♪ ♪ >> a transgender bill in Frankfort process.

School walkout in Lowell.

Policy is the way we create opportunities for people in the community.

And a future.

State senator talks about her special election win.

Production of Kentucky Edition is made possible in part by the KET and down the Kentucky productions.

Leonard Press Endowment for Public Affairs and the KET Millennium Fund.

♪ ♪ >> Good evening and welcome to Kentucky EDITION on this Wednesday, February, the TWENTY-SECOND I'm Renee Shaw.

Thank you so much for a winding down your Wednesday with us as the Kentucky General Assembly continues its work and there's continued concern, even anger over a bill dealing with transgender students.

Students from Jay Graham Brown School in Louisville walked out of class today in protest of Senate Bill.

One 50.

♪ The students walk to nearby Peace Park where they rallied against the bill and others.

They say targets trans youth state senator and Republican Lieutenant Governor candidate Max wise sponsor of Senate Bill one, 50 says the bill will give parents more rights and transparency and school policies such as student preferred pronoun use and lesson plans on human sexuality.

But students protesting today said they see the bill as an attack on the LGBTQ+.

community.

And they said they fear the bill will cause emotional harm.

>> It's just like that.

I really care about our community from schools been so supportive throughout me, finding out my sexuality and I just worry so much for my friends, my classmates and how this could impact them.

I think this bill put so many people in so much danger and that.

I hope never to see that.

>> I'm not out a ton of my teachers.

Our peers here at Brown.

I find a lot of comfort in knowing that I have that experience and I have that safe space to go to.

It's incredibly I'm going to see.

The majority of senators in Frankfort and represent is in Frankfort takes a much of a stance pushing hates and our schools and trying to push policy that really has no benefit to them and has no benefit here and JCPS.

>> Senate Bill, one 50 pass the full Senate last week.

It's now waiting to be assigned to a committee and the House.

Senate Bill, one 50 pronoun use and so-called wokeness and schools all came up during Monday night's Kentucky tonight during our discussion about Kentucky's teacher shortage.

Among our guests, state representative Tina Bojanowski, a Democrat from Louisville who herself as a teacher.

>> The most important thing I can do for my students is to develop a trusting relationship.

And if I'm told by the General Assembly that I don't have to honor their parents wishes about what pronoun to use.

I have lost all trust with that child and I will not be able to make progress as the child's teacher.

I just think as an educator.

You know what, what little can we do?

But just at least honor to our children are.

>> I also ask the panel if SB One, 50 does anything to help students learn or if the talk about Wokeness is becoming a distraction.

>> My concern about this particular.

The amount of energy.

I'm not going to say bill been amount of energy because it is taking it as a lot of bandwidth.

We're not talking about.

Behavior in classrooms, which are teachers are begging us to help with that.

The academic piece in Britain, we just came through the pandemic.

We just came through one of the most transformational events and public education and education since desegregation.

And we're still not even processing all the needs that we need to in order to do that right.

>> misgendering of transgender students.

We know leads to increased risk of self-harm and suicide.

That's the reason that we ask our educators to call the student by the pronoun that they prefer.

So there's not a political reason that we're into this.

It's out of trying to protect students.

I think in the context of the teaching profession, what we're what we're here to talk about tonight, this isn't going to move the needle on helping In fact, as others have said, it's a distraction from what we really need to be working on.

This is going probably going to pass some version of it is going to be passing the law in Kentucky and it will not change the the cracks in the foundation of the educator workforce that we're facing right now.

>> You can see more of that conversation about SB One 50 and about Kentucky's teacher shortage online on demand at K E T Dot Org Slash K Y tonight.

Doctors rallied at the state Capitol today to support House Bill.

One 34 which reforms, quote, the prior authorization process prior authorization requires doctors to obtain advance approval from insurance providers before performing certain services and patient procedures.

The Kentucky Medical Association considers the current system, quote, a problematic barrier to care and wants that to change.

State Representative Kim Moser of Northern Kentucky agrees hear more in tonight's legislative update.

