New laws to be aware of

By Max Wise, 16th District Senator

Most new laws – those without emergency clauses such as this year’s heroin bill – go into effect on June 24. The Kentucky constitution requires new laws take effect 90 days after the legislative session adjourns. That means 98 bills will go into effect Wednesday. Below is a sample of some of the more universal pieces of legislation. I’ll list the bill I championed first, which was also very personal for me and my family, and one that I hope will help fight pediatric cancer.

First, SB Bill 82, which would also place check-off boxes on tax forms to give people getting state income tax refunds the option of donating a portion to funds that support child cancer research, the Special Olympics or rape crisis centers. The law will go into effect on January 1, 2016 and revenues from these donations will be available the following year. I hope this bill will help the thousands of Kentucky families fighting pediatric cancer now, and into the future.

I am happy to say that my son, who was diagnosed with cancer when he was only six months old, is now a happy, healthy and cancer-free eight-year old. This would not be possible without the power of prayer, a great team of health care providers, and the research and funding that has gone into searching for a cure to pediatric cancer.

On that subject, the month of June highlights the many “Relay for Life” events taking place across the state and nation. This is a prime time for cancer research fundraising. I highly encourage you to make a pledge to a friend, or participate in one of the relays and ask for sponsors. It is a great, easy way we can be a community and raise funds for cancer research. You can find out information at the website, http://www.cancer.org/involved/participate/relayforlife/ and donate or sign up to participate in a local event.

Other pieces of legislation from 2015:

Child abuse. SB 102 will allow a death caused by intentional abuse to be considered first-degree manslaughter.

Child booster seats. HB 315 will require booster seats to be used in motor vehicles by children who are less than eight years old and are between 40 and 57 inches in height.

Crowdfunding. HB 76 will help Kentucky entrepreneurs to gain investors through crowdfunding. The bill will allow people to invest up to $10,000 through a crowdfunding platform while helping businesses raise up to $2 million.

Drug abuse. HB 24 will prevent youth from misusing certain cough medicines to get high — sometimes called “robotripping” – by restricting access to medicines that contain dextromethorphan. The bill will prevent sales of dextromethorphan-based products, such as Robitussin-DM or Nyquil, to minors.

Drunk driving. SB 133 will expand the use of ignition interlocks for people caught driving under the influence of alcohol. An ignition interlock is a device about the size of a mobile phone that is wired into the ignition system of a vehicle. A person convicted of driving under the influence must blow into the device in order to start their vehicle. If they have a measurable amount of alcohol in their system, the vehicle will not start.

Early childhood development. HB 234 will require early child care and education programs to follow a state quality-based rating system.

Emergency responders. SB 161 will authorize the governor to order that U.S. flags be lowered to half-staff on state buildings if a Kentucky emergency responder dies in the line of duty.

End-of-life care. SB 77 will allow Kentuckians to use a health care directive known as a “medical order for scope of treatment.” These orders spell out patients’ wishes for end-of-life care. Unlike advance directives, the orders are considered to be physician’s orders and are signed by both the patient or patient’s legal surrogate, and the patient’s physician.

Hunters. SB 55 will ensure that game meat can be donated to not-for-profit organizations to feed hungry people as long as the meat was properly field dressed and processed and is considered disease-free and unspoiled.

Kentucky Employees Retirement System. HB 62 will make sure the agencies that want to leave the Kentucky Employees Retirement System pay their part of the system’s unfunded liability.

Newborn health screening. SB 75 will require newborn health screenings to include checks for Krabbe Disease, an inherited disorder that affects the nervous system.

Retirement systems. HB 47 will add the Legislators’ Retirement Plan, the Judicial Retirement Plan, and the Kentucky Teachers’ Retirement System to the Public Pension Oversight Board’s review responsibilities.

Spina bifida. SB 159 will require health care providers to give information about spina bifida and treatment options to parents whose unborn children have been diagnosed with the disorder.

Stroke care. SB 10 will improve care for stroke victims by requiring the state to make sure local emergency services have access to a list of all acute stroke-ready hospitals, comprehensive stroke centers, and primary stroke centers in Kentucky. Emergency medical services directors would be required to create protocols for assessment and treatment of stroke victims.

Telephone deregulation. HB 152 is aimed at modernizing telecommunications and allowing more investment in modern technologies by ending phone companies’ obligations to provide landline phone services to customers in urban and suburban areas if they provide service through another technology, such as a wireless or Internet-based phone service. While rural customers can keep landline phones they already have, newly constructed homes in rural areas won’t be guaranteed landline services.

On the topic of the 2015 General Assembly, I was interested to learn that Kentucky was recently highlighted as an example of a productive legislature in a well-respected national publication, Governing. In this day and age of legislative gridlock and weary voters in the U.S., the positive analysis was very encouraging.

In the article, Alan Greenblatt wrote that “there is at least one divided state that had a productive session this year, however. Legislators in Kentucky were able to reach agreement on issues such as job training, anti-drug legislation and changing the gas-tax formula. Democratic Gov. Steve Beshear tweeted that work on a domestic violence bill ‘was a paradigm for the entire session – 2 chambers & 2 political parties working together to find common ground.’”

Greenblatt also wrote that our Senate President Robert Stivers was “open to compromise.” As a freshman senator, I was pleased to see this feedback regarding my first session. I am energized to continue working with my colleagues in the House and Senate as we hear about topics affecting the Commonwealth during the Legislative Interim Period.

You can follow the activity of the committees in a variety of ways. All meetings are open to the public to attend. Also, many of these are broadcast on KET’s website, www.ket.org/publicaffairs and archived. Schedules and more information can be found at the LRC’s website, www.lrc.ky.gov .

As always, please do not hesitate to contact me so that I may better serve you in Frankfort. To voice your issues and concerns send me a message at 1-800-372-7181 or max.wise@lrc.ky.gov . Thank you for the opportunity to serve you.

Senator Max Wise (R-Campbellsville) represents the 16th District which encompasses Adair, Clinton, Cumberland, McCreary, Russell, Taylor, and Wayne counties.