By Tom Latek
Kentucky Today
Members of the General Assembly wrapped up the 42nd day of the 60-day 2024 regular session on Friday and headed home for the weekend, but not before approving several pieces of legislation.
Among bills acted upon in the House, the approval of House Bill 513, which would give lawmakers the final decision on whether anything can be removed or permanently added in the Capitol Rotunda, taking the power away from the Historic Properties Advisory Commission. The vote was 77-17.
Kentucky Senate in session Friday (Photo from Kentucky Today)
HB 472 allows the appointment by the circuit court of a receiver for a planned community that fails to maintain the infrastructure, common area, storm water detention or retention area, or other facility that it is legally obligated to maintain; and let a city recover funds expended to repair, renovate, maintain, or otherwise bring violations up to code. It passed 95-0.
HB 596,which was approved 93-1, makes changes to the process whereby cities can annex land located in unincorporated areas.
HB 475, dealing with medical services in jails and prisons, removes the prohibition that an entity that provides medical, dental, psychological, or pharmacy services to the Department of Corrections and local jails cannot also provide claims management or plan evaluation services. It passed 95-0.
HB 446, which was approved 93-1, is designed to give school bus drivers more input into proceedings that involve student misconduct on buses.
HB 447 allows school districts to use smaller vehicles, carrying nine or fewer students, and not requiring the drivers of those vehicles to possess a commercial driver’s license, although they must still pass a drug screen. The vote was 92-1.
All those bills now head to the Senate.
The Senate was in session for only a short time on Friday to allow their members to attend the funeral service for the father of Sen. David Givens, R-Greensburg.
Before adjourning, they adopted Senate Joint Resolution 175, directing the Public Service Commission to promulgate emergency administrative regulations on utility pole attachments for broadband service providers that will address the backlog of pole attachment requests and establish parameters for preventing delays and backlogs of requests in the future.
That measure now goes to the House for consideration.
Lawmakers will return to Frankfort on Monday afternoon.
