Economy
Bill moves to let Kentucky Horse Park hire outside merit system, share in local ‘bedroom’ tax
A state legislative panel unanimously approved a bill Thursday that would allow the Kentucky Horse Park to exclude its new hires from the state merit system designed to protect employees from political influence and enable the park to share in the “bedroom tax” collected by hotels, motels and other providers of overnight lodging in Fayette […]
Senate approves bill to preserve coal-fired power generation in Kentucky
FRANKFORT —The Senate on Thursday approved a bill to keep coal-fired power plants operating in Kentucky, as supporters of the measure railed against federal overreach and the few opponents warned the bill could result in costly state overregulation of utilities. Senate Bill 4 is opposed by the state’s investor-owned utilities, who say it would prevent […]
Kentucky lawmakers advance bill to keep coal on the power grid, cite reliability concerns
FRANKFORT — Kentucky lawmakers are advancing a bill to try to keep coal-fired power plants on the state’s electric grid “for the foreseeable future,” pointing to concerns over rolling blackouts that some utilities implemented when arctic temperatures swept through in December. Senate Bill 4, sponsored by Sen. Robby Mills, R-Henderson, would prevent the Kentucky Public […]
Families are taking a hit as pandemic aid ends, inflation continues
Forty million people in the U.S. are having difficulty affording household expenses, and a little more than 25 million people say they sometimes or often do not have enough to eat, according to the U.S. Census Bureau’s most recent Household Pulse survey data. The survey is designed to collect data on household experiences during the […]
Bill addressing Kentucky’s health care workforce shortages clears committee
A Kentucky bill drafted to address the state’s health care workforce shortages easily passed a House committee Thursday. The bill, which has bipartisan support, sailed out of the House Standing Committee on Health Services with 18 yes votes and one pass. No one voted against the bill. It now goes to the House floor. House […]
Food sanitation company fined $1.5 million for illegal child labor
A company responsible for cleaning meatpacking plants across the country has paid $1.5 million in civil penalties for making children as young as 13 work in dangerous conditions. The fine, announced Friday by the U.S. Department of Labor, followed an investigation by the agency into Packers Sanitation Services Inc., at 13 plants in eight states, […]
Beshear signs Republican legislature’s income tax cut into law
FRANKFORT — Gov. Andy Beshear has signed the Republican legislature’s top priority, another cut in the state income tax, although the Democratic governor said lowering the sales tax would have helped more Kentuckians. Facing reelection this year, Beshear said in a video Friday that he decided to sign the legislation, which most Democratic lawmakers had […]
Louisville students lobby legislature to exempt period products from state sales tax
FRANKFORT — Jessica Gross has had to leave school because she started her period and didn’t have menstrual products with her. “It’s a panic situation,” said Louisville’s Gross, 16, who is a student at Mercy Academy. “It’s not the embarrassment of being on your period. It’s the way that people around you see it.” That’s […]
Proposed federal rule would lower credit card late fees
As Americans continue to struggle with high credit card rates, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has proposed a rule to help lessen some of their financial burden — in the form of lower late fees. The new rule would limit late fees to $8. Currently credit card companies can charge as high as $41 — […]
Punitive Republican policies won’t whip Kentucky into prosperity
Why must someone laid off from a job be further penalized by the state? To be denied long-established unemployment benefits? To be pressured to take an available job rather than find one that advanced a career? Yet Kentucky lawmakers decided the state must become a harsh taskmaster, snapping a whip to get people back into […]
Staffing crisis worsens, immigrants can bridge the gaps
When Margarette Nerette arrived in the United States from Haiti, she sought safety and a new start. The former human rights activist feared for her life in the political turmoil following the military coup that overthrew President Jean-Bertrand Aristide in 1991. Leaving her two small children with her sister in Port-au-Prince, Nerette, then 29, came […]
Video will help Kentuckians understand new unemployment insurance rules
Kentucky legal aid offices have released a video to help people who are out of work understand changes to the unemployment insurance system that took effect Jan. 1. Katina Miner, advocacy director at Kentucky Legal Aid, says, “Unfortunately, this is not good news for people out of work. That’s why we want to make sure […]