♪ >> Lawmakers debate how to spend your money as the budget moves to the Kentucky House floor.

>> It's going to kill kids when they grow up as they grow older.

>> Its cancer action day.

Hear from some advocates who survived it.

>> That's really not what I do.

it's not up to us to censor materials.

>> And Kentucky has its first sanctuary library.

Learn more about the library, protecting what some would call, quote, controversial material.

>> Production of Kentucky Edition is made possible in part by the KET Teen Millennium Fund.

♪ ♪ ♪ Good evening and welcome to Kentucky EDITION on this very first day of February Thursday, February 1st.

>> I'm Renee Shaw coming to you from our Frankfort bureau in the state Capitol Annex.

Thanks so much for being with Bear with us as we have a few little technical difficulties.

The big story tonight from Frankfort, the state's two-year budget.

Less than an hour ago, the House voted 77 to 19 for House Bill 6, which is the multi-billion dollar two-year spending plan.

You'll hear some of that floor debate in just a bit.

We have plenty of debate already this session about whether this budget leaves too many Kentuckians behind Kentucky additions June Leffler tells us about that in tonight's Legislative update.

>> Conservatives say the House has proposed a sound budget.

>> They have consistently put together.

This letter is possible budgets in this budget no different.

No exception to that.

>> But progressive say plenty was left out of the spending package.

The money is there.

We've got billions of dollars in reserves.

Kentucky's rainy day fund is at a historic high.

That's why progressive unions, advocates and policy watchers have been calling for historic investments in social services.

So largely across many important areas like teacher pay.

>> A child care clean drinking water.

There's just not that does money putting in to really make the kind of progress we need.

>> The strongest commitment arguably was to school transportation, something committee House members agreed to fully fund otherwise education as a whole got a modest bump that Kentucky is used to seen.

Superintendent say that's not enough to offer competitive wages.

According to a Kentucky Association of School Administrators survey.

>> Educators superintendents are never going to get.

But everything that they are asking for or want or believe the Bay.

Absolutely need Kentucky childcare operators say they need more support.

They had been relying on federal COVID-19 funding without state funding.

That would likely raise tuition rates or even close their doors.

>> According to a survey from the Kentucky Center for Economic Policy.

>> But the amount of money that's put it in the House budget.

It's about 30 million dollars one-year 14 in the mix.

News is not enough to prevent so real.

That damage from a loss of 330 million dollars annually.

>> Those monies were provided as part of that's a strange 2 to 3 years we had the federal government's really of pushing a tremendous amount of to Washington, D.C., to the states for specific purposes.

And was intended to be tight little bit.

>> Kentucky youth advocates said in a statement, quote, It is be funneling knowing that commitment to kids of so many House members to see a budget that neglect such a critical element of the safety net for kids working parents and our state's workforce.

One part of the spending package House Bill one pulls from the rainy Day fund to make big one-time investments like pain down the state's pension liability.

>> About 1.4, 5 billion dollars above what the actuarily even recommends that they put in.

>> The state retirees themselves won't get the same relief.

>> They had hoped to to their their pension checks will KET up with inflation, but it's not too.

There are folks that are really suffering then they are having to take second jobs that they didn't anticipate that they would have to.

>> Kentucky's public retirees have not received a cost of living adjustment since 2011 for Kentucky edition of John Leffler.

>> Thank you, June for that report.

Now that nearly 30 billion dollar state budget that's coming from state tax dollars did passes.

We told you while the House GOP Pine but an additional 40 million dollars to fully fund school transportation costs, it doesn't provide for universal Pre-K or provide for those across the board.

Pay raises for K through 12 school personnel as recommended by Governor Andy Beshear.

House Democrats argue that now is the time to make bold investments in Kentucky's programs and departments considering the state's record setting cash flow.

>> I worry that we are.

>> Not doing enough.

>> Particularly for public education, especially teachers, pay this budget.

>> Will not begin to make a dent low.

>> State ranking when looking at the starting and the average age of teachers.

>> And we know that we're losing teachers.

>> From our sisters, states that surround us.

They're going to Tennessee.

Are they going over to Indiana?

That's for our state retirees.

It is far past time to give them at least a one-time payment.

A pension that has lost one 3rd of its value since 2020.

22 well.

The last time they received a call.

That period.

So any time.

And Governor Beshear included 100 million for what we're calling the 13th retirement checked.

And I believe we should at least meet that threshold.

>> Yes, we should have a Healthy Reserve fund and you heard we do.

Before it got here.

Members of the majority said that we'd really like to see it at 15%.

That's best practice about 45 days of operating costs.

But now we got there.

Good >> Now where nearly double that.

By the end of the biennium some people project that will be more than 5 billion dollars.

Your financial adviser and they will tell you that's foolish.

