Senate President Robert Stivers

Kentucky Senate Approves Electronic Voting Bill That Requires Snail Mail Returns

Rae Hodge — Wed, 27 Feb 2013 12:24:14 +0000

The state Senate has passed a bill that allows Kentucky military personnel to register to vote and receive ballots electronically—but they'll have to use snail mail to send the ballots back.

The bill's authors wanted to let deployed Kentuckians vote electronically, but State Senate President Robert Stivers doesn't believe that would be safe.

"If somebody does something to my bank book by electronic means I'll know it," he said."If I happen to get a lesser tax bill or greater tax bill I will know it. Once you cast your ballot, there's no way to know what happened to that ballot."

Bill Dealing With Medicaid Late Payments Has Support in Senate

Kenny Colston (KPR) — Mon, 25 Feb 2013 16:09:15 +0000

A bill moving Medicaid late payment claims to the Department of Insurance appears to have some support in the state Senate.

House Bill 5 would take prompt pay issues with the Medicaid managed care system and put it through the Insurance Department's current claims process. Currently, the Cabinet for Health and Family Services deal with late claims.

House Leaders Considering Instant Racing Legalization to Help Pay for Pensions

Kenny Colston — Fri, 15 Feb 2013 18:14:06 +0000

Kentucky House leaders are considering legalizing Instant Racing across Kentucky to help plug the funding gap in the state's pensions.

Stivers Pledges to Get Military Voting Bill Filed

Whitney Jones and The Associated Press — Fri, 15 Feb 2013 12:54:59 +0000

Senate President Robert Stivers says he intends to file legislation to ensure that Kentucky soldiers deployed overseas can cast ballots back home. The designation "Senate Bill 1" has been reserved for the proposal, signifying it is the Senate's top priority, but the legislation wasn’t filed as of Thursday, and the deadline is today.

Legislative Leaders Say They Don't Favor Local Option Sales Tax

Kenny Colston (KPR) — Mon, 11 Feb 2013 12:43:11 +0000

Kentucky's top two legislative leaders say the local option sales tax isn't likely to come up this year. The local option would allow cities and counties to put temporary sales tax increases to a public vote. It would typically be used to pay for infrastructure projects.

Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer and Lexington Mayor Jim Gray are the major forces behind the option, and a bill amending the state Constitution to allow it has been filed in the Senate. But Senate President Robert Stivers says his chamber doesn't want to put more tax burdens on individuals.

Spirits Sellers to Legislators: Don't Wait for Appeals Ruling For New Liquor Law

Kenny Colston (KPR) — Mon, 14 Jan 2013 19:54:44 +0000

If a federal judge's ruling goes into effect, businesses that sell liquor in Kentucky may see increased competition — and those businesses are encouraging legislators to act before an appeals decision comes down.

Kentucky Legislative Leaders Undecided On Whether to Delay Redistricting

Kenny Colston (KPR) — Fri, 11 Jan 2013 17:33:53 +0000

Kentucky legislative leaders say they haven't responded yet to Gov. Steve Beshear’s request to delay General Assembly redistricting in the 2013 session.

Senate President Robert Stivers says his leadership team has not yet decided on a response and that many in his chamber are conflicted on when to address redistricting.

Stumbo, Stivers Agree That Pension Funding Will Likely Wait, Again

Kenny Colston (KPR) — Wed, 09 Jan 2013 12:49:02 +0000

Kentucky legislative leaders say solutions on how to pay for Kentucky’s underfunded pensions won’t likely be addressed in the 2013 legislative session, which began Tuesday.

Both House Speaker Greg Stumbo and Senate President Robert Stivers say there will likely be a bill to introduce changes to the pension systems. But they also agree that such a bill is unlikely to deal how to fund the changes.

What they do disagree on is when to deal with the funding solutions. Stumbo says pension funding should be dealt with in a special session, hand in hand with tax reform.