Published: April 05, 2007 10:58 pm            

Senator Borders reports

April 4, 2007 — This past Tuesday marked the end of the 30-day General Assembly Session. Overall, it was a success because the legislature passed bills on protecting social workers, mine safety, worker training, raising the minimum wage, and reducing local jail costs.



Under legislation passed by the Senate and House, $6 million will go to increasing social worker safety through evaluating and upgrading offices. The Boni Bill, named after a social worker aide who was killed in the line of duty, will also allow local police officers to be hired to accompany workers on riskier visits and provide funding for additional social workers.



The Governor signed our plan to increase the number of mine safety inspectors. HB 207 will provide multi-gas detectors to miners in groups of two or more, the foreman, fireboss, and anyone working alone and one gas detector at the face of the mine for anyone working there. These men and women hold dangerous jobs and provide a service to us. Their safety should be paramount.



Looking at local needs, the General Assembly also passed legislation which increased the minimum wage, provided $8 million to be used on worker training statewide, and provided relief to our local jails which are struggling with the high costs of healthcare. HB 191 will help counties control the skyrocketing jail costs through several measures such as transferring a sick prisoner who requires specialized medical care to a state facility with the state responsible for that care and allowing local jails to utilize the Department of Corrections contract pharmacy, medical, dental, and psychological care access plans.



Unfortunately, some matters were also left unresolved. A point I feel very strongly about is assisting military families. These servicemen and women have been summoned by their country on deployments longer than anyone anticipated. These long absences cost families emotionally as well as financially as mothers and fathers have had to leave their businesses and children. On the last day of the session, Adjutant General Donald Storm of the Kentucky National Guard spoke to the Senate to thank us for passing legislation exempting all military including active duty, Reserve, and National Guard members from Kentucky income tax after January 1, 2008. He spoke of the 30,000 soldiers stationed at Ft. Campbell, 15,000 at Ft. Knox, and more than 8,200 reservists who are part of all our communities. General Storm received a standing ovation from Republicans and Democrats for his moving words. It is a matter of intense distress to me that the House of Representatives did not pass similar legislation. We shouldn’t wait for death to do the right thing and as far as I am concerned, if we need to get money from our military to pay for things we really don’t need, that is a sorry state of affairs.



The Senate also passed several pro-life bills, one strengthening our informed-consent statute for women thinking of terminating their pregnancies and the other offering these women information on fetal pain and anesthesia. Substantial research confirms that human fetuses as young as 20 weeks gestation can and do react to painful or negative stimuli. As with any invasive medical procedure, the patient should be provided with as full as information as possible before making a decision.



Finally, I expect the Senate again to take up the cause of our weakened state retirement plans which are demanding more and more of the state tax dollars. In an overwhelmingly bipartisan manner this session, the Senate passed a proposal to preserve the benefits for current state employees and retirees while providing the peace of mind to future employees that their retirement is also secure. The plan would have no effect on teachers, current or future, other than bolstering their own retirement plan. As the Chairman of the Appropriations and Revenue Committee, I can tell you that this is a serious problem as the fund balance in the state employee retirement account by 2022 will be zero and will cost the state $2 billion annually for pension benefits alone.



Unless called to Special Session which I do not anticipate without prior agreement between the House and the Senate on the pension proposal, the General Assembly will convene for the 60-day session in January 2008 where we will have to begin the work of a new budget. Between now and then, the committees will be holding interim meetings to research any new issues and review past ones. I thank everyone who has contacted me during this session and encourage everyone to call my office toll-free at 800/372-7181 with any questions or concerns or if there is anything I can do.

        

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