♪ >> Some specific example of somebody having been adversely affected or disadvantage because of what's going on.

>> The Kentucky House debates the future of dei on Kentucky college campuses.

>> We're definitely on the island.

There were the only state in the south that does not allow 15 year-olds to get their permits.

>> Our house bill could lead Kentucky teens get an early start behind the wheel.

And what's been accomplished.

2 different takes from the 2 parties after the president's speech to Congress.

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

♪ ♪ Good Evening and welcome to Kentucky.

Addition this midweek, it is Wednesday March the 5th.

I'm Renee Shaw.

We thank you for winding down your Wednesday with us.

>> The Kentucky House today passed an Anti dei bill sending it to the Senate.

The Republican backed House Bill, 4 strips, diversity, equity and inclusion policies and programs and offices from public universities.

Democrats tried to water down the bill with no success.

Here are some of the debate as we begin tonight's Legislative update.

>> Historically, America has striven for equal opportunity, not subjective equity.

Which dei now pursues through discriminatory admissions, hiring and scholarship standards that shift.

With administrations.

Williams.

>> This bill is not.

About racism.

This bill is about equal rights and equal protection.

>> For all.

>> We don't condone racism.

We abhor.

>> Racism.

Because we should be treating everybody the same.

>> One of the things I observed when running for this seat was the fact that at the time out of 100 members, we only had 33 women.

No one has benefited more from tougher city equity and inclusion.

Then white women.

>> We have dei and civil rights.

Not simply to promote equality in future.

But as a repayment and restitution of what has happened and what continues to happen.

Today.

We're on a dangerous path.

To host a stock that accuracy that will lead us back to a place in a space that we that we came from and that will not be good for our children, grandchildren and our great-grandchildren.

And I think that what we've got on the stand is that I think these children smart enough to understand and know that we don't want to go back there.

>> One Democrat Ashley Tackett, Lafferty of Martin and eastern Kentucky sided with Republicans to pass House Bill 4 on a vote of 81 to 18.

The University of Kentucky released the following statement on House Bill 4.

It says, quote, from an initial analysis, we believe the university is already in compliance with the key aspects of the legislation during the summer of 2024.

President Eli Capilouto initiated a series of conversations with policymakers and dozens of members of the UK campus from those conversations and feedback received, he announced a series of substantive policy changes as always.

We appreciate the ongoing dialogue we've been able to have with our policy makers about this and other issues and of quote that from Jay Blanton, University of Kentucky spokesperson.

And another news item.

It's a therapy practice.

Governor Andy Beshear has called inhumane and it was a topic of discussion in the state house today as well.

Last summer, Governor Andy Beshear signed an executive order to ban what's called conversion therapy and prohibiting the use of state and federal dollars to pay for it.

A major medical groups have said such interventions intended to change someone's sexual orientation or gender identity to heterosexual can trigger depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, or even suicidal thoughts, especially among LGBTQ youth.

A measure by a northeastern Kentucky Republican originally sought to protect conversion therapy and allow counselors, clergy or agencies to bring a civil case of action if they feel they've been discriminated against by a medical or licensing board, floor amendments approved today by the full House stripped the measure down to only to invalidate the governor's executive order on conversion therapy.

It also prohibits future executive orders and related administrative regulations through January.

First 2028.

>> For the state's executive too.

Abuse.

His limited authority.

And to make significant.

Very significant policy changes.

Toomey is extreme government overreach.

To abuse it.

To abuse than to issue this executive order that both infringes on.

Parental authority.

And potentially.

I think it infringes on our First Amendment.

Rights.

Conversion therapy may come from a place that you think is love.

>> But it only leads.

It leaves people that they are.

Leave some feeling with dread and despair.

They need to know that they are loved.

They need to know that we hear them and that we understand that this type of therapy, what this bill does provides no comfort.

>> I want to explicitly say to the members who are watching here at the members of our LGBTQ community, that there is nothing the matter with you.

