♪ >> Those are your words and terms of trying to put words in my mouth.

I voted 3 lines from the Let me let me finish.

Representative.

>> Here, the debate over whether to audit Kentucky's largest school system.

Even almighty pays a visit to the state Capitol to send a message.

People who would abuse of Pat, what also abuse of her son.

>> Says March mean for us.

>> And Kentuckians follow in the footsteps of those who walk 60 years before.

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

♪ ♪ >> Good evening and welcome to Kentucky EDITION for this Tuesday March, the 5th, I'm Renee Shaw in our A E T S to Deo's in the Capitol Annex in Frankfort.

>> 4 day, 44 of the 60 day legislative session.

Thank you so much for joining us.

Wrong and mean, that's how Governor Andy Beshear describes a bill passed by the Kentucky General Assembly that stops local governments from blocking landlords who want to refuse tenets based on their source of income.

The governor today vetoed House Bill 18.

That story kicks off tonight's Legislative update.

Some landlords don't want to rent to tenants paying with federal housing vouchers, Louisville and Lexington recently passed ordinances requiring landlords to accept those tenets House Bill 18 would block those ordinances.

Today, Governor Beshear said the legislature needs to understand who this bill would hurt.

>> Why should a landlord be able to say, well, I'll take cash, but I want to take a bouncer of the same value.

Now this is how we support our most vulnerable.

What this legislation would say is I am you don't participate.

You don't have to help.

You can discriminate against those that that end up getting this assistance.

>> That audio was courtesy of WAVE 3 news.

The bill passed in the Kentucky House.

75 to 20 and in the Senate.

25 to 11.

So the votes are there to override the governor's veto.

Here's reaction from House Speaker David Osborne.

In a statement he said, quote, with today's veto, he meaning Governor Beshear strikes out at the right of a property owner to make a decision about how his or her property will be used.

The very idea of forcing a property owner to participate in the program runs contrary to one of the most basic and fundamental rights end quote.

Now the Kentucky Senate says schools should be able to hire armed guards to protect kids.

Senate Bill 2 would let school districts hire retired law enforcement and military veterans to carry a gun and respond to potential school shootings.

In 2019, the General Assembly required schools to hire school resource officers, which are police officers.

But since then, not every school has been able to recruit and pay for sorrows.

Proponents say this bill fills a gap while opponents question the liabilities guards and school districts might face.

>> And what it came down to.

2 for me, Mister President is.

What I rather have a trained armed veteran on site ready to act.

Or would I rather have a Holly trained as so arrow?

Or law enforcement officer?

5 minutes away.

That's the choice we have.

We do not have weren't we do not have perfect choices in this situation.

And so it comes down to that.

I would rather I have to have someone there protecting my kids who are in school.

I want to train veteran.

If the U.S. are over 5 minutes away.

It doesn't work.

There's a live shooter at a school.

Who's in charge?

>> Is there requirement that that guardian interact with local law enforcement to establish that protocol?

Silent as to that, I have concerns about that.

Not because I question that the qualifications of the Guardian because I'm not sure how they interact with the system.

We know exists and know-how exists.

So I want to get these districts.

That option is one of my district reached out and said.

I'm concerned that this leaves some questions unanswered.

And again, delays our investment in the sro's the school districts need.

And we've said that they're supposed to have.

>> Senate Republicans carried the bill and a 28 to 10 vote.

3 Republicans joined Democrats to oppose the measure at the beginning of this school year, Jefferson County Public Schools made headlines because of its busing crisis for some kids were still on a school bus late into the evening.

Transportation student, discipline and truancy issues continue to plague the district and some lawmakers think it's time to take a closer look at the problems facing JCPS are Clayton.

Dalton has the story.

>> And this is not I repeat, this is not a knee-jerk reaction.

The Jefferson County Public School District is the largest school system in the state of Kentucky serving over 95,000 students.

One Republican lawmaker wants to investigate the district.

He says to highlight the good and the bad.

This is a a A a co-operative collaborative approach to look at a school, a school district to help them out to lift them up, to give them.

They have the opportunity to not only to showcase what they're doing, what they're doing, right, but also trying to find the opportunities we can help them out, get them in a better position.

The resolution sets up a task force to review school districts with an enrollment of at least 75,000 students.

Currently only JCPS speech.

That threshold to sponsor says this isn't targeted at JCPS but some lawmakers pushed back of despite what's what's been in the public is not an attack on a school distric it is not designed with embedded pre-determined conclusion, despite what people say.

