SENATOR BRANDON STORM’S LEGISLATIVE UPDATE (Week 10)

Week 10 of the 2022 Legislative Session

As time springs forward, so too has the 2022 biennial state budget as various state budget bills (executive, legislative, and judicial) crossed significant milestones in week 10.

The state Senate officially placed its fingerprint onto the most significant budget-related bill, the executive branch’s two-year budget, which is House Bill 1 (HB 1). HB 1 alone allocates $26.3 billion of your taxpayer dollars and the Senate’s priorities, reflected in the Senate Committee Substitute 1 (SCS 1) to HB 1.

The two chambers will enter into budget negotiations in a conference committee, likely to take place as soon as next week. Both chambers select members to begin budget negotiations on their differences so the final product can be agreed upon. SCS 1 to HB 1 reflects the Senate Majority’s keen understanding that each penny entrusted to Frankfort was from an investment of time and energy of every single Kentucky taxpayer.

High points of the Senate budget include:

• Pay increases for state employees
  • A $4,500 raise in the budget’s first year for state employees, which is the equivalent of a 10 percent raise for employees in positions making $45,000. The state is finding many positions harder to fill and retain with no cost of living increases over the many years. The second year will also include a similar raise amount, but will be contingent on a Personnel Cabinet study that emphasizes employment environment, merit, locality and positional impacts.
  • Those considerations will also be applied in raises for Kentucky State Police. Each trooper will receive a minimum $15,000 pay increase.
  • Social workers will receive a $4,800 increase in the first year and then a 10 percent increase in the second year. These raises are on top of the 10 percent raise they received effective December 16, 2021, by the governor’s executive order. An important component of this Senate budget, and a reflection of the workload social workers carry, is to provide an alternate work program for those who have worked at least four years with the state. This will provide an alternate work opportunity that will help address employee burnout, heavy caseload and the emotional drain on the profession.
• Bolsters the state’s rainy day fund, also known as the Budget Reserve Trust Fund to $1.756 billion.
• Leaves a conservative $1.3 billion remaining after the biennium, providing the state fiscal flexibility
  • The Senate budget accomplishes all this while including the chamber’s tax refund plan for working Kentuckians, $500 for single filers and $1,000 for households
• Education investments 
  • Increases per pupil funding to $4,100 in year one (up from $4,000) and up to $4,200 in year two and provides funding for school construction and maintenance. Previously allocated federal dollars became ineligible for school infrastructure funding following Biden administration policy change after Kentucky had already allocated those funds last year.
• Increases inmate per diem state reimbursement to county jails by $4, lowering the burden on local jails that are housing state inmates.

I will keep you updated as budget negotiations yield something more concrete. Please know the 21^st Senate District remains my priority as we work to maximize the tax dollars you have entrusted to your senators.

Aside from these significant budget efforts, election integrity was also a big part of week 10 legislative efforts.

Senate Bill 216 builds on election integrity efforts implemented in SB 4 of the 2020 Legislative Session and the bipartisan election reform SB 574 in 2021. SB 216 expands the Attorney General office’s independent inquiry of potential election irregularities to include no fewer than 12 random Kentucky counties. It implements measures to prevent voter fraud by removing credit or debit cards as a viable form of voter identification and prohibits a voting system from being connected to any network, including the internet, or with any external device. Additionally, it requires all voting machines to use paper ballots by January 1, 2024, and returns the Kentucky Secretary of State as chair of the State Board of Elections. After trust was breached, the previous Secretary of State was rightly removed as chair of the board.

Senate Bill 205 is Kentucky’s response to major banks and investment firms that are denying lending to and investments in fossil fuel companies that promote “green” investments and political agendas. The coal industry has been a vital part of Kentucky’s economy for over 100 years and has provided affordable energy and good jobs for countless citizens of our commonwealth.  This concerted effort to financially starve out the fossil fuel industry is contributing significantly to high fuel and energy costs, resulting in extreme financial hardship on hard-working Kentuckians. SB 205 makes it clear that Kentucky stands with our fossil fuel companies and the Kentuckians who work every day to produce the resources that power our nation.

The bill requires the Kentucky State Treasurer to maintain a list of financial companies that are boycotting the fossil fuel industry and share that list with government agencies in Kentucky that make substantial financial investments, such as state pension funds. These governmental agencies are required to divest of investments in financial companies that refuse to stop boycotting. Kentucky will not invest state funds in financial companies that have declared war on our coal and fossil industry by adopting a political philosophy that will continue to increase fuel and energy costs and put our reliable power grid at risk.

Thursday was also very notable for me, as I had a bill, which I sponsored, signed into law.

Senate Bill 30 allows individuals to sign up for organ donation and to make monetary donations to the Trust for Life when renewing their vehicle registration online through the Transportation Cabinet’s website or in person at their local county clerk’s office when renewing their vehicle registration.

The Trust for Life affords every Kentuckian obtaining a driver’s license or ID an opportunity to give money to help promote organ and tissue donation. This trust has raised more than $9 million since its inception in 1992. In 2018, more than 45 percent of all Kentuckians obtaining a license contributed.

The trust will use funds from the donations to raise public awareness and encourage organ and tissue donation throughout the commonwealth through extensive advertising and public awareness efforts.

This new law will help save lives by making voluntary organ donation more widely known and participated in. One of the most selfless acts we can do in life is to give an individual a fighting chance when they are in their most vulnerable state. Each day, an average of 17 people die while waiting for an organ transplant. Receiving an organ can become a life-changing event for people and their families and I encourage everyone to consider signing up for this amazing program.

In closing, I would like touch on what is always the most important part of my week, and that is having the opportunity to visit with my constituents here in Frankfort.

On Monday, I had the privilege of having Anna Chaliff from Rockcastle County serve as my Senate page. I had the opportunity to speak with Anna and her father, Matt, at the Capitol Annex prior to proceeding to the Senate floor. Anna is a very humble, polite, and intelligent young lady with a bright future ahead of her. If you or your child are interested in coming to Frankfort and experiencing the legislative process firsthand, please feel free to reach out to me about our Senate Page Program.

Tuesday, I was thrilled to have the Lincoln County 4-H group as my guests here in Frankfort. The 4-H program is an amazing opportunity for young people to complete hands-on projects in areas like health, science, agriculture, and civic engagement in a positive environment which helps guide them down the path to success.

I was honored to have the London and Laurel County Chamber of Commerce join me on the Senate floor. Thank you, Donna Baker, Deanna Elder-Herrmann, Michael Sliter, and Butch Sizemore for all that you do for our communities.

Finally, I want to thank Pastor Jeff Edwards of Casey County for joining me as my honorary guest and being kind enough to lead the Senate chamber in our opening prayer.

As always, it’s an honor to represent the residents of the 21^st District here in our commonwealth’s capital. If you have any questions or comments about these issues or any other public policy issue, please contact me toll-free at 1-800-372-7181 or email me at Brandon.Storm@lrc.ky.gov . You can also review the legislature’s work online at www.legislature.ky.gov.

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Note: Senator Brandon J. Storm (R-London) represents the 21st District, which encompasses Bath, Estill, Jackson, Laurel, Menifee, and Powell Counties. Senator Storm is the vice-chair of the Senate Standing Committee on Transportation and serves as chair of the Senate 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 is a liaison member of the Budget Review Subcommittee on Human Resources. Additionally, Senator Storm is a member of the Legislative Oversight and Investigations Committee; and the Child Welfare Oversight and Advisory Committee.