>> House Bill one just will make it easier for patients to get the care that they need in a timely manner and lift a lot of the burdens that are leading into position for now.

Frustration among not just providers also patients.

>> I think it's a win-win, both for insurance companies and for patients and also for physicians to be able to those decisions in the right place and allow us to be able to get treatment for many people that that we need.

The other issue is so many times patients are improving and doing excellent on the medicine we have them on.

And then all of a sudden it's not going to be covered.

It.

So you have to take a patient is being controlled on accurate medicine and then you have to revamp and start all over again trying to get something covered that, you know, works for that.

>> Rather than allowing insurance companies to dictate when how and where to tuck and receive their care.

We should leave those decisions to positions and their patients who have created a relationship and have a trust and bond and help them make those great decisions for their health.

And there will be the steps we take to prior authorization will help us to patients first.

And that's really what health care is about.

>> The bill sponsor, Representative Kim Moser is a retired registered nurse.

March is national social worker Mon fans today.

Social workers from across the Commonwealth filled the Capitol Rotunda in celebration as Kentucky tries to attract more social workers to the state leaders spoke at a rally about the importance of the profession.

>> Social workers see our Kentucky families during their toughest moments and you know, better than just about anyone about the various crises that so many of our families face crises like hunger, social workers see other issues like addiction.

How it tears at the fabric of our families and indeed at the fan favorite of our society, social workers understand the staggering number of Kentucky is facing domestic violence.

And the numbers are polling nearly one in 2 Kentucky women and one in 3, Kentucky.

Matt will face some form of sexual violence in their lifetime as governor.

But more importantly than that as the dad of a son and a daughter that is not an okay reality.

As one that together we must address work on light for the interest to become the feet to become the yards to become the miles of progress.

>> Thank you for serving your community in this commonwealth with honor and dignity and empathy and compassion.

And I know that you don't do it because it's easy.

You do it because it's the right thing to do.

And I know the odds are that you are overworked and underpaid.

In the last 3 years have been a struggle for many professions.

Perhaps none more than yours.

>> And that the city is maybe include or for an issue.

>> On behalf of people who cannot speak for themselves and we every day we speak for those whose voices are not heard.

I need interests are heard every day in the halls of the Capitol when policy has passed because they can afford the lobbyist, the person this child who has special needs, they need us to speak for them.

>> Well, with that value change the world, you know, the world's a lot bigger than my town of 10,000 people.

So there's a lot of times and high school and college right?

I wake up and I know what I have to do that day.

But that night or in the morning, I just at my ceiling because I'm riddled with anxiety of like can I do?

This cannot change the world or is it too much?

We're always gives me hope.

As great leaders like we have right here.

And also how many social workers we have here today.

>> Last year's state budget included pay raises and money to hire 200 additional social workers.

A new bill filed today would restore abortion access in Kentucky State Representative Lindsey Burke, a Democrat from Lexington co-sponsors of the bill.

She and Planned Parenthood Alliance advocates of Kentucky say the bill will allow the state to go back to where it was wants and where she says it should be again when it comes to abortion rights.

>> This bill simply an wines.

The heavy handed and over broad restrictions that have been imposed in recent years.

It puts decision-making back into the hands of the people who are affected.

The bill does not venture into new territory.

It's simply restores us the laws that were here for the majority of the late 20th century and the early knots.

In a state where maternal and infant health are at a crisis point.

Where health outcomes are full of disparities based on race in common location.

We're an unthinkable and unreasonable number of children are in foster care.

This bill will restore some balance.

>> The truce as our care can not wait.

Representative Berks Bill takes Kentucky back to a place where health care is in the hands of the experts, not politicians where patients aren't forced to flee from their state for health care where dignity is restored.

This could be a reality one that has statewide support.

All we have to do is look back to the referendum in November.

People all across the commonwealth came together during the midterms and rejected a constitutional amendment that would have denied abortion access permanently in our own state constitution.

And we voted now they did so because abortion is healthcare.

It isn't a partisan issue.

Kentuckians across the political spectrum voted No on amendment 2 and that this and that is why this bill should get a hearing.