>> You said there's no preconceived notions about what this task force would find.

However, this resolution says it will review how other states have implemented the creation of new school districts.

It says the need for alternative governance structures and it will explore options for the restructuring or reorganizing of school districts.

Doesn't say anything about shrinking class sizes, making more schools K through 12 implementing a longer school day.

So what gave you the idea that size is the single thing that we should be looking at and segmenting the district might be the right idea that those are your words and terms of trying to put words in my mouth of the extreme lines from the Let me let me finish.

Representative.

Well, don't you think that's part of the process to go through to uncover that information to this task force to do that?

>> You could have a resolution for the task force that is not saying if you go sure, you structuring reorganized happened.

It was not less.

You're not.

You're picking out your picking apart.

One particular component of this.

You look at, you know, you're >> OK, 3, you pick up 5 business.

The process you go through takes to expose as much information as possible to figure out where we need to go to help to help out the school system.

Marty Pollio, the superintendent of JCPS says the state legislature is focusing on the wrong things.

>> 95% of your energy and efforts should be spent on mitigating the top 3 issues.

>> In education in the commonwealth.

And this asked any of your superintendents.

Number one, teacher, vacancies, number 2 bus driver vacancies.

Number 3 student attendance.

Those are crises in every district in the commonwealth or 90% of them.

And we spend so much of our time talking about other things.

I'll give an example.

Last year we spent a great amount of time talking about parents rights to challenge books in our libraries.

We then develop policy that these challenges could go to our board of education.

It is now the first week in March.

75 1% of the way through the year.

And I will tell you how many books have been challenged in front of our board of Education.

0.

Lawmakers approved the task force.

Other the measure did meet bipartisan opposition.

3 Republican lawmakers also register past votes.

House concurrent resolution.

81 now heads to the House floor for consideration for Kentucky edition.

I'm Clayton Dalton.

>> The House Education Committee also advanced bills that bolster civics education in schools and direct a special audit of the Kentucky Department of Education.

Kentucky voters could have an extra race added to their ballots starting in the 2026 elections.

Currently the state Board of Education is appointed by the governor and approved by the Senate Senate.

Bill 8, however, would put the issue to the voters elected 14 board members across the 7 Supreme Court districts.

The elections would be partisan.

But the bill sponsor says this isn't politically motivated.

>> This bill is result of years of watching appointments to the state board used as political favors.

To gain political control.

And we've seen it on both sides of the aisle.

We've seen it.

>> Under our former Republican governor used it to actually fire one of the best a runoff.

I guess one of the best super or commissioners.

I think that I had the pleasure of serving with.

>> And then also we saw the current governor took office.

He abolished the sitting board.

And then he appointed a brand new one consisting entirely of Democrats.

Opponents of this bill like to say that.

Filling in filing of this bill, it's due to politics.

Respectfully.

I disagree.

>> I've seen no evidence that this change will improve educational outcomes that moving to partisan elections is good for our kids.

In fact, 8 out of the out of the 10 top states that perform at the top of our educational outcomes have appointed school boards.

And there are very few that have boards that are elected in a partisan way.

Just 2 years ago, we reorganize this board to ensure it represented the breath of perspectives in Kentucky to ensure it reflected things like that partisan political ideology, gender, diversity, racial diversity.

And I think that's a good approach to ensure that the breath of experience and perspectives of Kentuckians are represented.

And what is the foundation of our Commonwealth?

7 Republicans joined all 7 Democrats in voting.

No.

>> The bill passed 24 to 14 parents paying child support could soon be on the hook for more money today, the full Senate passed Senate Bill one 10, it makes child support retroactive to cover the 9 months prior to a child's birth.

So long as the child support order is issued within the first year after the child is born, the bill is sponsored by state Sen Whitney Westerfield was expecting triplets.

>> And if I may offer some personal testimony, my wife being pregnant right now, the thankfully she's not leaving me.

There are costs involved.

We've got health insurance and I've got a stack of bills with copays and premiums and so forth on my desk right now.

But I'll be playing tonight electronically.

So I know that there are costs involved and that's before we even get to a buying 3 car seats and 3 of everything else between now and when these baby show up that obligation exists and regardless of what anybody else, philosophical position is the order of child support should be able to reflect that.

>> Senate bill, one 10 passed by a vote of 36 to 2 and is now headed to the House for consideration.

There.

Now there's a push to KET e-cigarettes away from underage buyers.

Today, a committee, OK, Senate bill 3.44, a bill that would create a special e-cigarette registry in Kentucky.

