Tagged: House Speaker Greg Stumbo

Kentucky legislators are still seeking a new state liquor law, a leading lawmaker says.  If they don't, a bottle of bourbon may be as close as the corner gas station.

Last year, a federal judge threw out Kentucky laws that don’t allow groceries and gas stations to sell wine or hard spirits, saying it was unfair. Kentucky pharmacies — which often sell grocery items — can sell the hard stuff.

The Speaker of the Kentucky House says it’s a no-brainer for Kentucky to expand its Medicaid program under the Affordable Care Act. 

Under the health care law, states can expanded their Medicaid rolls to 138 percent of the poverty line and for three years, the federal government will pay for the expansion.

Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear has yet to decide on whether Kentucky will expand, saying he will calculating costs after 2017, when the feds pay only 90 percent of expansion.

Kentucky House Speaker Greg Stumbo is joining calls for a nation debate about gun issues in the wake of the Newtown, Conn., elementary school shootings, and also said that violent video games are a cause of such violence.

Stumbo says he’s a lifelong National Rifle Association member and an avid outdoorsman — and he has helped many NRA-friendly bills pass in Kentucky. But he’s joining other rural Democrats in their call for a discussion on gun control.

Gov. Steve Beshear says he's concerned about the declining revenues form the coal severance tax, echoing concerns raised by House Speaker Greg Stumbo.

Money from the tax on mined coal is used largely for state, county and city infrastructure projects -- specifically in coal mining areas like Eastern Kentucky. 

“I am concerned about the coal severance receipts -- they are down, they’re down significantly. And that's because coal mining is down significantly, the tons of coal mined has dropped,” Beshear said.