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Bill addressing Kentucky’s health-care workforce shortages clears House
A Kentucky bill aimed at addressing Kentucky’s health-care workforce shortages passed the House Wednesday 92-1. House Bill 200 would create a health-care workforce fund through a private-public partnership administered by the Council on Postsecondary Education (CPE), the Lantern previously reported. Most of the money in the fund – 65% – would be reserved for educational […]
Bipartisan Kentucky bill decriminalizing fentanyl test strips clears House
FRANKFORT — A bipartisan Kentucky bill that would pave the way for fentanyl strips to not be considered illegal drug paraphernalia passed the House unanimously 93-0 on Wednesday. House Bill 353 is sponsored by Rep. Kimberly Poore Moser, R-Taylor Mill and has three Democratic co-sponsors. Fentanyl test strips, according to the Centers for Disease Control […]
Kentucky House passes bill nixing any COVID-19 vaccine mandates for minors
A bill that would state only Kentucky parents or other guardians can make people under the age of 18 take COVID-19 vaccines passed the House Tuesday 79-17. House Bill 101, sponsored by Shawn McPherson, R-Scottsville, states: “no person, entity, corporation, company, organization, or government agency, public or private, shall require or coerce in any manner any […]
Prospects dim for freestanding birth centers in this session
FRANKFORT — Majority Floor Leader Damon Thayer said Tuesday that bills aimed at revising the state’s certificate of need requirements “are not moving forward this session.” Among those bills are pieces of legislation aimed at making freestanding birth centers more accessible in the state. Thayer’s comments came during Tuesday’s meeting of the Senate Licensing & Occupations […]
Juvenile justice would get more money, more scrutiny under bills approved by Kentucky Senate
FRANKFORT — The Kentucky Senate Tuesday unanimously passed two bills aimed at stemming what lawmakers called a crisis in Kentucky’s Department of Juvenile Justice. Senate Bill 162, sponsored by Sen. Danny Carroll, R-Benton, would allot more than $50 million for salaries, retention, new workers and security upgrades, including $30 million for workers in the adult […]
Borderline personality disorder is highly stigmatized and lonely
This story discusses suicide and self harm. If you or someone you know is contemplating suicide, please call or text the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 988. When Mo Lewis was 11 years old, his dad died. In the following years, he developed traits of borderline personality disorder. He became suicidal, harmed himself and repeatedly […]
Sponsor says drag show bill is pro-children not anti-LGBTQ
FRANKFORT — A Kentucky bill that would criminalize “sexually explicit” performances by “male or female impersonators” on publicly-owned land or in front of children passed a Senate committee Thursday. Members of the Senate Veterans, Military Affairs and Public Protection Committee voted to advance Senate Bill 115, sponsored by Sen. Lindsey Tichenor, R-Smithfield. A chant of […]
Kentucky House passes controversial anti-transgender bill
This story mentions suicide. If you or someone you know is contemplating suicide, please call or text the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 988. The Trevor Project, which aims to end suicide among LGBTQ+ youth, also has trained counselors available around the clock. Reach them at 1-866-488-7386, via chat at https://www.thetrevorproject.org/get-help/, or by texting START to 678678. […]
Two juvenile justice bills advance in Kentucky Senate. Here’s what they say.
Two Senate bills aimed at addressing Kentucky’s juvenile justice issues cleared the Senate Appropriations and Revenue committee unanimously on Wednesday. The first, SB162, would allot millions of dollars to the Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ) for salaries, retention, new workers, security upgrades and more – among other things. Those price tags are: $3.2 million for […]
Torture a dog or cat? You could be charged with a felony under proposed Kentucky law
Under a bipartisan bill that passed a House committee on Wednesday, Kentuckians who torture a dog or cat could be charged with a felony. House Bill 103 would make it a Class D felony to torture a domestic dog or cat. Two members of the House Standing Committee on Judiciary passed and 15 voted in […]
Bipartisan bill would clear way for distribution of fentanyl test strips in Kentucky
FRANKFORT — Fentanyl test strips could no longer be considered drug paraphernalia in Kentucky under a bipartisan bill that passed a House committee Wednesday. The House Standing Committee on Judiciary approved the measure 17-0, with three members passing House Bill 353, sponsored by Reps. Kimberly Poore Moser, R-Taylor Mill and Rachel Roberts, D-Newport, states: “Testing […]
Bill to ensure proper reporting of child abuse in Kentucky advances
FRANKFORT – A state Senate bill aimed at closing gaps in Kentucky’s child abuse reporting unanimously passed out of committee Tuesday morning. Senate Bill 229 “ensures the reporting of child abuse or neglect is properly communicated to the appropriate external agencies,” the primary sponsor, Julie Raque Adams, R-Louisville, told her colleagues in the Senate Families […]