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SENATOR MAX WISE'S LEGISLATIVE UPDATE

 
The fifth week of the 153rd Regular Session of the General Assembly was marked by the first bills of the year being delivered to the governor, including a sweeping measure to enhance school safety across Kentucky.
 
The bill, named the School Safety and Resiliency Act, was a legislative priority and given the designation of Senate Bill 1 after the slaying of two students at Marshall County High School last winter in Benton. Many of SB 1’s provisions were suggested during eight months of testimony, research and study by the bipartisan, bicameral School Safety Working Group (SSWG).
 
SB 1 would create Kentucky’s first school safety marshal, similar to the state fire marshal. It would also expand the use of school resource officers, create a statewide anonymous safety tip line, and aim toward a goal of one counselor with mental health training for every 250 students in a school.
 
Senate leaders acknowledged that many school districts would require additional money to implement all provisions of the omnibus bill, but pledged to fund the measure during next year's regular session of the General Assembly. That's when legislators are constitutionally tasked with passing a biennial budget for the state.  I was honored to carry this critical piece of legislation along with my co-chair, Representative Bam Carney, as well as the members of the SSWG.
 
The other four bills to arrive on the governor’s desk by Thursday evening also originated in the Senate. They are as follow:
 
  • Senate Bill 4, a measure that would require mandatory electronic filing of all candidates’ campaign finance reports by the May 2020 primaries;
  • Senate Bill 31, a measure that would ensure that children in out-of-home care have visitation opportunities with siblings who have been placed in different homes;
  • Senate Bill 32, a measure that would create a certification process for water well drillers’ assistants; and
  • Senate Bill 77, a measure that would allow people to join Kentucky’s organ donor registry via the Internet.
 
The Senate also passed a number of other bills this week in the hope that those measures would make it all the way to the governor’s desk during this short, 30-day session. Final adjournment is scheduled for March 29.
 
Senate Bill 2 would allow lawsuits involving the state to be moved out of Franklin County, the place a majority of those types of suits are filed. It would do this by establishing a random drawing to determine where a case is heard. The drawing would be held if a party in the lawsuit involving the state requests such a change.  Supporters said Franklin Circuit Court wields an inordinate amount of influence over state policies under the current system and that it has become a de facto “super” circuit court. 
 
Senate Bill 6 would require disclosure of executive agency lobbyist compensation. It would also prohibit compensation contingent on the awarding of a government contract. Supporters said SB 6 would provide oversight, in part, by requiring executive branch lobbyists to register and list their clients, which is already required of legislative lobbyists. SB 6 passed by a 36-0 vote and is being considered in the House. 
 
Senate Bill 60 would move the candidate filing deadline from the last Tuesday in January to the first Friday following the first Monday in January. Supporters said the change would eliminate the perception that state lawmakers don't do much until the filing deadline has passed. The legislature convenes on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in January – about a month before the current filing deadline. SB 60 passed by a 35-0 vote and is being considered in the House.
 
Senate Bill 57 would expand the number of Kentuckians eligible to have low-level felonies expunged from their criminal records. It would do this by allowing discretionary expungement for all Class D felonies except those that involve a breach of public trust, sex offenses, crimes against children, and violent crimes that may cause serious bodily injury or even death.
 
Skeptics of broad expungement policies praised a provision of SB 57 that would require people to wait ten years after their conviction before they are eligible for the expungement program. Another compromise would allow prosecutors to object to specific expungement requests.  SB 57 also kept the $500 application fee in place, but established a payment program to make it more affordable to low-income citizens. Some legislators hope that future bills will give judges the discretion to set the fee. SB 57 passed by a 35-2 vote and is being considered in the House.
 
Senate Bill 205 would reform Kentucky’s system of guardians ad litem -- lawyers appointed by the court to represent the best interests of children involved in the judicial process. It would do this by creating the Department of Child and Family Advocacy, modeled after Kentucky’s Department of Public Advocacy. It would be funded more efficiently using the $15 million currently spent on guardians ad litem in addition to federal tax dollars available for the new structure.
 
The supporters said Kentucky’s current guardians ad litem system has a documented record of failing children for decades. Critics of SB 205 said the measure would create an additional level of bureaucracy centralized in Frankfort and away from the majority of citizens. It passed by a 23-12 vote and is being considered in the House.
 
If you have any questions or comments about these issues or any other public policy issue, please call the toll-free line at 1-800-372-7181 or email me at Max.Wise@LRC.ky.gov.  You can also review the Legislature’s work online at www.lrc.ky.gov.
 
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Note: Senator Max Wise (R-Campbellsville) represents the 16th District which encompasses Adair, Clinton, Cumberland, McCreary, Russell, Taylor, and Wayne Counties.  He is the chairman of the Education Committee; as well as co-chairman of the Education Assessment and Accountability Review Subcommittee, and the School Safety Working Group. Senator Wise is also a member of the Senate Economic Development, Tourism and Labor Committee; the Health and Welfare Committee; the Veterans, Military Affairs, and Public Protection Committee; the Budget Review Subcommittee on Economic Development and Tourism, Natural Resources and Environmental Protection, and the Budget Review Subcommittee on Transportation.  For a high-resolution .jpeg of Senator Wise, please visit: http://www.lrc.ky.gov/pubinfo/Portraits/Senate16.jpg
 

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