General Assembly not

immune to weather closings

By Max Wise, 16th District Senator

What a week of weather we have had in the Commonwealth. No part of Kentucky was spared the record-breaking snow fall and temperatures this week. As schools, businesses and many government agencies had to close, so did the General Assembly due to the hazardous weather.

However, the Senate made the decision to report to work on Thursday and Friday to do the people’s work and help pass through legislation that would be in the best interest of our citizens. First off, I just want to thank the countless number of individuals who have helped to protect and provide service from the 16th Senatorial District and beyond throughout this monstrous week of weather by braving the elements…your work goes above and beyond with my gratitude.

Ensuring safety and helping those in trouble due to the extreme conditions take priority and I hope you and your family have remained safe and secure throughout the winter storms.

Thursday was a busy day on the Senate floor as we heard bills that ranged from health care issues, freedom of expression, agriculture, and the towing industry. In all, seven bills were passed to start the short legislative week. I voted ‘yes’ on all of the following bills on the Senate floor.

Freedom of religious and political expression without the threat of censorship by school administrators is the focus of Senate Bill 71. This bill would protect students who voluntarily express these perspectives in school work, participate in affiliated groups, and who are invited to deliver speeches. This bill ensures students and groups with religious and or political affiliation have the same access and ability to express themselves as all groups, as long as they abide by the constitution.

Senate Bill 49 would require the Supreme Court to adjust the Commonwealth’s judicial circuits and districts and the judicial assignments based on population changes in the same years as legislative redistricting is required. Judicial redistricting has not been performed in Kentucky in over sixty years. Kentucky has 95 non-family circuit judges with an average caseload of 1,209 filings per year, but some circuits have almost double the average caseload. The goal of SB 49 is to reassign judgeships to growing urban areas from rural areas that are losing population.

We were also busy dealing with bills related to healthcare and the practice of medicine as they passed the Senate. Senate Bill 61 would require medical benefits to cover complete colorectal screenings for early detection of problems and diseases. We have passed legislation over the years that has reduced colon cancer rates by more than 25 percent in Kentucky, but the state still leads the nation in that potentially deadly disease.

Senate Bill 44 would set up medical synchronization so pharmacists would have knowledge of a patient’s treatment and afford the best care. This also will save money on premiums through the efficiency resulting from information sharing between doctors and pharmacists.

The senate also passed Senate Bill 78 which permits towing and storage companies to sell property recovered in an abandoned automobile to help recoup costs, and Senate Bill 106, which allows a ten percent variance on the weight of a truck transporting chickens. This provides a cushion to help agriculture producers of poultry which is now Kentucky’s #1 agriculture product.

On Friday, the Senate took up and passed Senate Bill 16 which would benefit education in the Commonwealth. Senate Bill 16 promotes computer science and computer programming classes in our schools, because of the projected future demand for related skills in the job market as well as in the national security area of cyber-security.

Lastly, in order to promote a better environment for the mentally ill, we also approved Senate Bill 51, which relates to the duty to take precautions against a patient’s violent behavior, to expand the definition of “patient” to include persons currently under the care or treatment of mental health professionals.

All of these bills now move to the House for their consideration. If you have any questions or comments about the issues or any other public policy issue, please call me toll-free at 1-800-372-7181. You can also review the Legislature’s work online at www.lrc.ky.gov or you can follow me on Twitter at @maxwellwise or on FaceBook.

Senator Max Wise (R-Campbellsville) represents the 16th District which encompasses Adair, Clinton, Cumberland, McCreary, Russell, Taylor, and Wayne counties. Senator Wise serves as Chair of the Senate Enrollment Committee; Vice Chair of Education Committee; and a member of Appropriations and Revenue Committee;; Economic Development, Tourism and Labor Committee; Health and Welfare Committee; and Veterans, Military Affairs, and Public Protection Committee. He also serves as chair of the Budget Review Subcommittee on Transportation and member of Budget Review Subcommittee on Education, NR, and EP.