Government

A bill designed to help pay federal interest payments is one step closer to becoming law. The measure passed the House unanimously today, although a few Republicans expressed concerns over the bill. The bill would let the state borrow money to help make federal interest payments on a loan Kentucky took out during the recession. The state borrowed more than $900 billion to help pay for unemployment insurance, but didn’t account for interest payments. If the state is late on payments, the federal government can put a higher tax on employers to recoup the funds.

Lawmakers in both chambers have passed a bill aimed at reducing the cost of uncontested special legislative elections. Kentucky House lawmakers passed the measure weeks ago, while it passed the Senate today. The bill was proposed by Secretary of State Alison Lundergan Grimes to help cut costs to her office and county clerks. State Senator Damon Thayer says the bill will cut back on the multiple voting locations which are currently required by law when there’s only one election and one candidate on the ballot. The bill won’t affect elections where multiple candidates are running.

The Kentucky House of Representatives has endorsed the creation of an adult abuse registry.
The bill that would create that registry has been a priority of lawmakers for years, but funding hasn’t been there. But this year, Governor Steve Beshear allocated funds for the registry in the budget. Representative Ruth Ann Palumbo is the bill’s sponsor, and has supported the idea for the past several years. The measure would list anyone convicted of elder abuse on the new registry, which Palumbo says is key.

US Senator Rand Paul says the federal energy department should stop its loan guarantee program for companies developing alternative energy products. The Kentucky Republican told Energy Secretary Steven Chu Tuesday some of the loans have gone to wealthy friends of President Obama and that raises questions about the whole program.