PRO-BUSINESS LEGISLATIVE VICTORIES
The following measures were considered positive by the Kentucky Chamber and were enacted into law in the 2016 session of the General Assembly.
BUDGET
HB 303 includes more than $1 billion in funding for the state’s
pension system, includes criteria for performance-based funding for
higher education, a $100 million bond for workforce development,
no cuts to K-12 education, and 4.5% cuts to higher education.
PUBLIC PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS
HB 309 provides an explicit framework for the use of public-private partnerships (P3s) as an alternative method of procurement,
construction or financing of capital projects and services by government.
FELONY EXPUNGEMENT
HB 40 allows for the expungement of some non-violent class D
felonies while providing provisions that offer protection for employers. This legislation could allow approximately 94,000 Kentuckians
to better themselves in the workforce.
HOSPITALITY MODERNIZATION
SB 11 is an omnibus measure that assists Kentucky distillers, wineries and brewers, among others, by modernizing alcohol laws thereby
putting distillers on equal footing with wineries and brewers in the
Commonwealth.
WORKERS’ COMPENSATION TASK FORCE
HCR 185 directs the LRC to establish a Workers’ Compensation Task
Force made up of equal parts business and labor to study the workers’
compensation system and make recommendations. The Kentucky
Chamber of Commerce would have a representative.
PRINCIPAL SELECTION
HB 184 improves how principals are selected in Jefferson County by giving the superintendent more flexibility in recruiting and
placement. This legislation sparked conversation about increasing
superintendent flexibility statewide.
DATA CENTERS
HB 237 allows temporary local tax exemptions for certain classes of
data centers.
OIL AND GAS TEST WELL PERMITTING
SB 188 provides a structure for permitting oil and gas test wells to
better collect data on Kentucky’s oil and gas resource. The bill is an
extension of the Oil and Gas Modernization Act passed in 2015.
One of the Kentucky Chamber’s top priorities, House Bill 309, which authorizes public-private partnerships (P3), received final passage by the House of Representatives
on March 25.
BUSINESS VOICES
“The Chamber staff was on top of every aspect of the preparation for the
session and the dynamics of the session itself. Without the clout and the
experience of the Chamber, even a common sense bill like P3, could not get
passed through such a divided legislature. Their experience and leadership
made the difference. Now Kentucky has the most comprehensive P3 infrastructure financing statute in the country.”
Warren Rogers
President
W. Rogers Company
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT BOARD
HB 216 adds a member of the National Federation of Independent
Businesses to the Kentucky Economic Development Partnership.
PUBLIC PENSION OVERSIGHT BOARD
HB 271 requires benefit information for each member or recipient
to be disclosed by the retirement systems and require the Public
Pension Oversight Board to study and provide a report by December 1, 2016, as to whether or not legislative action should be taken
to transfer administration of the Judicial Retirement Plan and the
Legislators’ Retirement Plan to the Kentucky Retirement Systems.