Week seven marks the halfway point of session

Week seven marks the halfway point of the 2020 Regular Session of the Kentucky General Assembly. For the past couple of months, I, along with my colleagues in the Senate and House, have been working diligently to pass legislation on a wide variety of issues facing Kentuckians and our Commonwealth. With a little fewer than 30 days left in the session, we want to make sure that we are maximizing our time here in Frankfort.

The week also saw the passage of bills that touched on every aspect of Kentucky life, including a significant piece of legislation addressing how Kentucky builds and maintains roads, highways and bridges. The measure, known as Senate Bill 4, would change the way Kentucky hires its transportation secretary, a person entrusted with overseeing the state’s 167,000 lane miles of roads. That’s enough to wrap around the world almost seven times.

SB 4 would reform the hiring process by establishing the Kentucky Transportation Board. It would be responsible for submitting a list of transportation secretary candidates from which the governor would have to choose. The governor’s choice would also have to be confirmed by the Senate.

The approach to pick a transportation secretary would be similar to how the state economic development secretary has been selected for nearly three decades, supporters of SB 4 said. They added that Kentucky is one of only nine states where the governor can currently appoint the leader of the transportation department with no legislative involvement.

The board would also have several duties as related to the development of the state’s six-year road plan. SB 4 would codify a process already in place to use traffic data and other objective measurements to prioritize road projects being considered for funding in the state highway plan. The bill would not change legislators’ role in the final selection of road projects and the appropriation of funds.

The board would consist of nine voting members appointed by the governor from nominations submitted from the state’s league of cities, association of counties, and chamber of commerce. Board members would have to adhere to the executive branch’s code of ethics and have no financial interest in any contract awarded by the cabinet up to two years after they leave the board. SB 4 was amended on the Senate floor to require the board membership to reflect gender and racial diversity.

SB 4 sparked a wider conversation about prior governors, from both parties, politicizing transportation projects. Legislators recounted how roads have been built based on political patronage. Supporters of SB 4 said this has stifled economic development and, in some cases, led to dangerous roads. They added that Kentucky has a staggering backlog of needed road repairs – including 3,400 miles of guardrail requests. Kentucky’s highway fatality rate is also 33 percent higher than the national average.

Opponents of SB 4 characterized the legislation as a “power grab.” They said SB 4 would not take the politics out of road construction. The opponents argued the bill would only shift control of the powerful cabinet to pro-business groups that do not directly answer to voters.

SB 4 states one of the transportation board’s first responsibilities would be to begin the process for the selection of a cabinet secretary. The current transportation secretary could be considered for the job but wouldn’t be guaranteed a re-appointment. SB 4 passed by a 25-8 vote and has been delivered to the House of Representatives for further consideration.

Here are some of the other bills that

cleared the Senate during the week:

Senate Bill 50 would require the state Medicaid department to directly contract with a single pharmacy benefit manager, or PBM, to administer pharmacy benefits.

Supporters of SB 50 said it would curtail what they characterized as unfair business practices of some PBMs by doing these four things:

· Prohibit the contracted PBM from requiring a Medicaid recipient to obtain a so-called specialty drug from a pharmacy owned by that PBM.

· Prohibit spread pricing, a model in which the PBM charges a payer more than it reimburses the pharmacy for a drug and retains the difference.

· Require the use of pass-through pricing, a pricing model where PBMs charge payers the same amount that they reimburse pharmacies.

· Prohibit a litany of charges, labeled with a mumble jumble of names such as in-network fees, direct and indirect remuneration fees, and pre-imposed adjudication fees.

Supporters of SB 50 said spread pricing was of particular concern because it often resulted in lower reimbursement to pharmacies. In some instances, PBM payments to pharmacies were below the pharmacy’s acquisition costs of the drugs. This caused concern about the long-term viability of Kentucky’s rural, independent pharmacies that serve a high share of Medicaid patients.

SB 50 would provide transparency by requiring the contracted PBM to disclose any potential conflict-of-interest with the state Medicaid department, managed care organizations, pharmacies and other groups involved in the pharmaceutical industry. Also, the PBM would have to disclose any fees it imposes on pharmacies.

