Kenny Imes

As the 2014 Kentucky General Assembly draws to a close, some western Kentucky lawmakers will have to think about which pieces of stalled legislation they will bring to Frankfort again next year.

Calloway County Attorney David Harrington is dropping out of the state house race for the 5th district.

The Democrats say that despite information he was given prior to filing, he found that he would have to retire as county attorney before September 30th in order to run, something he does not want to do.

Two Western Kentucky State House candidates have emerged just as the January 28th deadline approaches for candidates to file to run for political office. 

Republican Randy Bridges of Paducah has filed to run against Democrat Gerald Watkins for the 3rd district state house seat.  And Democrat David Harrington of Murray is running against Kenny Imes in the 5th district. 

Two West Kentucky lawmakers are supporting a bill that would let the state lease public land for private development.

Under legislation from Republican Representatives Richard Heath and Ken Imes, hotels and other private developments could be built in public parks, with the state's permission.

But Imes says the bill isn’t about privatization.

5th District Representative Kenny Imes (R-Murray) has pe-filed a bill to require certain state employees, including the governor, to visit the state’s most eastern and western counties before taking office.

A pre-filed bill sponsored by State Representative Kenny Imes (R-Murray) seeks to give a financial boost to Kentucky State Parks by allowing private companies like restaurants and hotels to lease and develop state property.  

The 5th district republican wants to take existing law relating to private development of Kentucky State Fair Board property and expands it to land owned by the Kentucky Department of Parks.  Imes said he hopes the proposal will help Kentuckians see the big picture of the economic prospects that are going underutilized. 

Kentucky’s 5th District State Representative Kenny Imes spent four terms as representative in the 70’s. Now Imes has returned to Frankfort again in 2013 to represent the residents of Calloway and Trigg counties. Imes recently spoke with Shelly Baskin about his plan to ensure state’s rights are respected by the federal government, as well as his thoughts on the most important parts of this session’s legislative agenda.

Lawmakers and citizens met this weekend in Murray State’s Wrather Auditorium to discuss Kentucky’s ongoing pension crises. Cameron Smith of the Alabama Policy Institute gave a presentation explaining Kentucky’s current pension problems while lawmakers answered questions. Smith said it’s important for the state to keep its promises.

Local state legislators join a pension expert for a roundtable discussion at Murray State University this Saturday. Keynote speaker Cameron Smith is the policy director for the Alabama Policy Institutes and co-authored the Alabama study on pensions.

Republican Kenny Imes beat out Democrat Hal Kemp for Kentucky’s fifth district state House of Representatives seat. Unofficial results showed Imes with 55.9 percent of the vote, and Kemp with 45.1. The Murray Republican won Calloway County by about nine percent. He gained a near 30 point victory in Trigg County. Imes says though the job is a part-time commitment, he plans to put full-time effort into it.