Kenny Colston

The Kentucky House speaker said the commission charged with proposing changes to Kentucky's tax code is "backing away" from controversial issues.

House Speaker Greg Stumbo said in a recent interview that the Blue Ribbon Commission on Tax Reform needs to be bolder. He said the appointed commissioners are approaching the tax code issues as if they have political capital to lose, refusing to offer new ideas.

He also encouraged the commission memebers to spend their remaining time productively.

The push for hemp in Kentucky is getting a bump from other states' efforts to legalize the plant's unsavory cousin, a Kentucky official said.

Ashley Judd is the most discussed potential Democratic candidate to challenge U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell' for his seat in 2014, but not all Kentucky Democratic statewide officers are supporting the idea.

Auditor Adam Edelen said he'll be encouraging and supporting Alison Lundergan Grimes, the Kentucky secretary of state, for the 2014 senate race -- because of Grimes' focus on state, not national, issues.

State Agriculture Commission James Comer -- a leading advocate for industrial hemp in 

Kentucky -- said growing support will help their initiative in the next legislative session.

The Industrial Hemp Commission, for which Comer is chairman, held its first meeting in a decade on Wednesday.

The commission will work for the next few weeks on crafting -- and the commission will then lobby Kentucky lawmakers to pass it. Comer, who has helped lobby for previous industrial hemp bills, said the commission's proposals will differ from past bills.

Taken together, Kentucky's special taxing districts spend more money than the state spends on Medicaid and infrastructure -- and nearly half of those districts are not following rules on filing budgets or submitting audits, said a report from State Auditor Adam Edelen released Wednesday. 

A special taxing district is a quasi-governmental agency that collects fees or taxes, such as library boards, soil districts and health districts.

For the first time in a decade, Kentucky’s industrial hemp commission will meet Wednesday.

The commission has been revived under Agriculture Commissioner James Comer, with support from U.S. Sen. Rand Paul, a Republican from Bowling Green.

They argue that industrial hemp can create jobs for Kentucky farmers, many of whom have not recovered since the tobacco buyouts years ago.

Kentucky lawmakers who advocate abolishing the office of constable are emboldened by a new report from the state justice cabinet calling for just that.

Constables have the same law enforcement powers as county sheriffs, but without the specific duties. Like sheriffs, the position is outlined in the constitution.

For years, lawmakers have tried to pass a constitutional amendment to end the office. The report said constables have little law enforcement purpose in Kentucky, accounting for .20 of recorded law enforcement in the state.

A new report by Kentucky's Justice Cabinet advocates the elimination or limiting of Kentucky's constable offices.

The office is established  in the Kentucky Constitution, but the report said constables no longer help law enforcement -- performing but .02 percent of all recorded law enforcement in the state --  and are often liabilities to counties.

“For the most part, constables perform security guard functions, direct traffic at events or serve civil process," the report said.

Kentucky Democrats successfully defended their control of the state House -- but they're now stranded on a political island.

It appears that Republicans will take control of the Arkansas House of Representatives, leaving Kentucky as the only southern state with a Democratic-controlled House.

And that will make Kentucky House Democrats a big blue target in future years.

Democratic Rep. Ben Chandler's defeat in his re-election bid Tuesday  won't  hinder the Kentucky Democratic Party in future years, a party leader said.

But Attorney General Jack Conway also said he’s upset that Kentucky will have only one Democratic congressman for the next two years -- Rep. John Yarmuth in the Third District.