Let the providers speak.

But the patients speak give it its due legislators here at the will of their people.

And when it comes to abortion access, the people have been loud and clear.

>> Last week, the Kentucky Supreme Court ruled the state's trigger law and 6 week abortion ban will remain in place.

It sent the cases back to a lower court for further consideration.

Kentucky would not be required to follow federal firearms bans under a bill passed by the House today.

Republican State Representative Josh Bray of Mount Vernon sponsors.

The bill.

He said it's in response to new federal regulation banning pistol braces, a device that allows people to shoot AR 15 an AK 47 style firearms.

One handed Bray said Kentucky should not have to send or spend resources to enforce federal firearms bans.

Opponents of the bill said the state needs more, not fewer restrictions on guns.

>> Why this is so important is it ensures our fellow Kentuckians that the city police, the sheriffs or the state police aren't going to roll up enforce this unconstitutional ban.

>> Why are we wasting time and resources passing unnecessary, unwise, unconstitutional legislation to pledge allegiance to hunks of metal that are being used to kill our children.

>> The bill passed the House by a vote of 78 to 19.

Also passing the House today, a bill requiring health insurers to cover biomarker testing.

Both of bills now move on to the state Senate.

In response to the Western Kentucky tornadoes and flooding in eastern Kentucky governor Andy Beshear created what he called Team Kentucky relief funds.

Now the Kentucky General Assembly wants more oversight of those Fonz.

This comes after reporting by the Lexington Herald-Leader that show checks meant for tornado victims went to people on affected by the storms.

State Senator Whitney Westerfield, a fruit Hill and western Kentucky says the relief funds are unconstitutional and he wants answers.

>> But we didn't have answers to your money.

Questions.

I thought it was appropriate to get answers to those questions.

Not a full-blown investigative audit.

Just we'd like to know where the money wins.

How did you make distribution decisions?

>> The measure to give the legislature oversight of the funds is Senate Bill 99 that bill passed the Senate.

33 to 2.

>> And it now heads to the House.

Kentucky will soon have a new state Senator Kasey Chambers.

Armstrong, a Democrat, won yesterday's special election in the 19th District.

Jefferson County.

She won about 77% of the vote against Republican Mister Glenn Armstrong is a member of the Louisville Metro Council.

>> My time on the Metro Council has really convince me that policy is the way we create opportunities for people in the community.

And I'm so proud of the work I've been able to do.

I truly believe that some of the things we've done around investing in early childhood education around lead remediation around daycare access.

It's it's going to help families.

It's going to change lives.

And so I KET in the seat came open that this was the opportunity to do that work on a bigger platform, really help more have the opportunity to impact more families in so was excited to run.

A special elections are a sprint.

They're fast and furious.

It's hard to let people know that there even is an election.

They're not expecting it.

And so I'm tired.

I'm also energized and I'm ready to get to work.

>> Chambers Armstrong will take over the seat once held by Democrat Morgan McGarvey, who was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives last November.

♪ Time now for our midweek, check-in of some major political developments in Kentucky this week, of course, with Ryland Barton, who is the managing editor of Kentucky Public Radio and Ohio Valley Resource.

Good to see Rylan.

>> Could see today.

>> So couple 3 items we want to talk about the signing of House Bill, one by Governor Andy Beshear late last week.

This is the measure, of course, that lowers the state's income tax rate from 4.5% to 4% on January.

First of 2024, we must remind viewers that he actually vetoed the MIT measure in 2022.

That created the path for these half percentage point want certain that economic conditions are met by the state.

So is this all about election year?

Politics?

>> I think it's going to be a little bit about The governor said he signed that bill to really provide a little bit of reprieve Kentucky during this time of inflation to KET a little bit of that money in of folks is a in pockets.

This is something that a lot of that almost every Democrat voted against along the way through the But this year, citing cited as you pointed out last year, he vetoed this really the same kind of measure to reduce the income tax bite.

Half a percentage Republicans accused him of playing politics of by by doing this.

