♪ Frankfort, lawmakers debate an income tax cut and send up led to the governor.

>> Hear what it would do and the arguments over whether it's a good idea.

I want you to have the brightest future possible and I want you to have it here.

>> Hundreds at the Capitol rally on behalf of Kentucky.

Kids.

It is an issue of >> And is it time to get rid of the tax on certain feminine products?

>> Production of Kentucky Edition is made possible in part by the KET Endowment for Kentucky Productions.

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

♪ ♪ Good evening and welcome to Kentucky.

Addition for Wednesday, February 8.

>> I'm Renee Shaw in Frankfort as the Kentucky General Assembly session continues.

>> Thank you for joining us and legislative news tonight.

A plan to further drop the state's personal income tax rate is headed to the governor's desk.

The rate already dipped a half percent at the beginning of this year from a new law and acted by lawmakers last year.

Now the Republican dominated General Assembly has voted to slice it farther from 4.5% to 4% January.

First of 2024, House Bill one passed the House in January and was co-signed by the upper chamber light this afternoon.

Pam Thomas senior fellow at the progressive leaning Kentucky Center for Economic Policy tried to convince the Senate Appropriations and Revenue Committee this morning to reverse course on further reductions.

She says billions in federal pandemic aid spurred a fast economic recovery in Kentucky.

But she argued forecast going forward are less robust.

She said the cuts pose serious risk to state coffers.

>> The general fund is going to lose over 1.2 billion dollars annually when the cut from 5 to 4% fully phases and him for scale.

That's more than 1.0.

1 billion that you appropriated to fund the entire system of higher education.

That's a huge hit.

And for most individuals other than those in the top 20%.

The money, though, keeping in their pockets as a result of the cuts to small.

Kentuckians who are under the poverty line received no benefit at all because they don't pay income taxes, but they do pay a bigger portion of sales taxes as their overall income.

Then you and I do in their family budgets.

The tip of Kentucky family, those in the middle class will retain between $0.38 and $5 a week from the rate reduction of 5% to 4% hardly noticeable in day-to-day life.

So there's a huge gap in the loss of revenues at the state level when compared to the actual benefit to individuals and families, what they're actually going to have in their pockets.

>> The state income tax makes up.

41 1% of general fund revenues.

In addition to the state income tax reduction, lawmakers in previous Sessions have also expanded the base of services that are subject to the 6% sales tax.

When the measure came to the Senate floor this afternoon, Democrats blasted the plan as a regressive tax king that benefits the wealthy while Republicans held it has a rightful pay back to working Kentuckians.

>> This state and this Ingham awe.

So what's the answer to that?

We want to give more money to the rich and that the working class people suffer.

Robin, what to engage in this reverse?

it out.

Confounds me.

We've got one of the worst.

Workforce, partition participation rates in the country.

So I say to the people who do get up and go to work every day.

>> And pay those income taxes.

This is for you.

Now you get to decide how much tax you pay by how much you can soon.

And I suspect.

We'll be having this argument again.

We'll see what the governor does.

I predicted vetoes it.

I dare him to veto it.

I dare him to veto this bill that lets the people of Kentucky.

I know that their taxes are going to be cut for the 3rd 3003th time since Republicans took over control of both of these chambers.

>> The income tax reduction plan clear the Senate after some spirited debate on a party line vote of 30 to 5.

It now heads to Governor Andy Beshear's desk where he can sign or veto it or let it become law without his signature.

House.

Bill 2 was also passed on the Senate floor today.

It calls for appropriating a little more than 16 million dollars for the new Bowling Green veteran Center.

The project broke ground back in November.

It's the 5th nursing home for veterans in Kentucky.

House Bill 2 is now headed to the governor's desk.

Lawmakers are also moving forward with a bill that would ban TikTok from state government issued devices.

Republican Senator Robby Mills of Henderson is the sponsor of Senate Bill 20.

The bill would make it illegal to download the social media app on government own devices or networks.

Nearly 2 dozen states have taken similar action.

