music >> Don't want to overstate things, but this may be the most impactful legislation we passed this session.

>> State lawmakers look for ways to keep Kentucky kids safe when they're online.

[MUSIC] >> More efforts will be needed in the future, but this is going to initiate work that should have happened years ago.

[MUSIC] >> Child care is hard to come by.

Businesses, advocates and state lawmakers hope to change that.

[MUSIC] >> The superintendent, Mr.

Ford, said.

You never got this much applause and I said no.

>> And a county fiscal court plays to a much wider and younger audience.

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

[MUSIC] >> Good evening and welcome to Kentucky Edition for Tuesday, March the 10th.

I'm Renee Shaw.

Good to be with you.

And thank you for joining us this evening.

The remains of a Kentucky soldier killed in Saudi Arabia are now back in the United States.

The dignified transfer of Sergeant Benjamin Pennington was last night.

As we told you yesterday, Sergeant Pennington was wounded in an Iranian attack on a base in Saudi Arabia on March 1st.

That attack was in retaliation for the U.S.

bombing of Iran.

Pennington was a 26 year old native of Glendale in Hardin County.

Funeral plans have not yet been announced.

He is the seventh American service member killed since the fighting began.

A child care reform bill is making its way through the Kentucky General Assembly.

Turning now to state legislative news.

But as our June Leffler reports, some Republicans are skeptical if the state and hired contractors can carry out lawmakers vision that begins tonight's legislative update.

[MUSIC] >> The Kentucky Chamber of Commerce gathered dozens of stakeholders in 2024 to brainstorm and agree on some key childcare solutions.

Those recommendations are now before state lawmakers and House Bill six and House Joint Resolution 50, sponsored by the chair of the House Families and Children Committee.

>> More efforts will be needed in the future, but this is going to initiate work that should have happened years ago.

>> Among other things, this legislation would revamp Kentucky's five star rating program for child care centers.

It creates a pilot for smaller or micro childcare centers.

It adjusts the formula for state childcare, subsidies for low income families, and guarantees childcare workers have daycare for their own children, something the General Assembly approved in the short term last budget cycle.

One of Kentucky's leading childcare experts, who's written books about the state and nation's child care crisis, says this builds on recent success, specifically the child care assistance for childcare workers.

>> This idea has been very effective financially for many states, and they have been following our lead.

>> A Northern Kentucky Republican is skeptical.

>> I'm just very concerned about this government involvement in childcare, and I just don't like that the taxpayer is paying for other people's childcare.

I just think that that's not a good recipe.

>> The bill sponsor says some responsibilities are shifted from the state to the private sector.

House Bill six calls for a third party to administer the Employee Childcare Assistance Partnership program.

It matches state dollars to employer contributions for childcare.

But it's been underutilized.

>> And I don't think that the administration has made it any easier.

You know, I feel like they kind of pick and choose what they decide to implement, what they don't.

And so if this isn't someone's full time job to promote the program, we're just not seeing the success of it.

>> That idea got pushback as well.

>> Seems to me the success or failure of this program is going to be involved in the contract for the third party administrator, which is totally opaque to us right now.

>> The Senate Families and Children Committee passed House Bill six in an 8 to 2 vote.

>> This is about our kids.

This is about workforce.

This is about our economy.

This touches every segment of what we do as a state, but yet we're reluctant to invest in it.

>> The committee also approved House Joint Resolution 50, which calls for a report from the state auditor on Kentucky's child care operations.

These bills now head to the full Senate, potentially for passage for Kentucky edition.

I'm June Leffler.

>> Thank you.

June.

Not all childcare providers are on board with the measures.

A representative from ABC Children's Academy in Bowling Green blasts the bill, that of Senator or state Representative Samara Heavrin, saying it won't help the child care industry and claims there are dozens of loopholes in that bill that need addressing.

Kentucky is failing its foster kids.

That's how state Auditor Alison Ball's office introduced a new report detailing foster children sleeping in state offices.

