State Representative

D-Jackson

Week of

January 30, 2012

FRANKFORT – It’s been a busy week in Frankfort.  There was a lot of work – and a little play – in the state House of Representatives this week.

A bill that would alter the makeup of school-based decision making councils in Kentucky’s local school districts passed the full House. If passed into law, HB 89 would require that at least one of the two parent members on a council live within the boundaries of the school district, and prohibit non-tenured teachers from serving on a council unless no tenured teachers are willing, or available, to serve. HB 89 now goes to the Senate for its consideration.

House members unanimously approved legislation that would help cover the cost of child adoption by any Kentucky National Guard member. Any Kentucky National Guard member would be eligible for military family-assistance trust funds of up to $5,000 to cover the adoption of a child with special needs, or up to $3,000 to cover the adoption of another child under HB 224, which is now before the Senate for consideration. The legislation would help cover unreimbursed direct costs, such as licensed adoption agency fees, legal fees and medical costs incurred by Kentucky National Guard members.

A growing problem with feral pigs that may be little known in some areas of the Commonwealth received statewide attention this week when the House Agriculture and Small Business Committee passed a concurrent resolution to address the issue. HCR 76 would encourage the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources to study Kentucky’s swelling population of wild pigs, and the dangers and problems they create. The resolution now goes to the full House for approval.

The House often welcomes special guests, including winning sports and academic teams, artists, musicians—even pageant queens like Miss Kentucky Ann-Blair Thornton, who we welcomed to the House chamber Tuesday. But never before, in my memory at least, has the House welcomed to the chamber an actual penguin as we did on Tuesday afternoon when Paula the Penguin paid us a visit.

One of nine African Penguins at the Newport Aquarium’s “African Penguin Encounters” exhibit, Paula—who waddled up the center aisle of the House chamber into the arms of a waiting Newport Aquarium biologist—charmed lawmakers as we adopted a resolution honoring the aquarium and recognizing Tuesday as Penguin Day at the Capitol. The tiny black and white bird brought a lot of smiles and some much needed levity during what would prove to be tough legislative week.

It is hard to believe, but more than a quarter of the 2012 Regular Session is complete.  That means there are less than 45 more legislative working days for the House and Senate to come together and pass a new state budget, plus hundreds of other bills that impact Kentuckians young and old across this state. As of now, it would appear that we are right on schedule for completion of our session tasks.

Please continue to stay informed on bills of interest to you throughout the 2012 Regular Session by logging onto the Legislative Research Commission website atwww.lrc.ky.govor by calling the LRC toll-free Bill Status Line at866-840-2835. For committee meeting schedules, please call the LRC toll-free Meeting Information Line at800-633-9650. Or, to comment on a bill, please call the toll-free Legislative Message Line at800-372-7181. You can reach me directly at 502-564-8100, ext. 818.

Week of January 9, 2012

State Representative Ted Edmonds

FRANKFORT – The convening of the 2012 Regular Session of the Kentucky General Assembly last week marked the beginning of my work in Frankfort this year.  More than 200 bills have already been filed, and we’ll likely consider more than 1,000 proposals before the end of the 60 day session in mid-April.

One of the first items we’ll take up is redistricting.  We look at district lines every 10 years and make needed adjustments for population changes identified by the most recent Census.  While all legislators are deeply concerned with how districts are drawn, you can rest assured that meeting the needs of our constituents is our main concern.  Our goal will always be to make sure this and every district is balanced and reasonable.  We hope to accomplish this quickly prior to the filing deadline

The biggest priority in this session will be determining the state’s new biennial budget.  The past couple of budgets have been difficult to write, but this may prove to be the toughest one we’ve had in a long time.  Even though recent revenues are slightly higher than expected, we’re dealing with increased cost and the loss of federal stimulus dollars.  Some budget analysts say we’re facing a $337 million deficit.  Given our past cuts, those dollars will be hard to account for.

We’ll also consider many other issues of concern to all of you, including education, Medicaid, and substance abuse.  In every bill I vote on, I keep your needs and desires in mind.  I don’t take the responsibility and privilege of being your representative in Frankfort lightly.  I hope you follow the work in Frankfort, and let me know what you’d like to see happen.  There are many ways to stay informed and in touch.