>> Is there a piece there to help you?

I hope you will get it if you need it.

And that there are lots of people here who are fighting for you and we want you to succeed.

Thank you.

>> Chris Hartman, executive director of the Fairness Campaign sent the following statement to K T Co 2.

Why we're glad the original language which would have encouraged incredible harm to LGBTQ kids is gone.

We still strongly oppose House Bill 495.

No child should be subjected to conversion torture.

It serves no purpose but to increase anxiety, depression, self-harm and suicide among Kentucky's LGBTQ kids.

We hope the Kentucky Senate will reject HB 495 and ensure the safety of LGBTQ youth all across our commonwealth and quote, the House bill was approved largely along party lines.

77 to 18.

It now heads to the Senate for further consideration.

There.

A bill making sexual extortion, a felony and a bill allowing judges to KET their personal information private both saw action in today's House Judiciary Committee.

Our McKenzie Spink has more on both.

>> Kentucky youth advocates praise today's passage of Senate Bill, 73 out of the House Judiciary Committee.

This bill addresses sexual extortion, which is a form of exploitation where a person uses sexually explicit images of an individual to threaten them into meeting their demands.

Bill sponsor Sen Julie Rocky Adams says sexual extortion affects children.

Now more than ever, because of new technology platforms.

The data backs this up over a six-month period in 2023.

The FBI saw a 20% reporting increase from the year prior a financially motivated sexual extortion of minors.

Sexual extortion is one of the most dangerous and rapidly growing crimes targeting our young people today.

>> The FBI reports that sextortion is the fastest growing crime against children.

It is calculated.

It is cruel and it thrives on fear and silence.

>> Senate bill, 73 would upgrade sexual extortion charges to a felony.

Provide legal remedies to victims and prioritize prevention education among students unanimously passed the House Judiciary Committee today and will next head to the House floor for consideration House Bill 662. also passed out of this committee today.

This bill would allow state and federal judges to request that government agencies like the DMV not released their personal information like addresses and phone numbers.

Additionally under this bill when the coverage denial letter sent out by health insurance company, the ID number of that person who made the decision would no longer be listed.

Supporters believe shielding that identity from the public has become increasingly important given last year's shooting of United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson to the lousy.

>> Removal of their of their ID, their which if I understand right, is there a DEA number?

We've seen what happened up in was at New York back in the summer with the insurance guy.

>> In terms of the cygnet or on these tonigh letters.

I think it's important to protect us.

The identity publicly for the reasons that you stated with the United CEO being murdered.

And you know, that public kind of doxing.

>> The main concern brought up during discussion was ensuring that professionals on the health care side would still have access to that ID number, which is an essential part of the appeals process sponsor.

Representative John Blanton says he's already on it.

>> I am working and I'm committed to working with getting the proper language that addresses that and fixes that were that we provide the protection.

But the hospitals or doctors have access to that information.

But we're getting late in the game.

So this is one step in the process.

So I'm asking is what's moving forward today?

And they have my commitment to work on a floor amendment to have this raid to fix a solution.

So that we're protecting people's lives but also making sure that doctors and hospitals have access and information.

I have.

>> House Bill 662 was move forward out of committee and will head to the House floor for consideration by the full membership for Kentucky edition.

I'm McKenzie Spank.

>> Thank you.

McKenzie Senate bill, 73, the sexual extortion or sextortion bill as it's called, was passed unanimously by the full Senate in February.

If it passes the full House, it will then head to the governor's desk.

>> Kentucky teens could be hitting the road a year earlier House Bill 15 which passed the Senate Transportation Committee this morning.

>> Would allow new drivers to take their tests for their learner's permit at 15 years of age during the committee meeting today, we heard from a Kentucky unaffected by the bill.

>> This bill would allow for 15 EUR to get their permit.

And when they turned 16, if they have had at least 6 months of training they would be eligible to take their driver's licensing.

Tests were definitely on the island.