The report was conducted by the Commonwealth Office of the Ombudsman over a 22 month period.

The report found more than 300 children were put into what's called a nontraditional placement, or ntpe.

That includes 269 kids staying in office buildings, 17 in hotels and 16 in state parks.

174 of those children were in Ntpe for an average of eight days.

The report identifies what it found to be systemic failures by the Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services, including a lack of transparency and unreliable tracking of the care these children received.

The report also lists ten recommendations, including the implementation of 2024 Senate Bill 151.

The so-called Kinship Care Bill is meant to help people who care for a relative's child by allowing them access to financial aid.

SB 151 is currently tied up in litigation, with the Beshear administration saying it can't be implemented because state lawmakers failed to appropriate money for it.

Terry Brooks is the executive director of Kentucky Youth Advocates, which champions education, health and safety issues related to children and families.

He says funding SB 151 is a good start, but he'd like to see the state take a bigger, bolder approach.

>> We think that nibbling at the edges is not going to solve the problem.

Instead, we have to look at the entire continuum of care.

And the bad news is that's going to cost some money.

I'm not going to minimize that.

We're going to have to invest in these kids.

There may be some other solutions.

I'm not suggesting that the special session is the only solution, but I think it's a good one.

Now, that call to the special session had a prerequisite, which is that the governor works collaboratively with the Senate House, and I would even suggest the auditor to lay out the scope of the session, the pace of the session, the focus of the session, so that when those lawmakers come together, we can get real work done again.

I'd be the last person to suggest that that's the only solution, but it's one that I think bears consideration.

If our leaders in Frankfort agree that what we need is a revolution in child welfare, not just incremental improvement.

>> Now, it should be noted that only the governor can call a special session.

In Kentucky, state lawmakers are working on a proposed constitutional amendment that would let voters give the General Assembly's leaders the power to call a special session.

Now, sticking with legislation focused on Kentucky's youth, a bill that would delete social media accounts for minors is one step closer to becoming law.

House Bill 227 passed the House floor yesterday.

If it becomes law, children under 16 in Kentucky would lose access to social media unless their parents signed them up for an account.

As our Mackenzie Spink reports, the bill received high praise even from Democrats.

>> Republican Representative Matt Lockett says his bill will protect children from the dangers of addiction to social media.

>> I know that we all can see social media's harm to children.

That is well documented.

First, they all have an addictive design and a brain exposed frequently to social media.

It closely resembles a brain hooked on the highly addictive drugs.

Second, social media use causes declines in mental health and increases self-harm and suicidal thoughts.

>> House Bill 227 would mandate large social media platforms to use already existing age estimation technology to identify and delete accounts belonging to children under 16.

>> It requires platforms to use the same technology that they are already using to analyze, addict and monetize our kids.

These large social media companies are currently estimating a a user's age and then selling that data to be included in the user's feed.

>> Those accounts could be restored with parental consent, but under House Bill 227, so-called addictive features like personalized feeds and auto scrolling would be disabled for children's accounts.

Northern Kentucky Democrat Representative Matthew Lehman voiced high praise for the bill, saying he's fed up with social media companies exploiting Kentucky's children.

>> You know, I don't want to overstate things, but this may be the most impactful legislation we passed this session.

I mean, behavioral scientists have looked at this.

I mean, they say these social media platforms are like slot machines.

I mean, they are meant to keep our kids scrolling and returning.

We regulate slot machines.

We prohibit minors from using them.

We regulate tobacco marketing to minors.

We regulate alcohol advertising to minors.

But right now, the most powerful behavioral influence systems ever created operate inside the phones of our children in this country with almost no guardrails.

And House Bill 227 begins to change that.

>> House Bill 227 passed unanimously, along with two other bills that also affect children's well-being in the state House Bill 713 would make sure children in foster care get the entirety of their federal benefits.

>> More than likely, though, it is a survivor benefit that is owed to the child.

If that is the case, they receive any type of benefit like that.

The cabinet can take that money and say that they're reimbursing themselves for the care of that child.