The Kentucky Legislature Home Page, www.lrc.ky.gov, provides a bill tracking service, and committee meeting schedules.  The site’s eNews page, www.lrc.ky.gov/pubinfo/listserv.htm, allows you to subscribe to frequent e-mail updates on what’s happening at the Capitol.  In addition, you can read regularly updated news briefs, Capitol Notes, at www.lrc.ky.gov/pubinfo/capitol_notes.htm.

You may also call me directly at 502-564-8100, ext. 818, or leave a message on the General Assembly’s toll-free Message Line at 1-800-372-7181.  People with hearing difficulties may call the TTY Message Line at (808) 896-0305.  You are also welcome to send letters addressed to me to: Capitol Annex, 702 Capitol Avenue, Frankfort, Kentucky 40601.

State Representative

D-Jackson Week of June 13, 2011

FRANKFORT – Conveniently situated between Memorial Day and Independence Day, many people forget to celebrate Flag Day. It’s June 14, and until you read these words, there’s a good chance you forgot, too. It’s not an official holiday that we take a day off from work for, and not many communities have a parade for it. Still, even if you missed the actual day, it’s important to remember Flag Day and its importance.Our flag is the one enduring symbol of the American Dream. All over the world, people fly the Stars & Stripes to show their solidarity with our ideals. Others, when they want to condemn our nation, destroy the flag. It’s not a picture of a bald eagle or apple pie they see as a symbol of America – it’s the flag. One of the most famous photographs ever taken was at Iwo Jima, where six soldiers, including one Kentuckian, committed the simple but valiant act to raise the flag at the top of the small island in the Pacific, proclaiming our eventual victory in that battle and all of World War II. It harkened back to the writing of our national anthem 131 years earlier, when Francis Scott Key saw a tattered flag still flying over Fort McHenry the morning after a fierce battle.I don’t know of another flag that has had a national anthem written for it, and I don’t know of any other flag that is designed, as ours is, to change over time, with each new state earning a star. Like our flag, our people and our national goals are intended to grow with time. I hope we keep progressing as a country, and keep the United States a nation worthy of flying such a glorious flag.

Under the state constitution, most new laws take effect 90 days after the end of the legislative session. Laws passed during the 2011 Regular Session, which ended March 9, will become effective on June 8, except for those with emergency clauses or with specific effective dates contained within the bills themselves.

Among the issues affected by legislation taking effect on June 8 are the following:

African-American Heritage. Senate Bill 64 creates the Kentucky Center for African-American Heritage and outlines its board membership.

Carbon dioxide. SB 50 includes pipelines for captured carbon dioxide in the eminent domain process, allowing such a pipeline to be constructed through Western Kentucky.

Courts. SB 108 increases the jurisdiction of district courts in civil cases from $4,000 to $5,000 and the jurisdiction of small claims courts from $1,500 to $2,500.

Diabetes. SB 63 creates a collaborative group to identify goals and plans to reduce incidences of diabetes and improve diabetes care. SB 71 creates a licensing process for diabetes educators.

Doctoral programs. SB 130 allows the state’s six comprehensive universities to offer certain advanced practice doctoral programs within limits.

Education. HB 425 allows out-of-state veterans to qualify for in-state tuition at public colleges and universities.

Eye care. SB 110 allows optometrists to perform certain types of laser surgery, including treatments for glaucoma and cataracts.

Firearms. HB 308 establishes a program for people who have been banned from purchasing a firearm due to mental illness to recover that right.

Flu shots. SB 40 allows pharmacists to give flu shots to children ages 9-13.

Government publications. HB 33 bans state agencies from mailing most publications to the public unless they are requested by the recipient.

Homelessness. SB 26 reduces the fee for ID cards for the homeless from $12 to $4.

Occupational and physical therapy. SB 112 limits health insurance co-pays on occupational and physical therapy sessions to no higher than that of regular doctor’s visits.

Prescriptions. HB 311 allows Schedule II prescriptions, including oxycodone and hydrocodone, to be transmitted electronically or by fax. The bill also allows Schedule III-V drugs to be transmitted by fax; those can already be transmitted electronically.