TikTok is owned by a Chinese company called Byte dance and a state and local government meeting this afternoon.

Senator Milne said that's why this bill is needed.

>> It's been reported by multiple news sources that TikTok mine's huge amounts of private data.

Which the Chinese government, a foreign adversary of the United States, would have access to.

Recently.

The FBI says has been quoted as saying.

The video sharing app TikTok poses a national security concern.

>> Senate Bill 20 unanimously passed the committee today.

It's now waiting to be considered by the full Senate.

Hundreds of Kentuckians from all across the state assembled in Frankfort today urging elected leaders to make policy decisions that build a brighter future for every Kentucky child.

Here's some of what the speakers had to say.

>> Knowing that 220,000 kids today wake up.

Living in poverty.

We have to be and overcoming state.

Knowing that in the last 12 months.

18,000 children.

Experienced abuse.

We have to be.

Overcome.

Knowing despite the best efforts of dedicated educators.

That more than 2 out of 3 0th graders.

Do not meet minimal proficiency for reading.

We have to be.

Overcomes.

Knowing that today more than 100,000 little boys and little girls are waking up.

And they have a mom or a dad who is a locked up.

That's a shared sense.

That we have to overcome.

>> We have to harness this energy.

We have to harness these numbers and we need to go forth and advocates today to talk to as many people as we can to make sure that we put it forward.

Innovative public policy, creative public policy, new and dynamic.

Interesting things to do to help families because families continue to evolve.

And so our public policy has to evolve.

>> And I think that ensuring healthy parents, cultivate healthy children isn't all that complicated.

All it requires us to do is to push out the politics.

>> And the focus on those concerns and challenges that our parents face on a nightly basis, things like do I have a good job?

One where I can provide opportunity and security for my family.

Can I afford to take my kids or my parents to a doctor when they're sick?

Do I feel safe in my home and my community my kids getting the world class education that they deserve.

The safety, the well-being, but ultimately the prosperity of all of our young Kentuckians is why do this?

I want you to have the brightest future possible and I want you to have it here.

No matter how big you dream, no matter what your dream is.

I want you to have a past to follow it right here in Kentucky.

♪ >> Kentucky Youth advocates the organizer of today's event is pushing for a wide range of issues.

This legislative session, including measures that support maternal mental health, preventing youth vaping and tobacco use and strengthening the state's juvenile justice system.

In December, the Kentucky Supreme Court struck down a law that would have created a school choice program.

>> That program would have allowed tax credits for donations toward private school tuition.

Another education expenses.

Now some legislators are looking to amend Kentucky's constitution to legalize that option.

Our Casey Parker Bell reports on the proposed amendment.

>> Because we're going to have school choice in Kentuckyian it's going to be mighty robust.

>> It towards Kentucky held a press conference today on a constitutional amendment that will allow the Legislature to expand school choice in Kentucky.

This comes after the Kentucky Supreme Court struck down a law last year that would have allowed tax credits to donor supporting private school tuition.

The constitutional amendment sponsored by state Representative Josh Callaway.

>> Students First Amendment is simple.

It asked the voters to allow the General Assembly to empower parents to send their children to a learning environment that will help them succeed and he's focused on the best fit for each and every child.

>> Callaway says hospital one.

74 already has 17 co-sponsors and he expects more to join it.

House Majority whip Jason, the miss says the House has the votes to pass a school Choice Amendment.

>> Good choice is going to happen in Kentucky.

We're going to have a Kentucky.

This is a priority of the Kentucky Legislature.

It's a part of the Kentucky voters.

What we talked with voters with voters.

We talked on the doorsteps.

We're going to have school choice in Kentucky.

>> The constitutional amendment could make laws like the one struck down by the Kentucky Supreme Court legal and it could allow for more significant legislation.

Something Representative Jason Emus referred to.

But for one parent at the press conference, she says the amendment could allow her children to get the education they need.

>> I'm lucky to be able to make that choice for one of my children right now.

But it's hard when you have multiples, they have to pay for.

My best efforts.