There were the only state in the south that does not allow 15 year-olds to get their permits.

>> My name is Brooke Chau and I'm a 14 year-old from here in Fresno County.

I'm here on behalf of every soon beef.

If you're a 15 year-old in Kentucky, many teenagers are already balancing school work, part-time jobs, sports and other activities demonstrating their ability to manage their town.

Allowing them to begin driving under controlled safe and structured conditions offers an opportunity to further develop these crucial life skills to 15 will provide more time for the past.

A monitor and teach.

Many believe the young drivers who begin to learn to drive it earlier like that to develop better driving habits as the game experience.

>> And that measure now heads to the full Senate to be acted on there.

School districts that were closed because of the threat of an armed gunman could be getting some relief.

State representative Tom Smith represents part of Laurel County.

That's where police spent nearly 2 weeks searching for a man who shot and injured 5 people is there were driving along.

Interstate 75 last September.

Representative Smith says a number of school districts in his area that decided to close during the manhunt have also been forced to close because of winter weather up normally rough season for flu.

State law requires students to be in school for a minimum of 170 days.

House Bill 669 would allow districts impacted by the manhunt.

2 be granted a waiver and receive credit for those school days.

Lawmakers on the primary and secondary Education Committee.

We're understanding.

>> Of any of these districts suggested their skill calendar.

Yes, sir, to make sure that the students could be in school as much as they could.

Yes, sir.

And I'm proud to say that my district snow looks to get out.

>> I I have to the top in the top 20 schools and state in my area.

And I will say this that they're already starting the extended days.

They're already on top of it.

One of my district is our extended to June on the counter so they could be prepared for it.

So I'm not I'm not here to to try to say let's give some days why I'm here to say we ran into it incident that they.

A couple comments.

Were this in the handbook?

What we do?

You know, we haven't been trained in I think it was just a panic and a rifle panic because this all started with the school incident.

Sure.

So the school's felt personally involved?

Well, I certainly don't >> I don't think they were wrong in being out of school in person.

Think that was the correct decision.

I just we just need to always remember that our children need to be in the classroom from a qualified teacher every day.

It's possible.

It's always ask that question and just want to make sure every efforts been made to accommodate the counter.

>> House Bill 669 unanimously passed out of the committee and now heads to the full House for consideration.

There.

There were hundreds of young faces at the state Capitol today taking part in children's advocacy day youth from across Kentucky got the opportunity to meet with their lawmakers.

Attend committee meetings and attend a rally for children in the Rotunda.

Kentucky Youth Advocates hosted and sponsored the event where participants say they learned about the importance of using their voice to speak up about issues important to them.

>> Children's advocacy day is all about children and how we can outreach their voices to our legislators and for our nation.

That is the whole idea.

And I love the fact that we get that opportunity.

And then we can respect to these bills and things past.

>> I'm a Kentucky help youth ambassador.

So in August I was selected at in this program out of 13 and we all have this big group and retreats that we've gone, where we learn how to connect with our legislators and how to advocate in and that change in our city.

>> My advocacy journey started watching my father, Bruce Crouch, a retired law enforcement officer go through the drug epidemic in opioid epidemic in our Commonwealth.

His theory has always been to swim upstream into the longest time.

I didn't understand what swim upstream really meant.

To swim.

Upstream means challenge the advocates in the room, the youth who can make a difference and can start a new generation for our nicotine crisis and how to stop it.

At a young age, nicotine products affect more than just our friends.

Our families and the people that we see every single they I learned about to specifics when Senate bill one House Bill.

The Senate bill, 100 passed by Senator Higdon as the Senate bill that is focused on the tobacco.

21 laws, retail licensure for those retailers to the U.

The stronger penalties for those we set out to the youth and get caught.

That will help.

>> And many of my peers don't even know how to use our voices to advocate for what they believe in.

So of insight today, allow people to see why advocacy is important and why we need to continue advocating for the people who cannot.

