(Frankfort) – The Kentucky State Senate addressed more serious issues during the second week of the 2002 regular session of the General Assembly. We in the Senate also passed several pieces of legislation that encompasses sound public policy for the Commonwealth. Senate Bill 66, which deals with merged volunteer fire departments, was passed by the Senate on Friday and now goes to the State House for consideration. Senate Bill 66 strives to provide better fire protection for the hundreds of thousands of Kentuckians who rely on Volunteer Fire Departments to protect their lives and property. This bill restructures the way state money is doled out to volunteer departments. The bill is designed not to financially punish fire departments that merge but rather to make the merger process smoother. In many cases a higher quality of service can be provided by a merged volunteer fire department. The Senate, under Republican leadership, also passed two other substantive pieces of legislation during the week. Senate Bill 25, sponsored by Senate Majority Floor Leader Dan Kelly, increases the penalties for possession of the drug so flunitrazepam, known by the trade name of Rohypnol from a misdemeanor to a felony. The drug is typically known as “roofies” or the “date rape drug” on the streets. There is no legal medical use for this drug and the abuse of the drug is on the increase. The second piece of legislation passed by the Senate was a consumer protection measure dealing with the Board of Dentistry. Senate Bill 11, sponsored by Senate President Pro Tempore Dick Roeding. Senate Bill 11 grants the Board of Dentistry the same authority as every other professional board in Kentucky. That means the board would have the authority to immediately and temporarily suspend the license of a dentist, for just cause. This bill gives the board that authority if the action would be necessary in the public interest to stop, prevent, or avoid an immediate danger to the public health, safety or welfare. Forty of the fifty states have already granted this authority to their Dental Boards. Senate committee meeting rooms were very busy during the week. In various committees, we were afforded the opportunity to explore issues and determine whether they merit consideration by the full Senate. With a budget crunch likely to cast a shadow over a good number of issues throughout the session, we are closely following reports on the state’s financial condition. We got a clearer glimpse Kentucky’s outlook last week as one of the state’s budget director came before the Senate’s Appropriations and Revenue Committee to discuss the challenges lawmakers will face as we put together the state’s next two-year spending plan. Education garnered a lot of attention last week as members of the Senate Education committee passed legislation aimed at improving schools by making sure they offer advanced placement courses to ensure gifted students have a challenging curriculum. Currently, only 60 percent of Kentucky high schools offer at least one advanced placement course. After two weeks of work,
the 2002 session continues to pick up momentum. The number of issues we
look at each day will continue increasing in the weeks to come, so this
is an important time for lawmakers to reach out to the people we serve
to ask for your feedback on the issues confronting our commonwealth. If
you have a comment on an issue, I hope you’ll share your thoughts with
my by calling the General Assembly’s toll-free message line at 1-800-372-7181.
You can also keep up with legislative action by browsing the legislature’s
Website at www.lrc.state.ky.us.
I encourage you to stay informed
on the issues being discussed during the session. One excellent resource
is the Legislative Research Commission website. The address is www.lrc.state.ky.us.
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