Now moving from the classroom to the early childhood education room, could less red tape mean more child care in Kentucky?

Some Kentucky lawmakers hope that allowing local governments to evaluate local zoning and land use plans will help.

Kentucky Edition's June Leffler tells us about one approach gaining some traction.

From child development to economic development.

Lawmakers say more child care options would offer Kentucky a lot.

House Republican Samarra.

Hebron says House Bill 561 could help.

During our time conversations that we've had, a lot of people have talked about how one of the biggest impediments to opening child care centers is local zoning and land use policies.

The Cabinet for Economic Development and the Council of Area Development Districts would make a blueprint for local governments so they can address how zoning may be impacting their child care market.

That could include approaches to land use, permitting, parking and playgrounds.

So House Bill 561 is an innovative approach to encouraging local governments to study land use rules with the goal of identifying barriers to child care and implementing reforms.

Now, let me say I see Senator Gardner in here.

This is not a mandate, Senator.

This is just an encouragement to local government.

And so the bill imposes no mandates to local governments and fully upholds local control.

It creates opportunities for collaboration and economic development by making available a new voluntary certified child care community designation.

The Senate Families and Children Committee unanimously supported the bill.

I just wanted to say thank you for your work on this.

It's a really important bill to make sure that government isn't being a barrier to a lot of these businesses opening.

I think it's going to help a lot of people get child care near where they work and where they live.

So thank you.

I'm proud to vote yes.

And now heads to the full Senate after passing in the House last month.

Have written referenced other lawmakers approaches to bolster the child care market.

Mr. Chairman, we've both been working diligently on child care issues for the last two years, and I think that our life experiences bring us to different ways to approach the issue.

And for that, I'm thankful because the legislature brings us different life experiences and opportunities.

The chairman, Republican Senator Danny Carroll, introduced the Horizons Act that would earmark $300 million to pay for Kentuckians child care.

That bill passed out of the same committee last month.

It has not been brought to the Senate floor.

Carroll says Hebron solution is a good one.

We have talked often that much of this issue can be solved at the local level and it's imperative that our cities and counties get involved in this and find solutions for their suitable for their areas.

House Bill 561 also makes the state's Employee Child Care Assistance Partnership a permanent program.

It's currently a pilot that offers state funds to match an employer's contribution to their employees child care costs.

The bill calls for the state to better promote the program, so ideally more employers would take advantage of it.

For Kentucky Edition, I'm June Leffler.

Thank you, June.

Kentucky youth advocates say the bill will improve Parents, quote, access to quality, affordable child care in their communities and to recruiting and retaining a child care workforce force to serve these families, end quote.