What you should do after you have adequate reserves is look for needs that are holding the Commonwealth back.

>> As we told you earlier, House Bill 6, the two-year spending plan passed the House.

77 to 19.

It's now on its way to the Senate for consideration there.

Other budget bills were also passed and will update you on those tomorrow.

Now, more news coming out of Frankfort.

A new report details lingering problems with Kentucky's juvenile justice system.

A report that was released yesterday by state Auditor Allison Ball came out after lawmakers ask for it last year.

It says the state's juvenile detention centers like clear policies relating to the use of force isolation techniques and training the report.

Also details a department significant staffing shortages.

Lawmakers discuss the report on the Senate floor this afternoon.

>> You can spend all the time you want reading it.

Basically we have no strategic direction.

We have failure of procedure and process.

We have a culture that's broken.

In a facility that is handling some of the most damaged in challenging young people.

That we've ever known.

These are humans.

These are people.

These are these are Kentucky's most vulnerable youth.

I realize they've got to give them numbers.

They can't put names to them.

But these are not numbers.

These are young people who had life challenges beyond what most of us would ever know.

And have responded in inappropriate ways.

We're charging people to take care of them and try to help re guide them.

That admit in an interview they really don't know the purpose.

They're showing up for work for.

Not only.

Is the Department of Juvenile Justice Broken.

It is not even being fixed.

But this Beshear administration.

>> The indignation.

>> This express regarding.

Young people have been subjected to.

And there's me as well.

The answer has to be that those things must be alleviated and are eliminated.

But there's something else.

I do want to stay.

That when you have deficiencies in a system.

And he says, but in this case to juvenile justice system.

This is not something you fix with the.

Step offender cannot happen.

Cannot happen.

You have to look at those root causes and then you have to apply best practices.

And then you have to fund.

You have to fun.

Those changes that you think would be important.

The those to patients.

>> A juvenile justice working group has been working on the persistent issues, plaguing the system.

Senator Danny Carroll, a Republican from western Kentucky, says that legislation will be filed soon.

That could recommend building djj centers and Fayette County and Western Kentucky with a 3rd center possible in eastern Kentucky.

If the data directs it.

Kentucky is one of about 20 states that doesn't participate in a nationwide alert system for young adults who are not covered by the Amber Alert system.

This is a state senator hopes to change that Senate Minority Whip David Yates is pushing a bill that would allow Kentucky to participate in the Ashanti alert system.

The system is named after Ashanti Billie who was 19 years old when she was abducted and killed and 2017 a year later, the nationwide alert system became voluntary.

Senator Yates as Senegal.

45 is a common sense bill that won't require any additional funding.

>> But the bill requires Kentucky State police in cooperation with the transportation Cabinet, the division of Emergency management and media providers to create a missing adult grant to create a person system to notify the public of individuals determined to be a missing adult and the Department of Herman's that public notification may aid in the recovery of the individual spoke.

Those things have to be in place and it only requires the use of existing resources in operation within our existing budget.

So we've already got that.

And we're we have the infrastructure in place.

>> The bill did pass to a Senate committee unanimously and it now heads to the full Senate for consideration there.

Kentucky's largest export is not bourbon and it's not horses.

You might be surprised to learn its aerospace products and parts light plane engines.

And a new state Senate bill hopes to make this industry even stronger.

>> Kentucky has 650 plus businesses employ nearly 100,000 employees in the commonwealth that directly feet into 20 billion dollars of export business via the aviation community.

Current metrics and analysis project that we're going to need 600,000 pilots and 600,650 1000 aviation mechanics over the next 10 years and Senate Bill, one, 27 play significant role to fill those jobs >> Senate bill one 27 set up an investment account that will be funded by state dollars in private aerospace businesses that hope to attract workers.

The money will be divided for 2 purposes and used by Kentucky College is an aviation programs.

>> The money that would that we put into his account will follow 2 buckets of first bucket.

He's not overly 65% of money be going towards scholarships.

That will provide incentives for institutions to bring in individuals into to the pipeline in order to do that.

The other bucket to 35% for up to 35%.

That's going to help the faculty as well as equipment.

>> A state Senator Brandon storms that aviation programs at Morehead State University Eastern Kentucky University and Madisonville Casey TC are interested in accessing the money.

The state's chief elections officer says the Senate bill that essentially strips away three-quarters of access Kentucky voters now have to the ballot box during a presidential election year would be, quote, a national embarrassment.

Senate Republicans bill would eliminate 3 days of early voting and require no excuse in-person voting to take place.

Only on Election Day.

Republican Kentucky secretary of state Michael Adams predicts that more than 2 million Kentuckians will vote this year and says rolling back early voting could create mayhem.