>> Governor Andy Beshear, Lieutenant Governor Jacqueline Coleman, Attorney General Russel Coleman and several members of the Kentucky General Assembly attended the rally.

As you see there.

More counties now qualify for public assistance following last month's flooding.

All 100 of 120 of Kentucky's counties experienced flooding over the Valentine's Day weekend.

The White House approved Kentucky's request for a major disaster declaration which opened up individual assistance grants of more than $40,000 in a home or business owner impacted in these counties shaded in yellow that you see on the map can apply for the assistance through FEMA.

The 10 new counties added to the list are Ballard Barron Butler, Green Heart Marshall Metcalf, Rockcastle Spencer and Wayne.

It took first responders from at least a dozen agencies to help contain and overnight wildfire that you see the Somerville, a volunteer fire department in Grand County shared this picture on social media.

The Kentucky Division of Forestry says the fire burned.

23 acres at times.

Flames are shooting higher than some of the nearby homes that had to be evacuated.

A number of counties have burn bans in place right now.

Greene County is not one of them.

Congressman Brett Guthrie representing Kentucky second congressional district says his office is quote, closely monitoring the fire in Greene County.

He also thanked the first responders and advise listening to local authorities for any updates.

♪ >> I'm Laura Rogers and it's time now for our midweek conversation with NPR's Reiland Barton and Rylan.

We've seen a lot of attention at the federal level on Elon Musk in the Department of Government efficiency and looks like we could see something similar here at the state level in Kentucky.

Tell us about those efforts.

>> Yeah, it's similar at least in name.

A state legislator wants to create a Kentucky doge.

This bill would really activate the state auditor is currently Allison Ball and it would give them more money eventually that that would probably be given to them later and like a budget right here.

But we give them more money to review state programs for inefficiencies, waste compliance with the law, which it's a little bit line of what it sees that Elon Musk program Doge is attempting to do.

Although it would be a much slower basis.

I think it is interesting to also talk about how dozes actually rolling out in Kentucky right now over the last week.

And we've seen some reporting from a few outlets from the earlier in the Courier Journal been following this about federal buildings that are slated for closure in Kentucky.

There's a long list of the 400 plus federal buildings across the country that those identified for possible closure, although it's been very confusing.

The list has changed a lot.

And actually, as of today, the list is totally disappeared.

But at one point there was about 20 different buildings are identified for closure in Kentucky.

Many of them were mine safety buildings, which is concerning to mine safety advocates.

But these are important functions of folks who go out and inspect and also provide benefits of the around mine safety, which this is a legacy industry in Kentucky.

And also there's a lot of shuttered and dangerous abandoned mine, sex and Kentucky.

So there's a lot of concerns that this could happen.

And also looking beyond that, the concerns about those would affect federal workers in Kentucky was about 25,000 Ish federal workers in Kentucky.

Just today we heard that the VA wants to lay off around 70,000 workers in the VA, Kentucky.

It's about 7,001, the largest groups of federal workers in Kentucky.

So a lot of people just still waiting to see how this is going to roll out a new Trump administration.

>> Something else to discuss here is Senate Bill 89, which I believe gets a House committee vote tomorrow.

But this is the bill that would redefine waters of the Commonwealth.

It.

>> Which change which of those bodies of water, that state government monitors.

And I want to ask you about what we're hearing from those sponsors and supporters of that legislation, but also concerns from the other side as well.

>> Yeah.

Really what this would narrow the definition of what is protected by the state to only being navigable waterways and the ones that are connected by So say waterways or streams that appeared during the storm.

It's Kentucky seen many of lately would not really be under the state's purview.

This is something that supporters saying this would benefit industry that they would have to deal with as much red tape.

Critics are worried that this would do away with an important protection for waterways, especially when we're talking about once again, the whole industry where a lot of the headwaters of of Kentucky's lakes and streams begins in the mountains, some of the streams that appear during storms and groundwater as well as another huge one would no longer be regulated by the state comes after a big Supreme Court ruling from a couple years ago that made similar a similar ruling on the federal level.

