The Halfway Mark
How to Contact Your Legislators here
Legislative Message Line to comment on bills: 1-800-372-7181, M-F from 7AM-6PM or email here!
The end of this week marks the 16th day of the 30-day session of the General Assembly “short session.” This week also marked the deadline for House and Senate members to file bills. Lawmakers now have twelve more working days to move bills before the Governor’s Veto Period, which begins on Saturday, March 15th.
Bills will be moving quickly now, as will bill amendments— so if you have not yet commented on bills of concern to you, we urge you to please do so. Please review the bill lists that are linked at the top of this page, and then MAKE THOSE CALLS AND SEND THOSE EMAILS!
New Bill Highlights:
There have been several bills filed this session dealing with land use, planning and zoning, but this week we reviewed two bills in particular that were focused on eminent domain and land use issues which placed particular emphasis on restricting solar farms. We urge you to read our full descriptions on House Bill 630 (R. Bivens) and Senate Bill 171 (S. West) at the links above for our positions this week on these bills and read the full details of each. For those who have been following KCC on the various debates over large-scale solar developments and land use, we tend to prefer more of a site-specific approach utilizing the latest “best practices” when considering if a solar project is compatible with a community and its goals, rather than sweeping restrictions. You can find good information on KCC’s solar webpage, which also includes links to our Citizen’s Resource Guide on Large-Scale Solar, as well as information on how to address wildlife impacts and land use.
Another new bill this week that we are strongly opposing is House Bill 701, (A. Bowling) a crypto-mining bill which is likely modeled after many “right to mine” bills that have been proposed across the country. The bill requires the "local zoning" for a crypto-mining business not to be changed from its original designation without going through the notice and comment process established by the local government. It also prohibits local zoning changes that discriminate against a digital asset mining business. We have reported many times on the significant impacts of certain crypto-mining operations, including energy use, water use, and impacts from noise. We urge you to read our full description on our bill list, review our web pages with resources on cryptocurrency and the Environment, and then call to oppose this bill.
And for some good news— we were pleasantly surprised to see a bill that has our strong support, House Bill 640 (J. Gooch) which authorizes the Energy and Environment Cabinet to promulgate administrative regulations to prevent the spread of invasive, non-native plant species. That bill has not yet been assigned to committee.
Bills On the Move:
We wanted to highlight Senate Bill 8 (R. Stivers) (Oppose) A fast-moving bill that was introduced in the Senate on Tuesday, immediately assigned to Senate Natural Resources & Energy, but has also been given two readings in the Senate and returned to the committee. So the bill should be able to move quickly through the Senate and to the House next week. This is a comprehensive bill to re-form the Public Service Commission, and while many items in the bill have been in discussion for some time—such as having more internal expertise and capacity for the agency—and would otherwise be welcome, the bill itself takes on a decidedly partisan approach to its reforms. Read more in this article from the Kentucky Lantern, and then please review our bill description in our full bill list. To act on this bill, please direct your calls to the Senate Natural Resources Committee and ask them to “oppose Senate Bill 8.”
We also ask that you continue your action to stop House Bill 137, that would restrict air quality monitoring. This bill passed the House on Wednesday on a vote of 73-16 and is now in the Senate Committee on Committees. ACT: Contact that committee and ask them to “Hold House bill 137.” More info here.
Keep the Pressure On:
We want to thank everyone for their fast action for your calls and emails on Senate Bill 89, (Strong Oppose) which would change and limit the definition of regulated waters in the Commonwealth. The bill passed the Senate on a vote of 30-5 and has now been received in the House, however the bill has still not been assigned to a committee in the House—likely due to the public pressure around this bill. More on the bill here.
ACT: Continue to call House Leadership and ask them to “hold Senate Bill 89.” And then call your Representative and tell them to protect Kentucky’s waterways and “Oppose Senate Bill 89.” And finally, spread the word about this bill. Please also THANK Senators Chambers-Armstrong, Herron, Thomas and Yates for voting against the bill in the Senate.