>> If you think Georgia really got it 3 years ago measure what happens if we take away early voting, they took away of some early voting is but they had weeks left.

We'll be going to just one day.

We be trying to 2 million voters into one day.

I think it will be really bad for images of state.

And I appreciate that.

We're working really hard in Frankfort to cut taxes and to streamline red tape and core businesses.

We have these big job announcements.

The more that we may Kentucky looking backwards place for people to want to move to.

It's going to be hardest, not just to attract investment and jobs.

The hard to KET our kids here.

>> So you think that singular issue damage economic development advancements, even the fact that this is being introduced?

Even though it's not pass to become law just because introduces already gotten this all kinds of negative coverage around the country.

I'm just very sensitive to our state's image.

I want to see us be a top state, not about us.

>> Even though we leave, it may be some staffing issues may be some cost savings that still you think that the the cons outweigh the pros?

Well, even the county clerks and by the way, when I ran the first time, the county clerk's, we're all against early voting and I work with them on it and we got to a place we can do it.

And now they passed a resolution of their association to oppose this bill and support early voting.

It doesn't just make the voting process better for the voters to make some better for the county clerks and the poll workers to have 4 days to get these folks in and out, let them vote versus just one day.

Just having one day to do this is pretty stressful.

>> And Republicans seem to have also like this idea, right and I don't know if they've outnumber Democrats and the participation of early voting but close to it.

Yeah.

Have you know, on average the use of early voting tracks, the registration pretty close.

>> But in a presidential election we saw 4 years ago was 365,000 Democrats.

What in-person early 511,000 Republicans voted in person early.

So Republicans have an advantage in the presidential election.

I it's bad.

I think it's bad optics and that politics Republicans to be taking this on.

It's also possible that if they pass it, yeah.

So another issue that I'm curious about your know your position, but the viewers may not about the Bills SB 80.

That would.

And I want you to explain primary versus secondary, former of identification.

So we would >> take a student ID's from being primary to secondary forms of voter ID.

Why is that significant?

And credit cards to be eliminated altogether?

I'm fine.

With eliminating credit and debit.

I mean, why is the why were they even part of the so they were in the law before I ran for office before I got put it past the debit card credit card was it was used as a primary form of ID.

We got rid of that.

>> So so here's what's a bad idea to repeal college ID's teaser photo ID's.

Get to have a government ID to get the college ID.

So these are just secondary to that.

I went to college 30 years ago had to prove who I was to get a college.

I do with my photo on it.

It's not gotten any more lax.

Instead, these are perfectly adequate.

They've been proved adequate.

We've had no fraud coming out of people thinking college ID's.

The reason this isn't the law is because I helped write the law.

I look at every case in America where a photo ID laws have been challenged and the ones that have been struck down to have a college ID exception and the ones that were upheld by courts did have it.

And I want a law that actually is on the books in forest versus just a talking point.

So unfortunately, we've seen some politics recently.

And so facing primaries want to go out.

So, you know, we did this and that.

But I've been the customer service business action after in this election.

And I would have a smooth election where people are confused by what is and isn't it.

And also an that we don't have our photo ID law struck down for.

I want to actually enforce this going to present role.

>> So you think this would subject Kentucky to litigation if we were to include this into the law about striking student ID?

Yeah, I've already been to 3 times a and we want every case because we had to stretch in a way that would pass muster with the courts if we don't do that, which we very carefully negotiated a road.

If we don't do that, we could lose our long >> Secretary Adams also talks about other election-related legislation that's being discussed here in the state Capitol.

And he talks about civics education and what he's pushing for there.

We'll bring you those comments in a future broadcast of Kentucky edition.

Now in some health news, according to the National Institutes of Health, Kentucky has the highest proportion of smoking-related cancer deaths in the country.

Today, cancer survivors and advocates from that organization can to Frankfort for Cancer Action Day to ask the Legislature to increase funding for Kentucky's tobacco prevention and cessation program by 10 million dollars.

>> I mean, we're in the for change that this year.

I will be a 44 year cancer survivor.

And at the time I was diagnosed, I was given a 50% chance of surviving 5 years.

So when Relay for Life came to my community advocate involved and every patient that what I I have a I joined we're here to meet with senators and I represent this to talk to them about.

>> Increasing the funding to 10 million dollars for smoking cessation It will help to quit.

Now Kentucky line it will help, but he's really to find the kids to get them and also to help adults that are spoken impact of cancer in my life goes way back when I was a 7th grader.

My mother died from breast cancer 2000.

My wife had breast cancer.

She's a Fortune Ali and 2002.

My sister died from breast Then in 2003, I had lung cancer has recently 2023, our youngest daughter had breast I'm tired of this stuff and it's affected us dramatically in our lives by having a and I'm hearing statistics 30% of kids in middle school and high school are now they think it's funny.