Principals. SB 12 authorized local school superintendents to appoint principals after consultation with the school-based decision making council, a reversal of the current procedure.

School board elections. HB 228 increases the contribution limits for school board candidates to $200 for individuals and $1,000 for organizations.

Traffic laws. HB 289 adds fines for driving over the 70 miles-per-hour speed limit and clarifies that vehicle-integrated GPS units are exempt from the state’s ban on texting or using other communications devices while driving.

Voter registration. HB 192 requires high schools to provide seniors information on how to register to vote and related information.

Wellness programs. SB 114 allows private health insurance plans to offer incentives and awards for wellness programs.

Week of April 18, 2011 FRANKFORT – Over the last month or so, I’ve updated you on some of the many bills we passed this year that could really affect your lives. I’ll give you one last bunch, and then we can begin forward to focusing on the problems that still remain as we prepare for the 2012 session.

Each year, it seems like we pass new laws on whatever new dangerous new drug has become the rage. And each year, drug manufacturers find new ways to get around the current laws to make new drugs. This year, we passed  House Bill 121, which bans a whole group of drugs that are being marketed as bath salts. They go by names like “Red Dove,” “Hurricane Charlie,” “Ivory Wave,” and who knows what else. The problem is, the people who buy these drugs aren’t putting them in the bathtub — they’re snorting them. Some of these drugs are also marketed as plant fertilizer, bug repellant, and other labels that don’t reflect what they’re true use is for. Hopefully, respectable store owners will now stop stocking them.

Senate Bill 39 will even the playing field for Kentucky companies and out-of-state companies bidding on state contracts. Both are supposed to be registered with the Secretary of State’s office, but we haven’t done a very good job of enforcing that. Now, out-of-state companies will have to register, and pay the fee, or else they can’t get those lucrative contracts. It’s just one more way to encourage local businesses to grow, profit, and employ Kentuckians.

On that same front, HB 166 requires our state parks to sell and promote Kentucky-grown and Kentucky-manufactured products. Who better to all the great things about our commonwealth than our state parks?

SB 108 raises the limit on small claims court jurisdiction from $1500 to $2500, enabling more people to fight for justice without needing to hire an expensive lawyer.

HB 187 create a new license plates, the “I Support Veterans” plate, with the extra revenue from those plates going to the Kentucky Department of Veterans Affairs to support their programs. It’s a great way to show your appreciation for our veterans, and will have a real impact on their benefits.

Finally, HB 256 will go a long way toward helping more low- and middle-income families afford their home thanks to the Kentucky Housing Corporation. If you’re interested in their programs, I suggest calling them at 1-800-633-8896.

I’ll keep quiet until Memorial Day, but you can always contact me with your questions or concerns. Call the toll-free Legislative Message Line at 800-372-7181, or call me directly at 502-564-8100, ext. 818.

Week of March 28, 2011
FRANKFORT – This is my ninth year as your state representative, and I honestly don’t think I’ve seen a legislative session as crazy as the one we just finished. The House passed the Senate version of the Medicaid budget bill to make sure that there was a budget. None of us liked the Senate version, because it enacted cuts to all areas of state government, including our elementary and secondary schools.
The problem was that we knew the Senate wasn’t in a mood to compromise. If House and Senate leaders just sat across a table staring at each other, there would be no budget fix. That would mean cuts to Medicaid reimbursements, leading many clinics and pharmacies to stop taking Medicaid patients and in some cases, to close up shop altogether. Many of our local medical facilities depend on Medicaid dollars. If we lost them, it would literally be the death of some folks in my district, so I couldn’t take that chance.
Fortunately, we had an ace in the hole. By passing the bill and then adjourning, just as we have in every special session as far as anyone can remember, we left the final version of the bill to the governor. He’d already promised us he would veto out the education cuts. That was the one area that both Republicans and Democrats in the House agreed on.
So, in essence, we voted for education cuts, knowing they would never happen. If that doesn’t make sense to you, well, join the crowd. What does make sense is that we now have a Medicaid budget, our hospitals, doctor’s offices, and pharmacies will stay open, and Medicaid patients can still get the medical care they need. At the same time, we won’t be cutting one dime from our schools.
And in the end, that’s what matters to the people of Kentucky, not political bickering or parliamentary procedure or the other inside baseball that people in Frankfort like to talk about.
Now that we’ve finally finished up our work in Frankfort — I hope and pray — I’m back home. Still, you can always contact me with your concerns. Call the toll-free Legislative Message Line at 800-372-7181, or call me directly at 502-564-8100, ext. 818.