Aren't enough to provide for all 3 of them.

I know other families that are in the same position as me for Kentucky edition.

I'm Casey Parker Bell >> and House Bill one 74 passes the General Assembly.

The constitutional amendment would have to be approved by Kentucky voters during the 2024 general election.

There's a lot of conversations swirling in Frankfort these days about Kentucky's teacher shortage.

How bad is it actually and how to handle it?

The coalition to sustain education profession has ideas on how to shore up the teacher shortfall in Kentucky and more pay is among the solutions.

Wanda Caldwell, executive director of the Kentucky Association of School Administrators.

Talk to us yesterday in our Frankfort studios about a few of their key recommendations being submitted to state lawmakers.

This session.

One is around conducting a study because we have a lot of data and a lot of misinformation circulating around out there and would really like to see be charged with conduct Office of Education, Accountability.

Yes, thank you.

The Office of Education, Accountability Be charged with conducting a mixed methods study that would provide us insight around the perceptions of all of our citizens in Kentucky around public education.

And so in addition to perceptions, though, what about compensation and benefits?

What does that look like?

Not only here in the state statewide, but all of those states around us that we often like to compete What does that look like?

I mean, what do we know about compensation levels compared to our neighbors in Indiana or south of us in Tennessee?

At what we know at this point is that where 44th in the nation in terms of teacher pay in terms of comparing apples to apples.

I can't be certain on that.

Yeah, we did hear a lot about behavioral issues.

So one of the reasons why teachers in the classroom are leaving and I do wonder is this just an area where teachers in the classroom or leaving or does it really broaden out to the span of educators and the public education system beyond those who are just in the classroom.

It depends.

It depends on the support systems in primarily for our conversation.

Now, we've really focused on teachers in the classroom because we need teachers in the classroom.

Both in the pipeline as new teachers.

But also we need those career teachers.

Discipline is a challenge.

That's where a lot of different reasons and some of the reasons that we've heard from colleagues this morning it is connected to a post-pandemic.

We've have children who have been at home for the couple of years just coming back into the local school system with expectations it is also due juvenile justice.

Some challenges that we have there, legislation that needs to be revisited because oftentimes when we have those, it is typically very small numbers of students to a destructive disruption that would remove them from the school setting they may be removed one day but returned to home in the classroom the very next day.

And a couple of other issues that come to mind around that we are heavily reliant upon option.

6 teachers, those teachers who are amazing people coming to our classrooms and they are experts in the field and they are bringing that expertise into the classroom with the hope of teaching children around that particular feel that they don't have a teaching certification, which includes the teacher preparation at Pedagogy and methodology, which means they have missed out on classroom management.

And so had I been there, I have 24 18 or we've even heard numbers this morning such as 42 students.

And I'm one classroom teacher possibly with an assistant.

How do I manage when I really have no idea that type learning for delivering instruction.

Other recommendations address in classroom size and recruiting new teachers through restoration of the Kentucky teacher and principal internship programs that was scratched several years ago due to state budget constraints.

Democratic State Representative Lisa Willner of Louisville met with students from Mercy Academy today to advocate for House Bill one.

42 if passed, the bill would remove the 6% sales tax on feminine hygiene products and it would make Kentucky the 24th state not charging a so-called pink tax.

We don't pay taxes on groceries.

We don't pay taxes on Madison.

This is the same thing.

This is not an optional expensive things like condoms and things helping like hair thinning were essentially not tax at all.

And products are being taxed been and products are much more essential than condoms.

It's kind of a raging in a way that we had hoping We can help men straight.

And it's a part of our biological process.

>> We those issues and the fact that men don't have to worry about that.

It's just another the issue that we have in today's society.

It is an issue of >> fundamental fairness.

Only half of the population has to buy menstrual products to begin with women in pay 13% more on most of the personal products.

And 42% of the time we're paying the 16% more.

I think that this bill is one of the very first steps.

>> To end the stigma, not just regarding periods, but regarding women in general.

You know, we faced issues are way larger like the wage gap.

