Representative Report
By: Representative Tim Feeley

   The first week of legislation in the  2001 General Assembly session closed last week with renewed evidence that few major initiatives will come out of this session. The reasons are threefold. First, since this session was only authorized by ballot initiative last November, little groundwork was laid for major legislation. Secondly, at the mid-point of the state’s biennial budget cycle, few new initiatives can be started without major reprogramming of funds. Finally, the adjustment to shared political power between the House Democrats and the Senate Republicans continues to thwart several major initiatives.

As a minority member of the House, my personal ability to sponsor and pass major initiatives is severely limited this session.  Nevertheless, I have initiated three bills. The first, HB 13, is a retirement bill which would fix a quirk in Kentucky law which prevents retired police officers from full participation in retirement plans if they later run for public office. HB 13 has the full backing of the Kentucky Sheriff’s Association, as well as other law enforcement groups.

HB 105 was filed to allow additional penalties to be imposed against individuals who “drive off” without paying for gasoline. Any gas station owner will tell you that drive offs are a problem, and forces them to increase their gas prices to you and me to cover their losses.
I have also sponsored a bill, HB 249, at the request of the Kentucky School Boards Association to repair a loophole in the state’s school anti-nepotism statutes. 

This week, I plan to co-sponsor a bill with Representative Mark Treesh of Owensboro which would completely revamp the state’s income tax system, bringing it more in line with federal income tax statutes. This would have two immediate beneficial effects. First, there would be a great savings through allowing businesses and individuals to only use one system to compute their tax liability. Secondly, the increased personal exemptions of the federal system would give relief to all Kentuckians, especially the “working poor.” I hold no illusion that this tax reform bill will pass, but I hope that it helps spur movement towards a comprehensive review of the state tax code to develop a fairer system which stimulates economic growth.

Last week, I was chosen as Vice-chairman of the Jefferson County caucus. This group oversees legislation requested by Kentucky’s largest county. Although only 6% of 59th District constituents live in Jefferson County, many Oldham County families have one or more members who work in Jefferson County, and therefore pay Jefferson County occupation taxes. This position will give me a little more authority when examining legislation which will effect the entire metropolitan area. 

The 2001 General Assembly will meet daily until March 12. Any student who wishes to spend a day in Frankfort as a legislative page may contact my office for more details. Please feel free to write or call me with your opinion on these or any state issues. My Frankfort office address is Room 413B, Capitol Annex, Frankfort, KY 40601 or I can be reached toll-free at 1-800-372-7181. Locally, I can be reached at 241-7472.