I’m really proud of the work we accomplished during this session, although there is always more we could have done. I want to focus on two fronts, though, both of which promise to save taxpayer money long into the future and allow for reinvestment in a better Kentucky.

The first is House Bill 463, which I’ve mentioned before. This comprehensive reform of our criminal system will not only focus our harshest penalties where they can do the most good — with violent offenders and others who need to be cut off from society — but it also makes some drastic changes to the treatment programs we use to help drug addicts and others who need help turning their life around.

We spend tens of millions of dollars each year on these programs, and yet more than half of the people who go to jail for drug offenses end up re-offending. HB 463 puts an emphasis on programs that have been proven to work and have the data to back them up. Especially in these tough budget times, we don’t have money to throw around on programs that don’t work. Even after reinvesting money in probation, parole, and treatment programs, we expect to save around $12 million each year.

We also passed Senate Bill 8 this week, which will be a huge boost to our businesses. SB 8 will create a one-stop online shop for all the paperwork and forms that companies have to fill out. That includes tax forms, licensing, and all number of other forms that take too much time to fill out. In several cases, we have multiple state agencies requesting the same information. That costs time and money, which could be better spent hiring more Kentuckians. The website will also appeal to those who want to start a new business, with access to the wide range of economic development incentives the state offers.

One bill that remains to be finalized — and I hope the House and Senate can come to an agreement — is SB 151, which would address the sharp increase in electric rates we’ve seen this winter. The Senate plan would create an elected Public Service Commission, so that you have a say in the people who approve rate hikes. The House prefers to study the issue, because in some states will elected utility regulators, rates are still growing too quickly. I expect we’ll come to some resolution one way or the other, because we all agree that something must be done to protect our citizens from the prices.

The session is nearly over, but I need you to stay in touch year-round. Call the toll-free Legislative Message Line at 800-372-7181. You can also call me directly at 502-564-8100, ext. 818.

Week of February 28, 2011 – FRANKFORT – When most people think of bullying and abuse, we think of our children. Indeed, that’s where many of us experienced bullying, if we ever did — at school, with the bigger kids picking on the little kids who were too scared to fight back. The other type of abuse we regularly see is domestic violence, usually men abusing their wife and children. This one has always puzzled me, because while children may not have learned the lessons of respect and tolerance for others, domestic violence usually involves grown men in a position of power abusing people they supposedly love.

There is another form of abuse just as terrifying, just as confusing, and just as dangerous if not more so — elder abuse. This week, the House took a step to stop this senseless abuse.

In many cases of elder abuse, the victim’s own children, grandchildren, or other loved ones who are taking advantage and harming someone with limited mobility and strength. We’d all like to think that this could never happen to us, but it does. Many people, as they get older, prefer to stay at home with relatives rather than move to a nursing home or similar facility. That’s what makes this scenario so terrifying.

House Bill 54 targets one of the most familiar reasons for elder abuse. The bill would ban anyone with a felony adult-abuse conviction from acting in a legal capacity for an adult or the victim’s estate. That means they couldn’t act as the executor of a will or make any of the typical end-of-life decisions you see such as using power of attorney or health care surrogate.

Of course, all these protections depend on the abuse being reported in the first place. We’ve become better as a society at reporting suspected child abuse, based on the assumption that the child cannot speak out for themselves. We make a mistake in thinking that seniors can report their own abuse. If you were in that position and too afraid to report your loved one, wouldn’t you want someone to do it for you?