And really you can imagine that that move, you know, if he were to have vetoed it, it would have kind of look, you know, Republicans would have been able to campaign against the of the governors and doesn't want to lower your taxes.

And so in this re-election year.

Yeah, I think that there's probably a little bit of politics at play here to not have that kind of it also just a yeah, provide this reprieve to Kentucky.

do want to point out this combined with the tax that of from that began earlier this year will reduce it of revenue going into the state coffers by about 1.3 billion dollars compared to what it was before these tax cuts every year.

Yeah.

>> So certainly will see.

We think that puts him out of step, of course, with the House and Senate Democrats who voted against it.

Right.

But they're not up for election this year.

there can be accountable for that some other time.

Let's talk about the one significant slate of legislation that's going through the Kentucky General I think the fairness chairman had called this a slight of hate to begin with SB One 50, the talks about parental rights when it comes to school curriculum, teaching homicide, go human sexuality and student preferred pronoun use.

And we've had some other bills that have evolved.

It affect the LGBTQ+ community in recent days.

>> Yeah, this is really become the theme of this legislative session of Republican sponsored bills to change, really doing with LGBTQ issues, especially transgender issues.

So we've talked a couple times about Senate Bill, one, 50, which changes of the which keeps schools.

What but teachers are won't be can't be required to use of a student's preferred pronouns.

But also this week, a bill that has already gathered about 20 a Republican co-sponsors of would ban a gender transition services for all minors.

And that's a really big deal it's.

This is just you know, another one of these anti trans pieces of legislation, a lot of LGBTQ advocates are pointing out that this, you know, even just talking about these issues, even just having legislation moving the general assembly of this makes LGBTQ and trans kids feel like they're not being, you know, welcomed in society.

And of course, this is a group population that, you know, can be very susceptible to mental health issues from from legislators and politicians talking about it in this way.

So I think that this is something that will look back on this legislative session and realize that all the Republican politicians decide to really rally around this and it's going to be I think we'll still see how these bills end up.

Turning out.

So this one Bill House Bill, 4.70, that has to do with jet gender transition services.

It's only been assigned to the House Judiciary Committee.

It hasn't gotten a vote but we'll see how many of these and of actually passing by the end.

>> And we have heard some Republicans who are former state officials elected officials.

Trey Grayson has written pieces.

Former Kentucky secretary of state saying that these types of measures not naming a particular measure in particular as is a bad case for business, right, that this is not what the business economic development officials and interest want.

And we even heard Bob Bell ringer, who is a former state Republican lawmaker who testified against SB One 50 last week making the case for civil liberties and those who love freedom.

So we'll KET our eyes on how these arguments develop.

Even within the party, the Republican Party.

>> Yeah, I mean, it harkens back to a guess is 2015 when North Carolina passed the bathroom And there's a lot of moving around that.

You know, there's so much business of of opposition to to passing a an exclusive as the exclusionary bill like that.

I think that's something for so many of these pro business minded Republicans.

Think about.

Yeah.

>> Last item to talk about there was a special election on Tuesday and in the state Senate district number 9 team that was vacated by now, Congressman Morgan McGarvey 3rd congressional district.

He serving Kasey Armstrong, Kasey Chambers, Armstrong, as the victor there by a very convincing margin.

She won over her Republican challenger.

>> Right?

She 77% of the vote.

A heavily Democratic not too much of a surprise Chambers Armstrong is assistant law professor at the University of Louisville and Shoot served on Metro Council for the last year or so and will join a a super minority of Democrats in the Senate.

I think we had 7 of the 38 seats in the Senate and really and in her statement talking about joining the Senate, she was really referring to all the and anti LGBTQ legislation that's moving through the legislature right now and pointing out that she really wants to fight against that.

>> Well, thank you, Ryland Barton, for keeping your eye on all this.

And we wish you well see you next week.

♪ >> We in the late 18, 100's women in Kentucky were not allowed to own property nor could they retain custody of their children in the event of a divorce.

>> A group of Louisville women set out to change that and more than a century later, they're still going strong.

