Kentucky News Now – March 21st 2014

ABORTION

Kentucky House panel halts 3 abortion access bills

FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — A Kentucky House panel has halted three Republican-sponsored bills that would regulate abortion access statewide.

Two of the measures would have required a woman seeking an abortion to undergo an ultrasound, without exemption for rape victims.

The third bill would have required a woman to be physically present during a consultation with an abortion provider instead of consulting over the phone.

Testifying on behalf of the bills were representatives from the Kentucky Right to Life Association.

Opponents of the bills included committee Chairman Tom Burch, a Louisville Democrat, and representatives from the Kentucky American Civil Liberties Union.

The bills were voted down along party lines in the committee after a contentious debate.

STATE PARKS-ALCOHOL

Ky. lawmakers wrap up work on alcohol-related bill

FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — Kentucky lawmakers have wrapped up work on a bill aimed at allowing local-option elections on whether to legalize alcohol sales at more state parks.

The state Senate passed the measure Thursday, sending it to Gov. Steve Beshear for his consideration. The bill previously passed the House.

House Speaker Pro Tem Larry Clark says his bill would be a way for state parks to raise more revenue.

Most state parks and golf courses are in counties where alcohol sales are prohibited.

The bill would allow residents of precincts where state park lodges or golf courses are situated to petition for the local-option elections. The ballot issue would be whether to allow alcohol to be sold by the drink at the local park or golf course.

LOCAL SALES TAX

House speaker supports local option sales tax

FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — A proposal to let local governments charge a 1 percent sales tax is still alive in the Kentucky legislature after Democratic Gov. Steve Beshear convinced House Speaker Greg Stumbo to support it.

Stumbo announced his decision after a private meeting with Beshear on Thursday. He said the House could vote on the bill Thursday or Friday.

Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer has lobbied hard for the bill, saying it is the best way for Kentucky's local governments to pay for their own projects without asking the state for money. Kentucky retailers are opposed to the bill because it would raise their prices.

Kentucky already imposes a 6 percent sales tax, which brings in about $3 billion annually.

JUVENILE JUSTICE

Juvenile justice bill clears Ky. Senate

FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — A bill aimed at locking up fewer Kentucky children in juvenile detention centers has passed the state Senate by a wide margin.

Sen. Whitney Westerfield says the bill is the best step taken in decades to improve the state's juvenile justice system.

The Hopkinsville Republican says the current system is ineffective and costly.

The measure passed the Senate on a 31-7 vote Thursday. It now goes to the House for consideration.

A major thrust of the bill is to steer more young offenders toward community-based treatment as an alternative to detention.

The bill would allow youths accused of misdemeanors or lesser felonies to avoid detention time, unless they committed sex or weapons crimes or had one prior offense.

KENTUCKY COAL

House panel advances bill to save power plant

FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — A House panel has approved a bill designed to save about 80 jobs at a coal-fired power plant in eastern Kentucky.

But the president of Kentucky Power said if the plant stays open, the company would have to raise power rates by 30 percent.

Democratic Rep. Rocky Adkins of Sandy Hook sponsored the bill that would force the Kentucky Public Service Commission to reconsider its decision to allow Kentucky Power to close the Big Sandy Power Plant in Louisa. Kentucky Power President Greg Pauley told lawmakers it would cost $1 billion to retrofit the power plant — a cost the company would pass on to its customers.

The committee approved the bill Thursday on a 12-2 vote, with five lawmakers voting "pass."

SOLDIERS RETURN

Soldiers returning to Fort Campbell on Friday

FORT CAMPBELL, Ky. (AP) — Another plane loaded with soldiers who have been serving in Afghanistan is headed home to Fort Campbell on Friday.

The post on the Kentucky-Tennessee state line says about 60 soldiers from Battery B, 2nd Battalion, 44th Air Defense Artillery Regiment, 101st Sustainment Brigade, 101st Airborne Division are expected for a welcome home ceremony Friday afternoon.

The unit provided counter-rocket, artillery and mortar support for coalition forces during a nine-month deployment. Family, friends and fellow soldiers are expected at the ceremony at the post.

JOBLESS RATE

Ky. unemployment rate climbs to 7.8 percent

FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — Kentucky's unemployment rate has inched upward again.

The state Office of Employment and Training says the seasonally adjusted preliminary unemployment rate for February was 7.8 percent, up from a revised 7.7 percent in January but 0.4 percentage point below the 8.2 percent rate in February 2013.

The agency said U.S. Labor Department records show the U.S. seasonally adjusted rate also rose 1 percentage point from 6.6 percent in January to 6.7 percent in February.

Kentucky's leisure and hospitality sector rose by 1,900 jobs in February, manufacturing added 1,600 positions and the educational and health services sector rose by 600 positions.

Meanwhile, the professional and business services sector lost 3,600 jobs in February, the financial activities sector fell by 1,300 jobs and the construction sector lost 300 jobs.

KENTUCKY EXECUTIONS-FOLEY

Ky high court rejects appeal from prolific killer

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — The Kentucky Supreme Court has unanimously rejected a claim that new evidence cast doubt on two murder convictions of most prolific killer on Kentucky's death row.

The high court on Thursday ruled that an expert witness for 57-year-old Robert Carl Foley merely re-examined old evidence and witness statements in the deaths of brothers Rodney and Lynn Vaughn in 1991 but didn't present anything not previously known.

Foley claimed a firearms expert's examination shows he acted in self-defense when he shot the brothers in Laurel County 23 years ago.

Along with the Vaughns, Foley was convicted of killing four other people in eastern Kentucky in 1989 and 1991.

SEX OFFENDER-BAR EXAM

Ky. court rejects rehearing in sex offender case

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — The Kentucky Supreme Court has turned away a request from a convicted sex offender to reconsider his bid to take the bar exam and become a practicing lawyer.

The seven justices on Thursday unanimously rejected a rehearing in the case of Guy Padraic Hamilton-Smith.

The case is the first of its kind in Kentucky. The court in December declined Hamilton-Smith's bid and a move by the state Office of Bar Admissions to create and endorse a blanket rule that would have kept all registered sex offenders from gaining access to the bar.

Hamilton-Smith was convicted of a charge related to child pornography in 2007. He graduated in the top third of his class from the University of Kentucky law school but has not been allowed to take the bar exam.