Some businesses say it's a good idea, but others don't >> this bill requires the paper manufacturers to register with the state and certify the products comply with federal regulation.

The statement publishes a list of compliant products and the director directory or registry like the cigarette directories that exists in almost every state.

>> Probably unusual to see someone who's in the industry supporting regulation.

We feel that regulation is in helping to take these black market products off.

Of the market that the youth are excessive, assessing and convenience stores.

They chopped different.

There was a nation the somewhere in the neighborhood of about 8 million products that were submitted for approval.

Many of those millions of those initially were not even found to be substantial enough to review the application that they submitted.

Their are today and this process on goes by the FDA somewhere in the neighborhood of 25 products that have been.

Approved at this point or received a marking order from the FDA.

If this bill passes my store as well as 450 paper stores in Kentucky.

Will all immediately closed in 2023.

The FDA issued 322 warning letters in Kentucky for service for selling tobacco products to kids.

>> Only 4 of those were issued a vapor stores.

Paper stores are educated.

21 and up and we do a remarkable job making sure our products going to adult hands.

>> The bill would also regulate the branding and packaging of e-cigarettes.

The sponsor of a bill lifting restrictions on some speech therapy coverage brought in a little little star power to get his bill down court.

Former NBA and University of Kentucky player Michael Kidd-Gilchrist was in Frankfort today to voice his support for Senate Bill.

One 11, which seeks to eliminate coverage limits on speech therapy for stuttering Republican state Senator Whitney Westerfield invited Kidd-Gilchrist to testify before the Senate banking.

An insurance committee.

Good good, Chris.

Who has a stuttering conditions says he's speaking out in hopes that others like him get the help they need.

>> Why not advocate?

Why not be that a person who?

Always had this issue was starter.

Always was embarrassed about it.

Always.

Fell on her b*** today.

That scenes for myself and also hopefully these people in this state adults and kids like myself, stuttering is a very stigmatized and miss understood.

Speaking difference.

>> Maybe some of you stutter percentages say that one percent of you do or maybe you've known someone who stuttered or love someone who stuttered, it's different in everyone.

And what we know from the research is that speech therapy, particularly with a skilled practitioner, can help change people's lives.

Who stutter.

That's what I try to do every day.

But it's often made difficult because of barriers that are out of my control term downstream effect of not doing this and investing in this.

Now.

>> There's clearly a are talking about.

If that's the numbers are right.

About one percent of the population has a center that we're dealing with.

I don't think this is going to break the bank at all.

I think it's worthwhile.

>> Also showing support for the Bill Kelly Craft, former candidate for Kentucky governor and UN ambassador.

The bill passed the committee unanimously and is now headed to the full Senate.

The House Appropriations and Revenue Committee also took up several bills this morning that included 2 bills relating to funding for the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet Cabinet Deput Harries.

Deputy Secretary Mike Hancock said the current two-year state budget passed by the House doesn't have enough money for road maintenance.

State Representative Jason Petri chairman of the committee said today's discussion was all part of the process.

>> Reducing the amount of money that we put into our main maintenance budget news facilities degrades the road system and his performance, snow and ice response.

Severe weather response, drainage pipe repairs, tree and brush removal pavement.

Patching year-old examples.

Okay.

What he sees ongoing maintenance responsibilities in our view, simply an was to continually undercut the candidates ability to KET our roads in good operational shape that they look forward.

Realize, as I know, you know.

>> And everyone else should know.

This is first the first drafts.

So this is a process we go through and look forward to further conversation in the comments and input from from you in DOT.

>> Both bills were later unanimously passed by the full House with little debate.

March is social work month and Kentucky leaders said thank you to social workers past present and future today at the Capitol.

Among those giving the accolades state Representative Lindsey Burke of Lexington who started out as a social worker.

She said it's time Kentucky provides more help to the people who dedicate their lives to helping others.

>> I have a bill that would allow social workers to access the workers come if you experience things in your job that are so overwhelming that you really need to take care of yourself for a while.

Because when?

>> When you give and give and give and give of yourself and you're exposed to the many forms of trauma.

>> That your clients are experiencing, that vicarious trauma can be heavy.

And you are not compensated well enough yet for that to be an equal balance.

And so I want you to have the assurance that you can take time off of work to take care of yourself.

So you can come back and continue with these battles that are so worthy and so deserving and you are already doing that good work.

I just want to make it so that you can do it as long as you want to.

>> Ration.

