Senator Brandon Storm’s Legislative Update (4/2/2021)

The final two days of this year’s 30-day legislative session required burning the midnight oil. Before adjourning sine die, the legislative process also required a lot of “hurry up and wait.” However, I did enjoy the brief windows of opportunity to enjoy the pleasant weather on my trips from my legislative office to the Senate Chamber in the Capitol. After a rough stretch of weather, I hope you were able to enjoy some of the sunshine and warmth as well. As I departed from the Capitol in the early morning hours of Wednesday, March 31, I left with a sense of pride and was pleased with what the General Assembly was able to accomplish. It has been a special experience to represent you in my first term as your State Senator of the 21^st District.

Much of the work on the final two days of the session was considering overriding vetoes that the Governor issued. By the conclusion of the 2021 Session at 11:47 pm on Tuesday, March 30, the legislature successfully overrode over two dozen of the Governor’s vetoes. I want to highlight a number of those in this week’s legislative update and share with you some information on the appropriation of funding for some exciting initiatives that will make Kentucky stronger.

First, I am proud that the Senate voted to override the Governor’s veto of Senate Bill (SB) 251, which I sponsored. SB 251 reorganized the Office of the Kentucky Attorney General. It allows the Attorney General to bring an action challenging the constitutionality of Kentucky’s laws, orders, or regulations in any county where the alleged constitutional harm has occurred. Currently, all challenges to state law are required to go through the Franklin Circuit Court simply because the seat of state government is physically located in Franklin County. This essentially makes a super circuit where only two judges preside over matters that impact the entire state. There are plenty of qualified judges and circuits across the state that are perfectly capable of hearing these cases. SB 251 will help remedy those concerns and prioritize the citizens’ rights over the state’s convenience.

Other veto overrides included the following measures:

SB 11 provides recourse for property owners to pursue legal action for intentional damages done to rental property by classifying it as criminal mischief. The General Assembly overrode the Governor’s veto because landlords need the ability to remedy a situation where a tenant has intentionally and purposefully damaged rental property. Currently, only civil action can be taken when a problem arises. This bill also establishes a means for property owners to know the rental history of applicants.

SB 65 nullifies specific administrative regulations that the legislature found deficient. Most notably, it advocates for children and their custodial parents by holding noncustodial parents who are delinquent in their court-ordered child support accountable. The Cabinet for Health and Family Services (CHFS) enacted a regulation that issued Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits (formerly known as food stamps) to noncustodial parents who were not providing for their own children. The legislature found that unacceptable and declared the regulation deficient. This legislation ends that troublesome regulation. A recent informational release from the Jefferson County Attorney’s Office shows that over 3,400 people in that county alone owe more than $3,000 in child support. The list equates to over $89 million in missing payments. In 2018, over 100,000 single-parent families were receiving SNAP benefits in Kentucky. Of these families, only 21% received any child support payments. Other states have incorporated child support compliance into their SNAP eligibility requirements with little to no additional administrative costs. For example, Kansas increased its child support collections by nearly 40% when implementing a similar policy.

SB 148 declares the essential nature of child care centers. It addresses the overly burdensome regulatory requirements that CHFS placed on Kentucky’s child care centers over the past year. As Kentucky overcomes the pandemic, we need to support our child care centers in a way that keeps children safe while providing them the opportunity to sustain their centers during a pandemic. There are child care deserts throughout Kentucky, and we need to support policies that allow our centers to thrive and expand — rather than overregulating them out of business.

SB 165 aims to improve government transparency and accountability by providing the Kentucky State Treasurer with the ability to approve, revise, or deny state contracts if the legislative Government Contract and Review Committee finds them questionable. There have been several concerning contracts over the years. This bill respects taxpayer dollars and puts in place better oversight to assure the legitimacy of state contracts.

Other legislative veto overrides can be found by visiting legislature.ky.gov.

A bill that made final passage that is not subject to the Governor’s veto is House Bill (HB) 91, a constitutional amendment that will now be proposed to Kentucky voters on the 2022 November election ballot. If supported by a majority of Kentucky voters, the amendment would add a new section to the Constitution of Kentucky stating that our constitution does not secure or protect the right to abortion or funding of abortion. HB 91 makes sure a rogue court does not disenfranchise Kentucky and that it is the General Assembly that makes the law concerning the lives of our most vulnerable citizen, the unborn human child. I encourage your support of this constitutional amendment when you cast your vote next year.

There were additional bills that passed that were not veto overrides. Those bills will be subject to the Governor’s veto, and the legislature will not be afforded the opportunity to override them as we did the bills previously mentioned. I will detail some of those bills in a later legislative update after seeing which ones stand following the Governor’s vetoes. I anticipate the Governor will support many of them, including bills passed to include appropriation of funds.