House Bill 52 is a companion bill that passed earlier in the session, creating a trust fund to finance programs combating elder abuse. That bill would also prevent someone convicted of elder abuse from profiting from their crime — essentially disinheriting them. I hope that each of these bills will get a full and fair hearing in the Senate. As the saying goes, there but for the grace of God go I. This could happen to any of us.

That said, there’s not much time left for any bills to be considered. It’s crunch time: this is the last full week of the legislative session. If you have an opinion on any bill before us, now is the time to let me know.Call the toll-free Legislative Message Line at 800-372-7181. You can also call me directly at 502-564-8100, ext. 818.

Week of February 14, 2011 – FRANKFORT – The growth of illegal immigration and high school dropouts may not seem to be related, but they have a common effect. They both play significant roles in our economy. Every immigrant who avoids the legal path to this country takes a job that could go to a hardworking member of our community. At the same time, students who drop out of high school without their diploma face a lifetime of lowered earnings. In fact, they’ll probably be competing for jobs not with high school graduates, but with those illegal immigrants.

The House took steps to fix both of these problems last week. They won’t totally eliminate the problem, but they would go a long way in that direction.

House Bill 3 targets illegal immigration not by punishing the immigrants, but those who skirt the law by employing them. After all, most foreign workers are just like you and me in this struggling economy, doing everything they can to provide for their family. HB 3 would require government contractors, subcontractors, and government agencies to electronically check each employee’s eligibility to work legally in the U.S. by using the E-Verify database or other federal verification programs. It doesn’t cover all employers, but it’s a start. If you want to end a problem, you cut off its source, and in this case, it’s the businesses that offer the jobs. Without the hope of a job, illegal immigrants will not come here. Even better, it’s much less expensive than the Senate plan that puts immigrants in jail at public cost.

HB 225 would increase the school dropout age from 16 to 18 by the start of the 2016-17 school year. In today’s world, a high school diploma isn’t a luxury for getting a decent job. It’s absolutely necessary. I remember back to when I was 16, and I thought I knew it all when really I knew very little. Dropping out of school would have been a dangerous mistake for me.

Still, I understand why many students are bored with algebra and Shakespeare. They don’t see how it can be useful to them in their lives, and keeping them in a classroom they hate wouldn’t be good for anybody. That’s why HB 225 also strengthens alternative education and supports the state’s career and technical education programs. It’s not enough to force students to stay in school. We have to give them a reason to want to stay. If we can educate them by appealing to their interests — and for many students, that’s teaching them vocational and career-oriented classes — they will be much more successful in life.

That’s it for this week. As always, I hope you’ll stay in touch with me. You can call the toll-free Legislative Message Line at 800-372-7181. You can always call me directly at 502-564-8100, ext. 818.

By Teddy Edmonds – State Representative – D-Jackson – Week of January 10, 2011

FRANKFORT – The Kentucky House of Representatives came together again this week, as 12 new members joined the rest of the 100-member body to convene the 30-day 2011 Regular Session at the State Capitol.

The first four days of the session were spent on organizational issues mandated by our state constitution. We elected our leaders, set the rules by which we operate, and appointed committees to review the hundreds of bills we consider each year. As in past years, I will be a member of the Education Committee the Banking & Insurance Committee, the Local Government Committee, and the Tourism Development & Energy Committee.

I am excited by my committee assignments, because we will be looking into some of the most important issues facing Kentuckians today. Job creation and the ways Frankfort can help small businesses create economic development will be the top priority for us when we return to the Capitol in February.

Two of the strongest things we can do to create jobs are to boost our schools and eradicate the drug problem across Kentucky. If we want new employers to come to our community, we have to be able to offer them an educated workforce that can pass a drug test.

As this session goes forward, I’ll stay in touch to update you on our progress. My next report will come the week of February 7. Between now and February, though, I need to get your feedback, to make sure your voice is being heard in Frankfort.

You can stay informed of legislative action on bills of interest to you this session by logging onto the Legislative Research Commission website at www.lrc.ky.gov or by calling the LRC toll-free Bill Status Line at 866-840-2835. To find out when a committee meeting is scheduled, you can call the LRC toll-free Meeting Information Line at 800-633-9650.