In the child welfare system, those are benefits that are supposed to be there for the care and the future of of that child.

>> If fully passed, the bill requires the state to apply for benefits on behalf of those children who qualify, and then put that money aside in a savings account.

House Bill 685, a measure regarding teacher recertification, passed with an amendment that would attract more school psychologists to the state.

>> In some of our rural counties, vacancies for school psychologists go unfilled for years at a time.

>> Representative Vanessa Grosso championed this amendment, which will allow Kentucky to enter into the School Psychologist Interstate Licensure Compact, which will allow psychologists and other states to more easily gain a license to practice in Kentucky, she says, attracting more school psychologists to the state will improve education for students with disabilities and mental health needs.

For Kentucky edition I'm Mackenzie Spink.

>> Thank you Mackenzie.

Those bills will now head to the Senate for consideration there.

Today is day 43 of the 60 day regular legislative session.

Now, another bill in Frankfort looks to change the calculation on certain recreational beverages.

A plan is in motion to add a 4% retail fee onto alcoholic and cannabis infused beverage sales.

A Republican leader says this will simplify how taxes are calculated on beverages, but a local business owner says it could hurt retailers.

Our Emily Sisk explains more on House Bill nine.

>> Right now, alcohol in Kentucky is taxed via an excise or wholesaler tax.

That means based on the type of alcohol like wine, spirits or beer, the tax is different.

But House Bill nine looks to get rid of that system and create a standard 4% retail regulatory fee.

House Appropriations and Revenue Chair Jason Petrie said this could give retailers more flexibility in how to price their products.

>> I am so hopeful in every way that I can be, that this will be a much less complex schema than we have now, which will take out friction, take out cost, and give better pricing.

Flexibility at all levels is my hope.

>> But a Northern Kentucky Barr owner, spoke out against the bill, saying this could further hurt local retailers who are already struggling to stay afloat from the impact of tariffs.

>> I'm here as the owner of a small neighborhood establishment, to declare that House Bill nine will hurt my business by shifting to a two, a 4% sales tax throughout the state.

You're removing the tax from everyone but the residents of Kentucky, who will now have to pay more to make up for the difference.

Money conscious consumers will probably end up drinking less or going to neighboring states if possible.

>> Chair Petrie said he sees it differently, saying the fee should level the playing field for all alcohol and cannabis infused products, rather than having different fees for different drink types.

The Elkton Republican also said this legislation was set in motion before tariffs hit the bourbon industry.

>> This this concept started well before any actions were taken at the federal level.

>> Another important piece of HB nine is that the fee is extended to hemp derived beverages based on the quantity of THC in the product.

This is the first time these types of products will be in a formal tax structure, and Representative Matt Cooke said the legislation will be set up for any other intoxicating beverages that may come down the pike.

>> This is also about the long term and how we regulate it, and simplifying how we're able to regulate these products.

And not just alcohol, but it's hemp, it's kratom.

It's every new product that keeps coming in line.

And this helps us put the framework together to be able to manage that into the future.

For products that we don't even know, they're not even on the market yet.

>> The House minority floor leader took issue with the bill, saying it seemed to benefit large corporations rather than Kentucky businesses and customers.

>> Because it seems like when it is being passed away from corporations to the consumer.

And then, number two, that the small businesses that are barely making it but make Kentucky rich are not being taken care of.

>> Despite concerns, House Bill nine passed out of committee just a couple of hours later, the full House advanced it on a vote of 63 to 31.

It now heads to the Senate for further consideration for Kentucky edition.

I'm Emily Sisk.

>> Thank you so much, Emily.

The 4% retail fee would be on top of the state's 6% sales tax.

If the bill becomes law, it would take effect in July of 2027.

Now, from taxing hemp infused drinks to regulating them.

State Senator Stephen Meredith is a sponsor of Senate Bill 223.

It would allow the state to regulate these drinks the same way alcohol is regulated.

