR 244 (Williams) (A&R)

Would create process for establishing a public infrastructure authority for highway and bridge projects, allowing the authority to issue bonds for financing a project and to place tolls on a project and set out procedures for collection and distribution of tolls.

BR 248 (Crimm) (Ag. & NR)

Would create penalty of forfeiture of ownership of animals involved in cruelty and torture cases, and prohibit ownership and possession of animals of the same species for two years.

BR 289 (Thayer)

Comprehensive revisions to campaign finance laws.

BR 302 (Marzian) (Education)

Would create study group to develop Holocaust curriculum guidance for schools.

BR 310 (Wayne and L. Clark)

Would amend state law to redefine “renewable energy facility” to lower the minimum capital investment and electricity capacity for solar or hydropower facilities and for landfill gas used for electricity. KRC will be working with the sponsors and other legislators to revise the criteria for renewable energy facilities.

BR 311 (Wayne, L. Clark)

Would amend HB 1 to require that for a unit to be “carbon capture ready” it must plan for compression of carbon dioxide in addition to capture. Unfortunately, the term “carbon capture ready” even with this change does not adequately limit availability of incentives for coal conversion technologies since any facility is theoretically carbon capture “ready” – the issues are the cost and efficiency, and more significantly, whether the facility has a plan for management or disposal of the captured CO2. BR 315 (Yonts)

Would amend existing law on water districts to revise manner in which districts can extend services and composition and manner of selection of boards.

BR 327 (Owens) (State Government)

Would require reporting of “legal defense trust funds” used by public officials and limit who can contribute.

BR 331 (Carroll)

Would reinstates requirement for motorcyclists to wear helmets.

BR 336 (Carroll)

Would amend state law to require adoption of policies by school districts on harassment, intimidation, and bullying.

BR 349 (Meeks)

Would amend state law to encourage interlocal agreements for cooperation in provision of emergency services among counties.

BR 373 (Tapp)

Would create a certification program for licensure of home inspectors.

BR 387 (Cherry)

Would amend executive branch ethics laws to clarify that an executive agency decision includes a decision by the Public Service Commission pursuant to a request for a change in the rates or service of a utility which results in an order of the Public Service Commission, thus applying lobbying provisions of the code to the Public Service Commission.

BR 439 (Simpson)

Would extend authority to eliminate public nuisances presently held by cities of the first, second classes and consolidated local governments, to third and fourth class cities.

BR 440 (Simpson)

Would amend code enforcement board statute to establish schedule for civil penalties for code violations.

BR 442 (Seum) (Local Government)

Bill responds to use of staff to promote ballot initiative in Metro Louisville, by restricting employees in the classified service in cities of the first class activities involving ballot initiatives during work hours and using public resources.

BR 484 (Higdon)

Probably the most popular prefiled bill, this would prohibit use of automated calling equipment or recorded political telephone messages from or by a political party or campaign.

BR 499 (Cherry)

Would define "harassment, intimidation, or bullying" and require school districts to adopt policies for assisting students who are engaging in disruptive and disorderly behavior, including harassment, intimidation, or bullying of another student.

BR 835 (Denham)

Would require junkyards and other purchasers of ferrous and nonferrous metals and objects containing ferrous and nonferrous metals to keep records of transactions and criminalize failure to maintain a register of purchases of metals and objects containing metal.

BR 839 (Denham)

Would create and define a crime of agroterrorism against an agricultural facility or product.

BR 841 (Denham)

Would revise laws allowing local governments to collect solid waste taxes or service fees and allow local governments to collect delinquent solid waste collection taxes or fees through contract with the Department of Revenue.

BR 897 (Cherry)

Would amend Executive Branch Ethics statutes to include unpaid executive officers under code, and make changes in personnel laws relating to merit employee protection.

BR 899 (Nelson)+

Would create state income tax credits for residential solar thermal and PV system, upgrading insulation, and energy-efficient windows, storm doors and geothermal heat pumps.

BR 924 (Westrom)

Amends existing laws on certification of landscape architects.

BR 937 (Owens & Adkins) +

Appropriates an additional $10 million dollars for Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program.

BR 973 (Spencer) +

Would create survivor benefit and education scholarship for spouse and children of coal miners killed in mining accidents, funded from coal severance tax receipts.

BR 1009 (Bratcher)

Would limit development density to 5-acre lots on two-lane rural secondary roads designated as having scenic significance.