Successful bills awairing Governor Bevin’s signature

As we wrapped up the 12th week of the Kentucky General Assembly’s 2016 session, debate and consensus was reached on many issues facing the commonwealth. As is typical in the home stretch of a legislative session, the bills moved fast and furiously through chambers with many bills arriving on the Governor’s desk awaiting his signature.

Three of my bills that I worked tirelessly on this session have successfully passed both chambers and now await Governor Bevin’s signature. Please find below a summary of those three bills, as well a brief summary of other bills that passed through the Senate this week.

Senate Bill (SB) 33 would require that all public high school students in grades 9-12 receive a one-time, hands-on, 30-minute CPR training course before they graduate from high school. The training can be administered in a physical education, health, or Junior ROTC course. I cannot think of any better “life skill” training than one that could literally save lives in the commonwealth.

SB 117 can best be described as a bill that declared victory for the “little guy” over corporate America. This commonsense bill will ensure fairness and is one that I am proud to have sponsored. In hometown communities across the state, independent pharmacists not only dispense needed medication, but are also a trusted source of information and guidance for the personal health and wellness of thousands of Kentuckians.

That is why I was troubled to find that these independent pharmacists have been consistently underpaid as a result of the unfair business practices of pharmacy benefit managers or “PBMs.” They are the middlemen who connect pharmaceutical manufacturers to insurance companies and the beneficiaries they cover. In many cases, local pharmacists lose money as a result of PBMs reimbursing them less than the cost of the medication, some using a business model that relies on circumventing state laws to shortchange small businesses. That has no place in Kentucky.

This status quo is unsustainable, unfair, and threatens the ability of independent pharmacists to continue severing our communities.

To rectify this problem, I brought together pharmacists, PBMs, the Cabinet for Health & Family Services, and legislators to work co-operatively to find a solution. Many months of diligent negotiation resulted in SB 117. This bill requires PBMs to follow the law in reimbursement pricing for medications. It also empowers the Kentucky Department of Insurance to enforce commonsense regulations on PBMs, such as setting up an impartial formal mechanism for PBMs and pharmacists to settle drug pricing disputes. SB 117 establishes all these needed reforms without increasing costs to the state or consumers.

House Bill (HB) 309 is an economic development tool that would allow Kentucky to join 35 other states in using a public-private partnership, also known as a P3. This is not a funding source, but rather a financing tool that is greatly needed during our state’s tough economic times to fund various projects. Local economies have suffered from a lack of investment in transportation infrastructure that have isolated them from the centers of commerce and stunted outside private investment.

P3s would allow for the state as well as local governments to tap into private capital to make the badly needed improvements to our infrastructure while pursuing a fiscally responsible state budget. I have worked across the aisle in a bipartisan manner this session with Representative Leslie Combs (D-Pikeville) to push forward this legislation and show companies and entrepreneurs across the country that Kentucky is “open for business.” P3s are good for local governments, good for transportation, and good for our Kentucky state parks.

It is a true “win-win” for the people of Kentucky and provides the necessary oversight and protection of our taxpayer dollars. Among the safeguards set in place with this legislation is the requirement that state projects costing more than $25 million or mega transportation projects costing more than $100 million be approved by the General Assembly as well as the establishment of a Kentucky Local Government Public-Private Partnership Board to review P3 deals with local governments that are at a cost above 30% of the local government’s budget.

Additionally:

· SB 299 is a proposed constitutional amendment that would give the Kentucky General Assembly, if approved by the Kentucky voters, the ability to set parameters to allow people convicted of certain low-level felonies the restoration of their right to vote. This amendment would be put on the ballot statewide in November in order to give the citizens of Kentucky the right to decide.

· HB 59 would help protect victims of violence by making it harder for their abusers to obtain their current address of residence.

· HB 38 would establish regulations for zip lines, a growing attraction across our state, in order to create universal safety standards for the popular pastime.

· HB 115 would encourage the diagnosis and treatment of colon cancer across Kentucky.

· HB 4 would increase the penalties for trafficking in synthetic drugs.

· HB 184 would provide an alternative principal selection process for county school districts in a county with a consolidated local government.

Please note: some of the bill summaries provided in this editorial are supplied by LRC staff. I have read them over and selected the information most relevant to you. They are included with the drafter’s permission.

If you have any questions or comments about these issues or any other public policy issue, please feel free to call me toll-free at 1-800-372-7181 or e-mail me at Max.Wise@LRC.ky.gov . You can also review the legislature’s work online at www.lrc.ky.gov .

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.