A co-founder of Louisville based Cornbread Hemp spoke in favor of the bill while a representative of the Kentucky Distillers Association spoke against it.

>> Cornbread, hemp and the broader hemp community in Kentucky are willing partners in this legislative journey, and we support testing requirements, labeling standards, age restrictions, and reasonable taxation because responsible regulation and products demand these sorts of reasonable restrictions and guardrails and to prevent bad actors from proliferating.

>> We all know that Congress has given the hemp THC industry a year to pass a sound federal regulatory framework, and we know these discussions are ongoing.

The kDa maintains that sufficient federal regulatory standards on par with alcohol, must exist before the THC beverage industry should be allowed.

Any expansion or additional privileges in Kentucky, if parity is the is the THC beverage industries goal.

The next steps must be at the federal level.

>> The bill received a mixed reaction from lawmakers.

>> Last year.

We we the House Senate Bill 202 was was a good bill and it allowed for the sale of THC infused drinks to be sold at liquor stores and also allowed for at fairs and festivals.

To your knowledge, have you heard any complaints or any issues, any health problems, any anything, any negative caused by that piece of legislation from last year?

>> I have not.

But I think our our point remains, all these agencies that regulate the alcohol industry need to be aligned on regulations for hemp at the federal level.

>> In my opinion, this product is so much safer than alcohol that if it can be used by anybody as an alternative to alcohol, and I do know people in long term recovery who do use these products and do instead of alcohol, and it is so much better.

>> We have cast votes for expanding a lot of things that, frankly, I've been disappointed where they had it with.

When we did sports wagering, I watched what some of the young people and take this from a father of four teenage boys right now, you know, and I watch how that's gone as vaping came in and it was billed as a safe alternative to cigarettes.

And we see where that has gone.

I worry about any of the expansion of any of these things.

>> The bill was advanced by the committee on a vote of 9 to 2.

It now heads to the full Senate for consideration there.

[MUSIC] This week, the Trump administration fired a National Transportation Safety Board member from Kentucky, but he's vowing to fight back.

The white House claims it fired Tod Inman because of reports of alcohol use on the job.

Harassment and other accusations in denies those claims.

He says this is a political hit job, and he says he will pursue his legal options.

Inman is from Owensboro, Kentucky.

He's a Republican, and he was the lead board member investigating the UPS plane crash in Louisville that happened last November.

15 people died as a result of that crash.

UPS pilots are adjusting to changes for months after that Louisville plane crash, and the Walmart Supercenter of the year is in the Bluegrass State.

Our Toby Gibbs explains in tonight's Look at Headlines around Kentucky.

>> Not all UPS pilots are back in the air.

Four months after the deadly crash and fire in Louisville.

15 people died in the November 4th crash.

Afterwards, UPS retired its entire fleet of MD 11 planes.

The Courier-Journal reports 275 pilots who flew.

Those planes are now being trained to fly new planes.

The process is started for about 90 pilots.

No one has been laid off or furloughed.

[MUSIC] The judge and a former sheriff's murder case will not recuse himself.

Former Letcher County Sheriff Mickey Stines is accused of killing Letcher County Judge Kevin Mullins in 2024.

Weku radio says Stines defense team asked Judge Christopher Koren to recuse himself from the case because of personal ties to Mullins.

[MUSIC] In his order, Koren says he has no personal bias and there's no reason for anyone to question his impartiality.

[MUSIC] The Jefferson County Public School system will end its partnership with the Transit Authority of River city, or Tarc.

For two years, Tarc has provided bus drivers to help the school system deal with the driver shortage.

The Courier Journal reports that JCPS is ending its partnership in order to help address a $188 million deficit.

JCPS says students won't be affected by the cuts.

A Corbin Walmart is the company's Supercenter of the year.

Walmart is praising the Corbin store for exceptional performance, customer service and community engagement.

[MUSIC] The Sentinel Echo says the store's workers are involved in Earth Day cleanups, Halloween candy giveaways, shop with a cop events, and a Christmas gift program called the Empty Stocking Fund.