On that note, I have significant updates to provide you. The general assembly approved multiple beneficial appropriations in the final two days of the session. Some of this is the result of funding provided through the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) of 2021. It took some time to get information on the ways the state is authorized to allocate these funds. Fortunately, we were able to appropriate around $1.3 billion of those funds before the session’s close. New expenditures in the state budget, perhaps most notably, included $140 million to fund all-day kindergarten. This funding demonstrates the General Assembly’s commitment to education. What it also proves is that the legislature’s willingness to work with the Governor’s administration.

You may be thinking, “students are already attending all-day kindergarten.” You are correct. Currently, school districts have managed to fund all-day kindergarten with the appropriations provided. This $140 million will help cover those costs and could open up available funds for the school districts to utilize in other ways. Early childhood education is of great importance, which is a good step toward improvement in that area. On a related note, $127 million in ARPA funds has been allocated to the School Facilities Construction Commission to help urgent need schools. $75 million from the general fund is going to the local vocational education centers’ construction pool.

Lawmakers approved $300 million for broadband expansion. $50 million of this will be utilized almost immediately for economic development projects. Along with this allocation, the legislature put in place safety and oversight mechanisms. Some were Public Service Commission oversight of performance levels, Distribution Cooperatives to participate in the broadband funding, and parameters for how this funding must be used for unserved and underserved areas.

Furthermore, $20 million was appropriated for rural hospitals revolving loan funds. Following feedback from local officials, nearly $6 million has been allocated for a $2 per diem COVID cost for our county jails. $30 million has been provided for the county jail performance pilot program. $50 million has been directed for grants to provide drinking water to areas in need, with an additional near $50 million for grants to counties with greater costs than the allocation provided.

Speaking of grants, I was pleased to share news recently that London/Laurel County is the recipient of some funds, including nearly $100,000 from the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) to purchase playground equipment and a sensory maze at Levi Jackson Wilderness Road Park. The London/Laurel county E-911 Communications Center will also receive nearly $25,000 from the 911 Services Board Grant Award that will be used to improve the framework of the communication system. LWCF money to the sum of $170,000 has been awarded to Menifee County for improvements at the High School Athletic Field to meet Kentucky High School Athletic Association standards. Finally, the City of Ravenna in Estill County will receive almost $82,000 to upgrade to local amenities.

The state’s Unemployment Insurance (UI) crisis remains at the forefront of our attention, especially those Kentuckians who have yet to receive their much-needed UI benefits. To help our small businesses facing a substantial UI rate increase, the General Assembly chose to utilize $575 million in ARPA funding as loan repayment for the more than $800 million loan the Governor took from the federal government. Millions in funding were also provided for hiring additional personnel as well.

I am happy to say that SB 131 and SB 215, two reorganization bills that I sponsored, made final passage and are on the Governor’s desk for consideration. SB 131 moves the Motorcycle Safety Education Commission from the Justice and Public Safety Cabinet to the Transportation Cabinet. In the end, it included other measures such as establishing studies of county attorney traffic programs. SB 215 establishes the Secretary Office of Safety within the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet. Bill language was also added that renames the Louie B. Nunn Cumberland Parkway the Louie B. Nunn Expressway. This difference in classification plays a role in what federal funding Kentucky can qualify for. The bill also included a measure that establishes a pilot program to allow off-highway vehicles to use certain parts of state routes. This initiative hopes to promote and improve adventure tourism in our region.  Finally, included in the bill was language to help out our coal industry by temporarily suspending fines and citation enforcement of coal haulers that exceed weight limits. I appreciate the support of my colleagues in getting these bills and others across the finish line.

We received good news from the federal government late last week that the President approved Kentucky’s federal disaster declaration following the severe ice storms that impacted parts of Kentucky earlier this year. It appears that all counties in the 21^st District are eligible. According to the federal government’s announcement, money will be available to local governments and certain private nonprofit organizations on a cost-sharing basis for emergency work and repair or replacement of damaged facilities.

In closing, I want to congratulate the South Laurel High School Girls basketball team for making this year’s KHSAA Sweet 16. Please join me in wishing them the best of luck in the tournament starting on April 7. I was also pleased to acknowledge on the Senate floor this past week the South Laurel Middle School Academic Team’s successes for their excellent work in the KAAC Governor’s Cup. Well done! Laurel County has so much to be proud of.

It is a true honor to represent Laurel, Jackson, Estill, Powell, Menifee, and Bath Counties in the Kentucky State Senate. If you have any questions about these public policy issues or any other matter of importance to you, do not hesitate to contact my office toll-free by calling 502-564-8100. You can also email me at brandon.storm@lrc.ky.gov. Stay safe. God bless.

Note: Senator Brandon Storm (R-London) represents the 21^st District, which encompasses Bath, Estill, Jackson, Laurel, Menifee, and Powell Counties. Senator Storm is the Vice-Chairman of the Senate Transportation Committee and serves as Chairman of the Enrollment Committee. He also serves as a member of the Senate Standing Committees on Economic Development, Tourism, and Labor; State and Local Government; Banking and Insurance; and the Budget Review Subcommittee on Human Resources. Additionally, Senator Storm is a member of the Statutory Committees on Program Review and Investigations; and Child Welfare Oversight and Advisory.