The issue that women don't feel safe to walk home at night.

A lot of it is just gender inequality.

And I don't think that those issues can be solved until we pass goes like this.

>> I had always been in favor of this bill.

But what really gave me hope that we might actually be able to pass.

It was when a group of mercy students came to my office and said that this was one of the bills that the group of Mercy students had chosen to support its high school students who are so directly impacted by this issue can rally around.

This can speak to legislators can top from your own experiences about why this is important.

Then maybe we can mobilize and get this bill passed.

>> Once fully implemented, this bill could save roughly 2.3 million dollars.

That's based on a legislative estimate of a similar bill last year.

Now on to the second floor of the state Capitol today.

Oral arguments were heard in a Kentucky Supreme Court case about local gun laws.

At issue was whether or not a city can prevent people from carrying concealed weapons into an arena or other city properties.

And 2021.

The Kentucky Court of Appeals ruled in favor of the city of pipe full.

The city prohibits concealed weapons inside Appalachian Wireless arena.

The Kentucky Concealed Carry coalition appealed the ruling.

The group argues the city overstepped its authority.

Meanwhile, the city argues the restriction.

It's about safety.

>> The factual background is that at the time the city required there.

Concert lessees or whatever you want to call them to sign an agreement that they would prohibit those firearms from the arena.

So the court of Appeal said the city can't do that.

But the lessons so at the end of the day, bless you can say you're not allowed to have a gun on your person.

The city actually went a step further and required the lessees to sign a contract that said they were going to require the visitors of the event to not fire on their person.

>> You know, for us, it's just a bat.

We want to make the facilities as safe as we can for every one of, you know, the city.

We it's not something we getting money.

Read anything we is is purely just a a safety issue.

And when you think about these concert venues whether the rough terrain of center city apart for them.

London.

If if people could, for example, open carry in those facilities.

What if you could 5200 people at 6,000.

Kerry and I are hopefully nothing would happen.

>> It's unclear when the Kentucky Supreme Court will issue a judgment in this case.

♪ >> Time now for Mitt big check and have some major political developments, including what's happening over here in the capital weather.

Good friend Ryland Barton is the managing editor of Kentucky Public Radio in Ohio Valley Resource.

Good to see you.

Good to see what I see in person.

>> So let's start talking about the governor's race for.

So interesting.

The messaging in the actions that are coming from a couple of the candidates just this week, particularly Daniel Cameron and Kelly Craft to talk to us about what we're seeing there.

>> Yeah, we can only see them trying to occupy some different lanes of one thing Kelly Craft really came out over the last week.

There was a a a form that she was holding when she said that she wanted to dismantle the Kentucky Board of Education, which raised a lot of eyebrows immediately.

She kind of soften some of years of her statement on.

But then came back with another statement saying, well, yeah, we really need to like overhaul how this agency works and saying, you know that that that it's because of the woke policies that the this institution is supposedly in you and her many appointees being appointed by Governor Andy Beshear.

So she's really trying to occupy the slain.

I think at that at the same time, though, some statement like that of dismantling of the Kentucky Board of Education.

The surprising to many, I think even a lot of in Kentuckyian >> and even Republican contender.

>> Right.

That's a Somerset Mayor Alan Keck came out and I can remember the exact statement said, you know, that was really surprising that someone would even consider trying to dismantle such a huge institution and an important one that set, you know, education policy and also just kind of ends up running the snacks.

You does dismantle it.

You just fix it, right?

So there's there's going to be I think we're going to see a lot more talk about this.

And she's already.

You know, again, occupying this talking a lot about, you know, we want to teach the ABC's Instead of the CRT is referring to that supposedly critical race theory, which is supposedly talking Kentucky schools, although there's no actual curriculum and lesson plans that are surrounding critical race theory, it's just these become taglines for a lot of candidates to rally around.

And it's important to note, too, you Kelly Craft many of them come from the campaign, a former Irving Kahn, Virginia current governor Glenn Youngkin really campaigned on that issue, something that really rallied a lot of Kentucky's, not Virginia.

