Tagged: Kentucky General Assembly

An overwhelming majority of Kentucky parents favor moving the dropout age to 18, a new poll says.

Currently, students can drop out of school at 16 years old with a parent’s permission. But Gov.  Steve Beshear has advocated moving that age to 18.

The clock is ticking on the current legislative session, but efforts to push expanded gambling in the 2013  are still on-going, Gov. Steve Beshear said.

“I think it’s too early to reach a conclusion yet on whether we will have a bill on expanded gaming, you know we’ve got some issues to be resolved," he said.

Proponents of a local option sales tax have gained big ally in their legislative fight: Gov. Steve Beshear. 

The local option sales tax would allow cities to levy an additional tax on top of the state’s current six percent sales tax for specific projects, if local voters approved the new tax.

A new law that allows alternative sentencing for non-violent misdemeanor offenses to ease jail overcrowding in Kentucky is beginning to show positive results.

That’s according to the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee.

Democrat John Tilley was one of the architects of the 2011 measure known as House Bill 463, which, among other things, emphasizes substance abuse treatment instead of incarceration as an option for misdemeanor drug crimes.

If a federal judge's ruling goes into effect, businesses that sell liquor in Kentucky may see increased competition — and those businesses are encouraging legislators to act before an appeals  decision comes down.

Judge John Heyburn tossed the laws last year, saying it was unconstitutional to allow places like drug stores to sell some wine and liquor, but not groceries.