Lawmakers have given final approval to legislation that would make placement agents involved in financial investments for Kentucky's pension program subject to the state's ethics laws. The legislation is an offshoot of a state audit that raised questions about the use of placement agents who advise the state about how to invest retirement funds for teachers and government workers. The House voted 94-0 Thursday for final passage. Democratic Rep. Mike Cherry of Princeton, chairman of the House State Government Committee, has been pushing to hold placement agents more accountable. Cherry's bill, which now goes to Governor Steve Beshear for consideration, also requires placement agents to make public reports about their income and expenses. Beshear hasn't said if he will sign it.
Todd Hatton hails from Paducah, Kentucky, where he got into radio under the auspices of the late, great John Stewart of WKYX while a student at Paducah Community College. He also worked at WKMS in the reel-to-reel tape days of the early 1990s before running off first to San Francisco, then Orlando in search of something to do when he grew up. He received his MFA in Creative Writing at Murray State University. He vigorously resists adulthood and watches his wife, Angela Hatton, save the world one plastic bottle at a time.
