Government

Budget talks in Frankfort appear to have stalled.

Lawmakers have met for three straight days, usually twice a day, to resolve differences between budget proposals passed by the House and Senate. But there are firm disagreements over school construction, cuts to the governor'’s office and coal severance projects.

House Speaker Greg Stumbo says the Senate isn'’t compromising on those issues, so the potential to deliver a budget on time is in danger.

FY 2013 Statement of Patricia Harrison, President and CEO, Corporation for Public Broadcasting

Presented before the Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies, United States Senate Committee on Appropriations

Mr. Chairman and members of the subcommittee, thank you for allowing me to submit this testimony on behalf of our country’s public media service – public television and public radio, on-air, online and in your community.

A Kentucky Senate committee has approved a bill that aims to toughen laws against prescription pill abuse.

House Bill 4 is a collaborative effort between House Speaker Greg Stumbo, Attorney General Jack Conway and Governor Steve Beshear.

Both chambers of the General Assembly have approved budget bills and a conference committee has been meeting since Monday to work out the differences. One major point of disagreement is funding for school construction. It's a priority for the House. But Senators were not ready to haggle during a Tuesday morning session.

House Speaker Greg Stumbo says the issue is so important to his chamber that a disagreement could derail budget talks.

Kentucky's Senate Judiciary Committee has passed a measure controlling the production and sale of synthetic drugs that mimic the effects of methamphetamine, marijuana and other controlled substances.  The legislature had already banned hallucinogenic drugs known as "bath salts" and synthetic marijuana, but chemists have gotten around the ban by slightly altering formulas. The new bill's approach would ban whole categories of compounds. Penalties for first-time offenders could include forfeiture of property, fines, jail time and loss of alcohol sale licenses.