It's not funny.

It's cancer and diction.

It affects their brains sex their long and it's going to kill kids when they grow up as they grow older.

I don't want anybody to be involved.

They think smoking or any to back 2 years.

And that's why we're here to get the money to help people it.

>> The campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids says right now the state invest 2.9 million dollars in tobacco prevention.

>> The CDC says it should be.

56.4 million.

>> Well, to kick off Black History Month, the first day in February, the Kentucky Black Legislative Caucus celebrated the civil rights movement today in the Capitol rotunda.

Speakers included members of the caucus past and present activists, the governor and legislators from both parties and chambers.

>> Well, no one can argue.

That black history.

Is not full of injustices.

>> And it is.

Terrible injustices.

We cannot.

We cannot we dare not.

That the past.

Hold us back.

>> Nor should we ever.

Focus.

On the past.

We can remember it.

That we should not.

Focused on it.

We must look to the future.

Acknowledging that we all >> have come a very, very long way.

Black history, as you've already heard this morning.

Is American history.

And we cannot separate the 2 no matter how hard.

Sometimes won't rise.

>> We have continued to again sustain.

>> Preserve and protect.

>> Laws and other activities which clearly support civil rights for all parsed, regardless of race color, free, national origin or gender.

More recently, the resurgence of public acts in certain places of anti civil rights violence have made the work.

Also rights activists in this country more nest that sonseeahray than ever before.

>> Frankfort will observe the 50th anniversary of the historic March on Frankfort that drew more than 10,000 folks.

That was on March 5th 1964.

♪ >> In 2022, the Chicago Public Library declared all of its 81 branches as sanctuary libraries.

And the response to the book banning happening across the U.S. as of November.

Kentucky has its first sanctuary library dedicated to protecting endangered books.

Marc Adler of the Paris Bourbon County Public Library says while some may see the move as political for them, it's all about protecting the freedom of expression.

>> For us, it really started with some book challenges that we were having.

And I was quite shocked about that.

I get I've been here.

21 years.

In that time I had received a total of 3 challenges and I would say all of them were very tame.

But back in April of 2023.

We started to see something very different.

I'm a small group of people Cayman and over the course of several months.

Challenge the 102 individual titles here at the library.

Basically any book.

as an LGBT character, any book that even breeds some indication that sexually exists.

They want to move from the line.

They came to our public meetings and certainly is as they have the right to the day provided public comment.

But it became very clear the the trajectory was just want to have.

We're going to continue to ask you to remove these are going to make it as difficult for you as possible.

By October.

It was becoming clear that the situation was just untenable and we were still made the board unanimously approved us becoming a sanctuary like her.

What that means is we enshrine knowledge.

We.

I believe that people should have access to information regardless of what that information is.

Only individuals can make that determination for themselves or parents can make that determination for the children, but nobody can decide for somebody else was somebody else's children.

I would like to see every my century.

And I don't view this as a partisan thing.

So a nice on.

I say this.

I'm not I'm not trying to be political.

But, you know, in Kentucky we are now a sanctuary, a Second Amendment sanctuary.

And, you know, the Second Amendment has been enshrined.

Why wouldn't we and trying the First Amendment as well?

But again, for me, this is a non partisan.

You know, we a couple of years ago we had a provider, one of our digital services contact us.

And they indicated that there was a small group lybrand so happen to be very liberal.

Who had demanded that items be removed from the digital collection.

All of the items were Holocaust denial books and they were very, very incensed that those books were there.

You know, I thought at the time that's that's really not what I do.

It's it's not up to us to censor materials.

You know, if if somebody wants to come in and read a book on Holocaust and now they have the right to do that.

I may disagree with him, which is my right.

But in my bres we just provide information.

Doesn't you know that it's not left when it's not right.

When it's just information.

And to me, that's that's neither a liberal or conservative thought that's just him.

And and that's that's really the most.

American thing.

I think.

That we can do really, really epitomizes what it means to be to be in America, an American, an American institution.

>> Next year, the library will turn 120 years old and it is currently pursuing a sister library relationship with another book sanctuary and Hoboken, New Jersey.

Well, that'll do it for us.

Thank you so much for being with us on Kentucky EDITION tonight.

We'll see you right back here again tomorrow night at 6.30, Eastern 5.30, central where we inform connect and inspire.

Subscribe to our email newsletters and watch full episodes and clips of KET Dot Org.

You can also find us on the PBS video app on your mobile device and smart TV.

Send us a story idea at the address on your screen and follow KET on Facebook X.

>> And Instagram to stay in the movie.

I'm Renee Shaw from the state Capitol Annex.

And I'll see you back in Lexington tomorrow.

Have a great night.

♪