General Assembly 2024 Week 2 Recap
To comment on bills: Call the General Assembly’s toll-free message line at 1-800-372-7181. The Message line is open Monday thru Thursday from 7AM-9PM and Fridays from 7AM-6PM. You may also email lawmakers anytime.
To date at the conclusion of this second week of the General Assembly, KCC has reviewed approximately 400 bills and well over 100 resolutions. We update our bill list each Friday, and encourage our members to review that list and contact the listed lawmaker or committee where the bill resides to comment on legislation.
A “Hawkish” response on Senate Bill 59
With only two weeks down in the legislative session, we’ve already seen a fair bit of fireworks, particularly related to Senate Bill 59 (G. Boswell). The bill has been assigned to the Senate Natural Resources & Energy committee, and you may contact the committee and the bill sponsor to comment (see information above for how to comment on bills). The bill has already been covered by several news outlets including this opinion piece in Outdoor Life, which is representative of similar articles on this bill.
We reached out to the Dept. of Fish and Wildlife Resources on SB 59, where they provided the following statement:
“We became aware of Senate Bill 59 when it was filed, just like the general public. This is not an initiative of the department, nor is it supported by department leadership.”
“The Migratory Bird Treaty Act, in existence for over a century, prohibits the killing of protected migratory birds. In cases where a protected bird species is causing damage, such as instances of black vulture depredation on livestock, lethal control measures require a federal permit under the purview of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and should be considered a last resort after non-lethal deterrents have been tried.”
“Surveys that collect data on both of these species show their numbers are stable. We have no information that would indicate that there is an overpopulation of these birds. Hawks play an important role in the overall health and balance of our ecosystem.”
The Kentucky birding groups, including several chapters of Audubon, the Beckham Bird Club, and many participants on Kentucky-based birding listservs came out in force upon hearing about the bill, in addition to the above statement from Fish & Wildlife Resources. The bill has not yet been heard in committee, however we encourage you to request that the bill be withdrawn.
KY DFWR also had comments on one of Senator Boswell’s other bills, Senate Bill 60, and we have posted their full statement on that bill at the end of today’s blog.
New Bill Highlights
We were pleased to see several bills re-filed this week that we strongly support. We want to make particular note of House Bill 180 (Willner) dealing with utility disconnections. While the bill is the same from last year, it comes out of the gate with bipartisan co-sponsors. The bill has not yet been assigned to committee, however we urge you to thank both Rep. Willner and Rep. Nemes to express your support on this bill. KCC is part of the Kentuckians for Energy Democracy coalition who will also be working on educating the public about the issue of utility disconnects.
We were also pleased to see the re-filing of two bills from Rep. Tackett Lafferty impacting Black Lung patients: House Bill 209 which impacts workers who have been exposed to Black Lung (occupational pneumoconiosis) and House Bill 210, which reverses the legislation passed several sessions ago that only allows board certified pulmonary specialists to diagnose black lung patients.
For a full analysis of all the new bills introduced and reviewed by KCC this week, please go to the blue buttons at the top of this page for our comprehensive House and Senate lists.
Register NOW! KCC Legislative Summit, January 21,
We hope to see you at KCC’s 2024 Legislative Summit and Annual Meeting. Registration for this legislative event is is at this link! You can join us in person or virtual. Special Keynote by the Chairman of the Kentucky Public Service Commission, Kent Chandler.
This year’s Summit will include the latest information on conservation and environmental issues that are important to Kentuckians. We are planning to have sessions on electric vehicles, land conservation funding, and the impacts on our waterways from PFAS chemicals as just a few of our many topics. We will also be providing the resources you need to be an effective advocate for the environment during this year’s General Assembly.
Additional Background on SB 60: Statement from the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources
After initial review, department leadership does not support the changes proposed in Senate Bill 60.
Hunter education certification is not required to purchase a hunting license in Kentucky. To clarify, a person must complete a hunter education course if they were born after 1974 and are not license exempt. Exemptions are listed in the hunting guides (regulations summaries) published by the department.
The department offers a temporary (1-year) Hunter Education Exemption Permit to encourage people interested in hunting to give it a try under immediate supervision of a qualified mentor. When it expires, hunters are no longer eligible for the exemption and must successfully complete a hunter education course to hunt legally in Kentucky.
To obtain Kentucky hunter education certification, a person must attend a course in-person or online, correctly answer at least 80 percent of the questions on an exam and safely participate in a department-sanctioned live-fire exercise unless exempted. In-person courses and live-fire exercises are administered at no charge to the public by certified volunteer instructors and department staff.
In 2022, Senate Bill 241 added provisions that exempt persons currently serving in the U.S. Armed Forces, veterans of the Armed Forces who were discharged or released under conditions other than dishonorable and Kentucky peace officers from the live-fire exercise component of the hunter education course requirement. Senate Bill 60 proposes removing those exceptions.
Hunter education courses cover firearm safety, bowhunting, wildlife conservation, proper care of harvested game, responsible hunting, landowner relations, wildlife identification, basic first aid and more.
Statistics support the efficacy of hunter education, both in Kentucky and nationally. Kentucky collaborates with the International Hunter Education Association and the other 49 states to provide the best hunter education programs possible.
Over the past five decades, we have seen significant decreases in hunting-related injury rates, despite increases in populations of deer, wild turkey, elk, geese and other game species.
Hunting is a safer activity because of hunter education.
Providing excellent opportunities for hunting in Kentucky is part of the department’s mission, and helping equip Kentuckians with the know-how to hunt safely and ethically is one of our greatest responsibilities at Fish and Wildlife.