Our chip Holston introduces us to the Women's Club of Louisville.

>> Well, the Women's Club of Louisville has been a civic force in the area since 18, 90.

They are also the keepers of a remarkable of that facility in Louisville that celebrating a milestone here to tell us about this is treating Wheeler.

She is president of the Louisville Women's Club Treaty.

Thanks so much for being with us.

Thank you for having me.

So folks who aren't familiar with the Women's Club of level, tell him about what that is and how it operates.

>> Yes, we were founded, as you said in 18, 90 and what the foundation and the mission was is that we would support civic organizations that we would work in the community.

Philanthropic education in there.

But anything that had especially to do with women and children and also in cultivating fine arts, very interested in fine arts from the very beginning.

And when you talk about some of the things you've done in the area was really interesting going back and looking at some of the history of the organization in the early 19, 100's.

>> It's remarkable to think that the organization actually had to do this.

But you all lobbied for women to have the right to own property in Kentucky as well as to have custody of their children in case of a divorce, things that we would take for granted today.

What were some other things that the organization has really been able to do?

>> Well, the interesting thing, too, is that many of our founding members were suffragists.

So we have a marker historical marker for our founder, Susan.

Look, Avery, who was very instrumental in the in getting the right to vote for women, but some of the other things that we've done is we've worked on parks for children so that we can get playgrounds in the community for children.

We found the legal aid society.

We also founded co-founded with the Kiwanis, The a Louisville Deaf oral school.

And it started actually in the basement of our building outgrew that moved in.

But we call our carriage house and now it is also known now as the highs are hearing and language academy and we still support them and they are celebrating 75 years today.

So we do a whole lot of community outreach, civic kind of work.

Well, it's a rich history.

And in addition to that, you all have a pretty amazing facility that celebrating a milestone and you have some things around that.

Tell us about.

Yes, okay.

Said the building itself is 100 this year and we're celebrating that by kicking off with a cab or a concert on March.

The 4th, we chose a concert because the first thing that was performed on the stage when the building was finished was actually a concert by a famous opera singer.

So we've gone with the concert and so March, the 4th, that will be our kickoff to several things that will do throughout the year.

So we'll have a few smaller celebrations in the spring.

Also on spring to the summer and in the fall, when you reference the facility, what what is the facility for folks who may not be familiar?

Yes, okay.

So I know you don't waste your pictures are a little bit impressed with what was happening.

Much so.

>> We don't want to be the best kept secret in town, but we do a theater of auditorium seats 680 and it has a very nice stage and the sounds and the coup sticks and there are incredible.

>> And we use it for a place for getting ready to produce a play in May.

We have music concerts, those kind of things we also rented out for Reese dance, recitals, music, recitals, speakers.

I'm also on our campus in the clubhouse.

We have a dining room that seats 156 people.

It's a great venue for weddings.

And so we've started printing weddings and hosting knows and we also very unusual.

We have a we have a grand piano, not that that's unusual.

But we've also had recently 2 young ladies that were auditioning for a very important arts school or a workshop and they received a grand piano to come and play in the recorded on our stage for their audition.

So we have a lot of different ways that we can run our facility and what we have that we just like the community to see it more.

But you've had a long and prominent history here in the Louisville area.

Good luck with the event coming up.

We'll be anxious to see what else you have going on once again.

That's truly Wheeler.

President of the Woman's Club of Louisville.

Renee, back to you.

Thank you, chip for more information about the Women's Club.

Louisville go to WC.

Louisville Dot Org.

>> Coming up tomorrow, we continue to cover what's happening in the Kentucky General Assembly at the state Capitol and AARP, Kentucky rallies for lower prescription drug prices and other issues important to people older than 50.

You can see some of that rally and much more happening at your state Capitol tomorrow on Kentucky edition at 6.30, Eastern 5.30, central where we inform connect and inspire.

You can get our Kentucky Edition email newsletter and watch full episodes and clips of KET Dot Org.

Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, all the socials.

We're there and I'll be so happy to see you again tomorrow night.

In the meantime, take really good care season.

♪