Also look at it's a different And I think at some point there's just going to be some challenge about what exactly are we talking about here?

What are we talking?

We say both policies or, you know, the CRT.

These are things they are.

They're not specific claims of something that's actually happening in the.

In Kentucky's education system.

I think it's important for people to be clear about what exactly they mean.

and what exactly the, you know, the fix to whatever problem that.

>> Well, and her Lieutenant Governor candidate Max, why senator actually put forth the CRT like measure that is now law.

>> Right.

The CRT Light measure.

It was it was much extreme in its original form and it kind of got water down a little bit by the end of the year.

But in the end, it does set certain limits on how teachers talk about race and the history of race in America and also sets a bunch of speeches that the required to to talk about as well.

So, you know, that's I think that's going to be thing that she's focused Meanwhile, Daniel really been trying to double down on the abortion He's been he's been, you know, the state's top law enforcement officer officer suing are defending anti-abortion policies and this week was really coming out.

Joining a bunch of other attorney generals and challenging the federal allowance to to mail abortion pills and say what we have state laws that actually ban that.

There's a lot of states that are trying to stop that.

So he's he's teeing up to to be the the guardian of that particular issue.

Yes, so we'll see how that evolves.

So.

>> Meanwhile, teacher shortage, that was a big topic of discussion on that first day when they reconvened on Tuesday, a meeting where the education Commissioner Jason Glass testified on the reasons and maybe even some ideas on how to shore that up.

And there was some pretty intense, sometimes conversation about that.

>> Yeah, this has been a big issue I mean, I think a lot of people from both parties have talked about and worried about for a while.

Governor Beshear really try to put a number to it last Haha House and a teacher vacancies in the State.

A Courier Journal reporter Olivia kind of an impact that ensure that it's actually a lot less than that.

It seems like it's somewhere in the lake.

One to 2000, a vacancy range which is still concerning.

And I think that's kind of the point in which everybody should probably, again, you know, unite around this one fact.

But then it starts to different how to actually deal with this or what is the cause of the problem.

So commissioner glasses saying the teachers feel really under pressure and that they're that they're not being supported by, you know, by the legislature and by policies that empower them to kind of handle those situations.

But also hire more teachers to fill those vacancies because you think about it when you have those vacancies team there still, you know, there's still that many students to teach them and deal with them.

And teachers are getting stretched.

Thinner and thinner of Republicans are saying that actually the problem is once again woke policies that teachers are upset with having they're supposedly were policies that teachers are having to to teach and deal with.

So we're they're suppose they're going to be some come up to try and deal with these issues.

It's going to be seen to what extent their pay issues, what extent they're kind of these topical curriculum issues yet mostly because the education chairman Chairman James Tipton.

>> I think it's going to be following a bill on that pretty cent.

>> Last one House Bill one.

So as we talked, they were getting ready to go into chambers.

And we believe that the Senate he's going to act on that and and vote on that today.

So that was a foregone conclusion.

>> Yeah.

And this was a big priority for Republicans is the one thing that they moved early on in the legislative sessions going to reduce the state's income tax by another 0, 5%, of which ends up converting to hundreds of millions of dollars a year that would otherwise go into state coffers.

Legislators say that they can do that because Kentucky keeps on having budget surpluses.

But there's a there should be a debate over this issue, which is that, you know, other people say that that money should be reinvested into state services, especially after the state cut so many services over, you know, the wake of the 2008 recession instead of doing that, Republicans have been saying they want to return that to the pockets of taxpayer.

>> Yeah.

And we heard some testimony today about how they don't get so much money back in their pockets after all, perhaps and perhaps out from that earlier.

Rowland Barnes, always good to see you seem to think so much.

♪ Tomorrow night on Kentucky Edition states Senator Max Wise wants to improve what he calls parental engagement and communication and children's education will give you all the details about that.

>> Tomorrow night at 6.30, Eastern 5.30, central right here on Kentucky.

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Take.

♪