HB 419 comes out of Senate Committee
I think it was veteran Louisiana politician Russell Long that once said “one day the people of Louisiana are going to get good government … and they ain’t gonna like it”. With one nay and six yes votes, the people of Kentucky got good government today and it remains to be seen whether the Kentucky Senate likes it. The Land Stewardship Fund bill passed out of the Senate Natural Resources Committee after some tense debate on the use of tax dollars to fund the PACE program and the general merits of purchasing private land for any public purpose. This leaves the last, and perhaps most difficult hurdle, a vote from the full Senate. With only two days scheduled to finish Senate business and two more to deal with amendments to bills, it will take a concerted effort to get this bill posted on the orders of the day. This posting comes from Senate Leadership. It is also very possible that there will be a floor amendment filed prohibiting the use of tax dollars for the purchase of private agricultural easements. Senator Bob Leeper will likely file it. KCC along with the Kentucky Resources Council is working on possible language that might be acceptable to all parties, but the exact language has not yet been produced. An amendment not withstanding, this will be the last big push in what has been a long and difficult journey for HB 419. If you still have it in you, a blast to all the members of the Senate supporting HB 419 would be most helpful. When a certain perennial gubernatorial candidate was running back in the eighties a good friend of mine came up with her campaign slogan: “Let’s all get behind Doris and push!” Let’s all get behind HB 419 one more time and push. Thanks