the guy from survivor did WHAT now?!
the whole legalizing incest thing was just an accident, he swears
Dear email servers and/or employers: I come in peace and in the name of journalism! Please do not flag this email because it talks about having sex with your cousins! I do not control the news cycle!
~Money, money, money~
The Republicans dropped their much-awaited budget proposals Tuesday, yee-haw.
There are, like, nine budget bills filed between the Dems and Republicans — you can access them all here. Republicans dominate Kentucky’s legislature, so the GOP-sponsored bills are the ones to focus on.
If you are like me and want to just think about one budget bill, House Bill 6 would be the one. Now, the bill is around 250 pages long, and I’m still processing it, but here are some immediate takeaways. (They will focus on education funding, shocking, I know, totally off-brand for me.)
No to across-the-board teacher raises, but yes to small bumps in per-student funding.
The GOP proposal would move the SEEK per-student rate to $4,368 next school year and to $4,455 the year after — both up from the current $4,200.
Gov. Andy Beshear’s budget proposal called for a SEEK rate of $4,368 plus 11% raises for staff.
While the aforementioned raises are not provided, they are explicitly encouraged.
Districts are lowkey expected to use the small increases in funding to fund staff raises, despite the fact that the new funding bumps likely won’t be even remotely enough to fund meaningful raises.
If districts do not make adequate progress in addressing staff shortages, they may face mergers, state takeovers and/or individual school closures, HB 6 says.
Transportation funding is slowly coming back, with HB 6 funding about 80% of district transportation costs next year and 90% the following year.
State Auditor Allison Ball is slated to get at least $750,000 to audit JCPS.
Oh, and schools and districts must start publicly posting their test scores online. And KDE must post a list of every school in the state ranked from best to worst.
Outside of education funding, Austin Horn at the Herald-Leader has a nice look at the winners and losers of the budget bills as they currently exist.
I’ll keep going through the budget over the next few days. If there is something specific you’re interested in re: the budget, let me know and I’ll try to get some answers for you. I’m at olivia.krauth@gmail.com.
“Safer Kentucky” act to face first hurdle
House Bill 5, a sweeping public safety bill backed by more than 40 Republicans, is scheduled to be heard in committee Thursday afternoon.
It is basically the first big-and-controversial bill to start moving during the 2024 session. It is entirely possible there will be a committee substitute of the bill — a new version of the bill that lawmakers actually want the committee to vote on and often isn’t publicly available ahead of the meeting — but, for now, here’s a rundown of some of what it does:
Cracks down on homelessness, including making “unlawful camping” a crime.
Creates a “three strike” rule that blocks those with three violent felonies from getting parole.
Makes carjacking a Class B felony.
Regulates charitable bail organizations, including limiting when they can post bail and capping the amount they can provide.
Requires at least one parent or guardian to attend a minor’s court hearings or face fines and commuity service.
HB 5 is already facing criticism from groups including the ACLU of Kentucky and the Kentucky Center for Economic Policy, plus advocates working with the homeless.
… let’s talk about incest!
For those of you who (luckily) missed the last 24+ hours of the Kentucky politics news cycle, allow me to explain.
So, on Tuesday, Rep. Nick Wilson, R-Williamsburg, filed some bills. As one does. I perused said bills, again, as one does, to find the now infamous House Bill 269, which would have made it technically, legally OK for you to have sex with your cousin without it being considered incest.
It may not surprise you to know that The Internet had some thoughts about this proposal. (It, however, appears to not have hit the Survivor subreddit yet, which I’ve been told has a history of being a fun time re: Wilson’s political career.) (Oh, yeah, right, now is a good time to mention the fact that Wilson was not only on Survivor a few years ago, but won his season.)
Wilson blamed the whole thing on a drafting error and promised to withdraw the bill ASAP and refile a bill doing what he actually wanted to do — add language to extend the definition of incest to types of sexual contact outside of intercourse. Which he did Wednesday afternoon. (He told The Messenger that he actually intended to remove the cousins language, saying he was “overthinking” it, and should’ve added the words back in after he cut them during the drafting process.)
At least two lawmakers were laughing and/or smirking in the background of the KET livestream as he formally asked to withdraw the bill on the House floor, and the House literally applauded when he finally withdrew the bill. The new bill is House Bill 289.
The rest of the week
Thursday is a jam-packed day, so buckle up.
Thursday:
There are a total of 10 committee meetings scheduled as of this writing, starting at 8 a.m. with the House Economic Development and Workforce Development Committee and ending with the House Judiciary Committee at some point after both chambers adjourn for the day. Here’s what I’ll be keeping an eye on:
Senate Education at 11 a.m. — They’re discussing Senate Bill 7, which would let KEES money go to students at noncertified schools (aka homeschoolers).
House Judiciary at ?? — This is when they’ll discuss HB 5. The committee will meet after both the House and Senate are done for the day, so think maybe around 3 or 3:30 p.m.
Beshear is holding his weekly Team Kentucky update at 12:30 p.m. He’ll likely address the new GOP budget proposal.
As per usual, the House and Senate are expected to gavel in at 2 p.m.
FYI: If you’re coming to Frankfort for the House Judiciary Committee/HB 5 vote, the meeting itself will be in room 149 of the Capitol Annex and the overflow room will be room 154.
Friday:
The House and Senate should gavel in at 9 a.m. Not expecting any committee meetings as of rn.
Assorted other things
A few bills tied to housing and the rights of renters have started to move.
Senate Bill 25, which would prohibit local governments from requiring landlords to accept Section 8, passed out of committee Wednesday.
House Bill 18, which would do something similar, is scheduled for a committee vote Thursday.
Senate Bill 10, which would ask voters to move Kentucky’s constitutional officer elections to presidential election years, cleared the Senate Wednesday on a 26-9 vote. Off to the House.
Goodbye, goodbye, goodbye to KY GOP spokesperson Sean Southard, who has decided to flee the state for *checks notes* Montana. Toodles, bestie! (For legal purposes, that last sentence is a joke.)
Where to find my work
Once again:
The Gallery Pass, obvs.
Twitter is my go-to spot for live updates. I am also on Threads, but I don’t update it as much as I do Twitter (aka I do not “thread”).
TikTok is for bill explainers + answering questions. (Outfit posts to maybe eventually arrive.)
Instagram is very much for the aesthetic.
LEO Weekly will be home for all of my full-length, original reporting.
As always, please continue telling other folks to subscribe to this newsletter.
ok, byeeee!