>> Also at the rally, even almighty, a dog rescued from abusive homes become a symbol in the fight against animal cruelty.

Its current owner says if someone is willing to abuse an animal, they're also prone to abusing a person.

Lawmakers are considering the funds law House bill, 2.58, which would make it a felony to torture a dog or a cat.

Kentuckians marched for civil rights in Frankfort, March 5th, 1964, today, 60 years later, people were on the streets again and Kentucky's Capitol City, 6 decades have passed.

But for the marchers, the message is the same.

There's work to be done.

>> It was here in our capital City.

The people from all walks of life came together 60 years ago.

In a peaceful but powerful protest to prompt are state leaders to take action.

And that March on the Capitol steps, it was a demand that Kentucky joining and the national struggle for racial equality today as we celebrate that pivotal March, we honor the memory of those kuz footsteps.

We follow.

And their vision that continues.

We've got is today.

Our march today is more than a historical re-enactment.

It's a testament to the Commonwealth and Frankfurt's role in the larger civil rights movement.

>> It was a bold declaration.

That Kentucky.

Commonwealth.

Was ready to leave the self out of the saddles of segregation and discrimination that Kentucky Civil Rights Act of 1966, the steps one of our human race Commission with powers and they have the option of for housing laws were not just legislative victories.

Inside that Civil Rights act of 1966, was diverse.

In the country needs f*** similar actions across our nation.

So Kentucky was not a follower.

Kentucky was aliah the fabric of our nation.

This woven with threads of diversity immunity yet it is tested.

But the forces of division.

And inequality.

Pay us.

Is pressed in the halls.

>> Well, frankly.

Government.

Right now, there are those it even do not understand.

Do not into Chino about.

Stopping what must go forward.

And that is our understanding of our history.

Do it for most of our president so that we can make decisions should be just.

Adjusts and unify future.

♪ ♪ John Franklin reminds us that our work is far from finished.

>> And their way to justice to resolve it.

Where the voices of hate and division threatened to drown out the calls for unity and equality.

It all resolves must be stronger.

>> Longtime civil rights advocate Mattie Jones and state Senator Gerald Neal were among those there for today's March.

And the March 16 years ago.

♪ ♪ There's a new push to get dental care and vaccinations to kids in eastern Kentucky.

And why did the price of gas go up last week?

Our Toby Gibbs has that and more and our look at headlines around Kentucky.

♪ >> 2 groups are partnering to expand access to dental care and vaccinations for children in eastern Kentucky.

The Appalachian News Express reports the Kentucky Association of Health plans and the Ronald McDonald House Charities of Grass announced the 3 Year $300,000 Grant.

The partnership will focus on providing free professional dental services aboard a mobile clinic through the Ronald McDonald Care Mobile program.

In what your Leslie, not Perry and Pike counties official with the Ronald McDonald House says the new funding will allow them to address low immunization rates and hire a caseworker who will oversee follow-up appointments and ensure patients receive comprehensive care plan.

The Kentucky community and Technical College system will pilot a program aimed at improving the mental health of college students.

The Highland Enterprise reports it's a four-year collaboration with the Jed Foundation, a nonprofit focused on protecting the mental health of teens and young adults.

The program will focus on the evaluation development and deployment of mental health suicide prevention and substance misuse programming for some campuses.

The program will reach 75% of college students in the state.

The Franklin County Health Department will host community focus groups to discuss overdose prevention and access to Narcan, which reverses an opioid overdose.

The State Journal reports that would also be discussion about placing 24 no locks box rescue KET across the county.

The KET will contain 2 nasal doses of naloxone and a rescue breathing device at Chd applied for a one-time grant totaling $8,000 to purchase naloxone storage boxes.

According to Triple A of the Bluegrass, Kentucky INS are paying more for gas.

Lori Weaver Hawkins with AAA tells W E K you that gas has increased about $0.30 over the last month in Kentucky, she said it's partially due to the last month BP refinery fire in Indiana that caused it to shut down for weeks.

With headlines around Kentucky, I'm told begins.

♪ >> Lexington turns 250 years old next year.

And if you live in Lexington, you'll see the special logo created to commemorate the big milestone.

Meet the woman who created that logo and what she was thinking as she put it together.

That's tomorrow on Kentucky edition, which we hope you'll see for again at 6.30, Eastern 5.30, central.

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>> And of course we're on the socials Facebook X and Twitter to stay in the boat.

Thanks so much for watching us tonight.

Take good care of that.

We'll see you tomorrow night.

♪