The supporters of SB 50 said amendments to the bill would protect a nearly 30-year-old federal arrangement, titled the 340B Drug Pricing Program, which requires pharmaceutical manufacturers to provide drugs to some health care organizations, such as Kentucky’s rural hospitals, at significantly reduced prices. SB 50 passed by a 33-0 vote, and I was honored to have been the primary sponsor of this bill to help our hometown pharmacies and the taxpayers of this state.

Senate Bill 91 would require the venting of smoke in operating rooms. Smoke plumes, known as surgical smoke, are created by lasers and electro-thermal devices during surgeries. It would also set fines for health care facilities that do not use surgical smoke evacuation systems.

Supporters of SB 91 said surgical smoke is a noxious haze of more than 150 chemicals, including known carcinogens. It also may contain live bacteria and viruses. They said regular exposure to surgical smoke by operating room personnel was the equivalent of smoking 27 to 30 packs of unfiltered cigarettes per day. The supporters said that fact alone could explain why operating room nurses have twice the number of respiratory issues as the general population. SB 91 passed by a 32-0 vote.

Senate Bill 103 would exempt some agricultural buildings on farms of five acres or more from certain sewage disposal and plumbing requirements. This would not include residential buildings or structures within a city’s limits. Currently, the farm has to be at least 10 acres or more to qualify for the exemption.

Supporters said reducing the size of farms eligible for the exemption would benefit the growing number of niche farms, such as organic greenhouses and apiaries, opening up in rural areas. SB 103 passed by a 32-0 vote.

Senate Bill 111 would require, upon the family’s approval, the American flag to be draped over the casket of a police officer, firefighter, emergency medical services provider, or coroner killed in the line of duty. SB 111 would apply when the first-responder’s body is returned from the medical examiner’s office. The bill also states a coroner should professionally transport the remains according to the family’s wishes. SB 111 passed by a 34-0 vote.

Senate Bill 134 would establish the Optometry Scholarship Program to provide students the opportunity to attend an optometry school and become a certified practitioner in Kentucky. A minimum of one-third of the amount spent on scholarships would be awarded to students attending the Kentucky College of Optometry at the University of Pikeville. The remaining amount could be spent on scholarships to out-of-state institutions. SB 134 would also create a trust fund for the program.

Kentucky has been awarding optometry scholarships for years. SB 134 would help insulate the scholarship program from across-the-board cuts to the state’s general fund, supporters of the measure said. They added that SB 134 also recognizes the success of Kentucky’s only optometry school, founded just four years ago in Pikeville. SB 134 passed by a 33-0 vote.

All of these bills now go to the House of Representatives for further consideration.

In addition to reaching the midpoint of the session, the other milestone achieved was reaching the deadline for legislators to request bill drafts. In the remaining weeks of the session, expect the Senate to focus more on passing House Bills that have been delivered to the chamber.

Feedback about proposed legislation, or bills that have already been introduced, can be left by visiting the Kentucky Legislature website at legislature.ky.gov, clicking on the “legislators” dropdown menu in the upper left corner and selecting “contact a member.” Those averse to computers can pick up the phone and call the Legislative Message Line at 800-372-7181. And those who still prefer snail mail can write to any legislator by sending a letter with a lawmaker’s name on it to: Legislative Offices, 702 Capital Ave., Frankfort, KY 40601-3448.

Thank you for your calls, emails, and visits to the Capitol. With more than 30 days of the legislative session behind us, our main focus will continue to be the state budget and road plan as we lay out the Commonwealth’s financial path for the next two years.

If you have any questions or comments about these issues or any other public policy issue, please call the toll-free line at 1-800-372-7181 or email me at Max.Wise@LRC.ky.gov.

Note: Senator Max Wise (R-Campbellsville) represents the 16th District which encompasses Adair, Clinton, Cumberland, McCreary, Russell, Taylor, and Wayne Counties. He is the chairman of the Education Committee; as well as co-chairman of the Education Assessment and Accountability Review Subcommittee. Senator Wise is also a member of the Senate Economic Development, Tourism and Labor Committee; the Health and Welfare Committee; the Veterans, Military Affairs, and Public Protection Committee; the Public Assistance Reform Task Force; the Budget Review Subcommittee on Economic Development and Tourism, Natural Resources and Environmental Protection, and the Budget Review Subcommittee on Transportation.