
State Rep. Discusses His Vision
Clip: Season 3 Episode 134 | 4m 16sVideo has Closed Captions
State Rep. T.J. Roberts is one of the youngest incoming lawmakers.
State Rep. T.J. Roberts is one of more than a dozen new legislators heading to Frankfort in January. He's also one of the youngest incoming lawmakers who's already making a name for himself among national conservatives.
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Kentucky Edition is a local public television program presented by KET

State Rep. Discusses His Vision
Clip: Season 3 Episode 134 | 4m 16sVideo has Closed Captions
State Rep. T.J. Roberts is one of more than a dozen new legislators heading to Frankfort in January. He's also one of the youngest incoming lawmakers who's already making a name for himself among national conservatives.
Problems playing video? | Closed Captioning Feedback
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The political makeup of Kentucky's state House remains the same after this year's election as the ratio of Republicans to Democrats is unchanged.
Still, there will be more than a dozen new legislators filling the House and Senate chambers.
Our June Leoffler spoke with one of the youngest incoming lawmakers who's already making a name for himself among national conservatives.
♪ >> In counties, rural and suburban voters elected TJ Roberts to the state house and he has more faith in the Bible and the Constitution than the government.
>> Governments not always the answer to our problems and I can particularly think of that.
I lost my father to a drug overdose when I was 6 years old, he had his own run-ins in the criminal justice system.
Whenever I was very, very young.
The government programs that were there and they did not help them.
They did not resolve his addiction issues.
They did not.
You can't incarcerate addiction away.
And it just showed me that frankly, faith, family and freedom is the way that society by and large should be organized.
>> Robert's promises to mandate and spend less when I vote yes on the bill to add more requirements.
That is a requirement that is going to be imposed on 4 and a half million people.
And that is a burden that I take very seriously.
You have to persuade me that this is the only way to do it.
>> Robert's got into politics early.
He joined anti-abortion and Second Amendment efforts in college that connected him to national conservative figures including Kyle Rittenhouse who fatally shot 2 people during turbulent protests in Wisconsin.
>> How do folks Kyle Rittenhouse here?
And I want to advise you guys out to an event for my good friend, T J Robert, who's running for state representative.
>> Before running for office, Roberts, one big when he took Kentucky's Democratic governor to court during the pandemic.
>> good Friday, governor.
This year.
Threatens prosecution notices for people who attend church on Easter Sunday.
I thought he was bluffing.
I went to church anyway.
And after my church service, I find the prosecution notice the Alameda either quarantine for 2 weeks or risk up to a year in jail.
If I don't follow this disorder.
So I contacted an attorney and file a federal lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the order.
Fortunately, we win in the 6th Circuit and they published unanimous decision making clear that.
Secular institutions are still open.
Similar religious institutions are allowed to remain open.
>> Come January, Robert says he'll introduce legislation to put any new taxes before the voters.
He also wants to crack down on public dollars for political speech.
A line he says some public school staff crossed in the run-up to the school choice ballot measure.
Roberts is joining the friendly Republican Super majority.
But he says leadership needs to make way for new ideas from all members of the General Assembly.
I think every legislator should be able to have bill that is entitled to a hearing and a vote in a Jermaine Committee of their choosing.
>> And if it passes that committee, it should be in town to a vote on the floor of the House.
That's not a guarantee that that they pass those bills but it gives every legislator a fair shake.
It also gives the district a good idea who their legislator is.
I think we should be going on the record.
We should be telling the people where we stand on these bills and we should be doing it by voting on those bills.
>> Barely out of law school and holding a state elected office at just 26 years old.
This freshman lawmaker has a long runway left in his political career for Kentucky edition.
I'm Jen Leffler.
>> Thank you.
June Roberts fill the seat held by Republican Steve Rawlings Rollins left the House to campaign 4 seed in the state Senate which he won.
We'll have more freshman lawmaker profiles for you before and during the next
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