If you would like to share your comments or concerns with me or another legislator about a particular bill under consideration this session, you can call the toll-free Legislative Message Line at 800-372-7181. You can always call me directly at 502-564-8100, ext. 818.

I look forward to serving you in Frankfort in the busy session weeks ahead.

Week of November 15, 2010

FRANKFORT – We celebrate Thanksgiving next Thursday, our national holiday to give praise to our Creator for the blessings we enjoy.  We all know the story of how the pilgrims and the natives broke bread together to celebrate the good harvest, but Thanksgiving wasn’t always the way we enjoy it now.

The first Thanksgiving dinner in 1621 didn’t come after a parade with floats, and it wasn’t followed by a football game, of course. The Puritans were very strict about their religion — after all, they sailed here because they felt the Church of England was becoming too permissive, and they wanted more order in their way of life.

There might have been turkey there — along with duck, goose, lobster, and whatever other meats the settlers and natives could find. There was definitely no pumpkin pie, because flour was in short supply. There was boiled pumpkin, though, and cornbread, thanks to the plentiful maize harvest.

After that, officials “days of thanksgiving” were few and far between. There was one in 1623 because of the rains that came to break a drought after a prayer service. The 13 colonies held a celebration in October 1777 to celebrate the victory over the British at Saratoga. It wasn’t until 1863 that President Lincoln proclaimed an annual holiday for the last — not the fourth — Thursday in November. Actually, Franklin Roosevelt moved it up to the fourth Thursday a couple of times, in order to prolong the Christmas shopping season and boost the economy.

The lesson is this: Thanksgiving is not a divinely defined day out of the year to express your thanks to God and everyone else for what you have. It’s the one day we’ve chosen as a nation to celebrate our blessings. Our National Day of Thanksgiving this year is November 25, but our personal day of thanksgiving should be every day. We are lucky to live in such a beautiful area of the greatest nation on earth, where we can live how we want to live and not worry about whether we’ll be thrown in jail for what we believe or who we believe in.

For that, we should all be thankful.

Even as fortunate as we are, though, there are those among us who do not enjoy quite as many blessings because of poverty, illness, or circumstances beyond their control. While we thank the Lord for our own blessings, we should also take time to consider those who are hurting right now. There are many local charities devoted to their needs, from food pantries to homeless shelters to the many churches in our community. I hope you’ll give you time, your money, or your energy – or even all three – to make their lives a better place.

If you would like to contact me with your concerns, please feel free to call my office in Frankfort at 502-564-8100, extension 818.

Week of November 8, 2010

FRANKFORT – This week our nation celebrates Veterans Day, a special time set aside each year for Americans to stop and be thankful for those who have served so bravely to make our country what it is today.

Many communities will be honoring their veterans publicly this week, and whether it’s with a parade, a party, or a ceremony, I encourage you to participate.  Let’s remember, however, that thanking our veterans is not something we only need to do once a year.  If we are going to have pride in America, we need to be continually grateful to those who have won our freedom for us.  They took with them the bright vision of democracy, and often times died carrying it to the world.

One such hero will never have a name, but will forever occupy a place in the heart of every American.  It was on the fourth anniversary of the armistice to end World War I, November 11, 1921, that an unknown soldier was buried in Arlington National Cemetery.  In the years that followed, an unnamed combatant from each subsequent conflict – World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War – was laid at his side.  What started as one man’s grave grew into a focal point for freedom.  Today the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier is kept under constant guard and is visited by millions of Americans each year who come to pay their respects and see for themselves the price of liberty.

When President Eisenhower signed a bill in 1958 proclaiming November 11 as Veterans Day, he was doing much more than adding another holiday to an already busy time of year.  The day is about commemoration.  It’s a tip of the cap and a salute to the brave.  And perhaps most importantly, it is a nationwide “thank-you” to the men and women who went to bat for this country when it needed them.

So amid the rush of everyday life, join me in finding a quiet moment this week to honor those who were lost, as well as our currently serving military who are willing to make the same sacrifice.  Think also of the Reserves, and the National Guard.  Together, they are the backbone of the secure lifestyle that we are so privileged to enjoy each day.

Their uniforms and job descriptions may differ, but the flag they proudly face does not.