So Kentucky would just be kind of adopting this.

Also lower standard states across the country have been kind of following suit that states have been easing protections after that court ruling.

We saw Indiana passed a similar law for this last year.

Meanwhile, blue states of interestingly another neighbor, Illinois, has been passing more protections to make sure that those protections exist of the federal government is going to do that.

>> It was a couple weeks now that Senator Mitch McConnell officially announce that he would not seek reelection again.

He's been in office since 1985.

Polling already started about who could be leading in the race to succeed McConnell.

What can you tell us about what we're hearing there?

>> Yeah.

And saw his poll that shows Daniel Cameron.

Well ahead of the other folks who have been mentioned as possible candidates in this race, dental care is the only Republican I believe at this point officially was for his hat into the ring.

But you have also some 39% about any bar 6 district congressman from the Lexington area at 17%, Lexington businessman, Nate Morris at 2 and a half percent.

I think these numbers are entirely surprising, especially this early.

Daniel Cameron is the one Canada here is run a statewide campaign who has won statewide in his attorney general race.

And he's a familiar face, especially after an election just a couple years ago, which he lost by a pretty slim margin to Governor Andy Beshear.

This is early for about a year away from its candidates having to really be locked in and who who the slate of Republicans are going to be running for the seat.

And it'll be interesting to see where the state and nation are at that point.

This is going to be an even numbered year.

So that means there's going to be other elections on the on the table as the midterm elections going to be a referendum on people feel about the first 2 years of the second round of Donald Trump and what we're seeing, see how Republicans are responding to that and talking about that a year from now.

>> Raelyn Barton with National Public Radio.

Thank you so much.

>> President Donald Trump says he's delaying tariffs on imports from Canada, Mexico, for U.S. automakers by a month.

Other tariffs that went into effect Tuesday are still in place last night the president addressed a joint session of Congress and he claimed credit for swift action to reshape the nation's economy.

Immigration and foreign policy since he entered office, the Republican Party of Kentucky praised the speech and President Trump's first 7 weeks in office saying, quote, the Trump administration has accomplished more in a month than most do in 4 years.

Thanks to the president's strong leadership.

Always putting America first and never last.

The American people have a bright future ahead.

End quote, Kentucky Democrats, though, saw it differently.

The party posted this to ex, quote, Billionaires when hardworking Kentucky families lose Trump's address was full of lies and empty promises that won't lower grocery bills or help.

Kentuckians Kentucky Democrats will continue to fight for you, unquote.

President Trump says Elon Musk will be making sure there's gold at Kentucky's Fort Knox.

Both men have been raising questions about this for weeks now on his social media platform.

X Musk says maybe it's there.

Maybe it's not.

But Trump appointed Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told a Wisconsin talk show host that gold is audited every year and that all of its present and accounted for the U.S. Bullion Depository at Fort Knox is stored precious metal bullion reserves for the U.S. since 1937, the vault have only been opened once since 1974. former Kentucky governor Republican Matt Bevin and congressional representatives toured the facility back in 2017.

♪ ♪ We thank you so much for watching tonight.

We do want to make a quick correction earlier, we Dana FIDE Representative George Brown from Lexington as a Republican.

He is a Democrat.

We apologize for that error and we hope to have an error-free show for you tomorrow night on Kentucky Edition of 6.30, Eastern 5.30, central where we inform connect and inspire.

We hope that you'll subscribe to our Kentucky Edition, e-mail newsletters and watch full episodes and clips at KET Dot Org.

Look for us on the PBS app that you can download on your smart device and phone.

>> And connect with us on Facebook, X and Instagram.

Stay in the loop on all the KET and PBS programming coming your way each and every night here on KET.

Thanks so much for being with us tonight on Kentucky Edition, I will see you right back here again tomorrow night.

Take good care.

So much.

♪