With headlines around Kentucky.

I'm Toby Gibbs.

>> High school students in Southern Kentucky are learning all about county government.

Russell County Fiscal Court met at the local high school on Monday, giving students an up close look at how local leadership operates.

Our Laura Rogers has more from Russell Springs.

>> A high school gymnasium is typically the site of sporting events and PE classes, but on Monday, this gym was home to county government.

>> I conducted an actual local fiscal court meeting in front of the entire high school student body.

Students got to see their county government in action.

Today.

>> Russell County Fiscal Court conducted business at Russell County High School, part of renewed efforts to engage young people in public affairs and policy.

>> They're getting it firsthand.

They learn what the local government is and what the state government and the federal, and where everybody fits and what the branches are.

They got to see the agenda items and how real action is taken in the fiscal court.

So just a great opportunity.

>> Superintendent Michael Ford says it provided ideas for further classroom discussion.

>> A teacher could easily take that and do a writing prompt with it.

They could certainly play it into a social studies class.

The judge referenced the road fund and one point whatever million dollars that was.

You could take anything that would happen here today and put that in the classroom.

>> It comes as Russell County recently formed a civics club for students, modeled after a similar initiative in neighboring Cumberland County.

>> This program opened my eyes up, and I really enjoyed political science and just seeing how local government works.

>> Sadie Arterburn serves as the judge executive and the Cumberland County Civics Club and works part time for the county as solid waste and grants coordinator, already shaping her future.

>> I've been accepted into Murray State, and I'm going to double major in political science and marketing.

>> I'm really interested in politics and government.

>> Sidney Galizia serves as county attorney and the Russell County Civics Club and wants to be a prosecutor one day.

>> I hope it gives me hands on experience so I can have more knowledge about it.

>> Knowledge that officials hope they'll use as leaders of the next generation.

>> If we want them to stay, give them a seat at the table and ask, what will it take for you to stay here in your hometown?

That's what Judge Marcum and the fiscal court locally are doing, and I'm proud that's what we've done in Cumberland County.

>> If their future does lead them elsewhere in government, King says it's still a benefit for these rural communities.

>> If they go and they work at the state level or the federal level, we now have somebody that we're on a first name basis with and a cell phone number that we can use to contact folks at the state and the federal level that are a product of this program.

>> Junior Leah White does plan to pursue a career in education and Russell County, and says civics club will prepare her to do so.

>> I'm planning on becoming a teacher and I'm hoping to come back to this area.

And so I feel like if I know more about the community, I'm going to be walking in and I can connect better with the students.

>> I'm in this club primarily because I believe that this is really, really going to help me with my future.

And also I really like the people in it.

>> Alexis Chandler says a teacher who went to law school has inspired her to do the same.

She's already taking college courses.

As a high school junior.

>> I took an introduction to criminal justice and introduction to criminal law.

>> County officials say the ambition of these students means the future is bright for local leadership and service.

For Kentucky edition, I'm Laura Rogers.

>> Thank you Laura.

Bright futures indeed.

This is believed to be the only.

Second time a fiscal court in Kentucky has met before a student body.

The civics club officers are also paid for their time and efforts, thanks to grant funding, and will shadow the county officials who hold their same titles.

[MUSIC] You've heard the phrase farm to table.

Well, how about farm to airplane Kentucky crops could help keep planes in the air.

Some Kentucky lawmakers want to encourage efforts to turn Kentucky farm products like corn, soybeans and beef tallow into airplane fuel.

And find out what they have in mind tomorrow on Kentucky Edition, which we hope to see you right back here for again at 630 eastern.

530 central, where we inform, connect and inspire.

We sure hope that you'll connect with us all the ways you see on your screen.

There are social media channels Facebook, Instagram and X known as Twitter.

And also you can find us at stream content online, on demand at ket.org and look for us on the PBS app that you can download on your smart devices.

And of course, send us an email at the email address on your screen.

I'm Renee Shaw.

Take good care.

I'll see you tomorrow night.

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