Gov. Andy Beshear talks to reporters after a Wednesday night rally in Lexington. (Kentucky Lantern photo by McKenna Horsley)

LEXINGTON —?Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear is joining other Democrats in calling for the U.S. president to be elected by popular vote, saying the country needs to “move to a place where seven states don’t decide the presidency.”?

“We’ll have better government. We’ll have better politics. We’ll have better elections when we get to that point,” Beshear said Wednesday at a gathering of Democrats in Lexington.?

When asked to further clarify in a Thursday press conference, Beshear said that candidates would be encouraged to campaign for votes in all states rather than just in swing states if the popular vote decided the president. He added that such a system would get “us closer to a place where we can govern in a way that lifts all Americans up, that we’re not pushed towards any extreme, that we don’t write off crazy things that some candidates may or may not say, but that we would truly get an election for all Ameriicans.”?

“I think to do that, we would ultimately have to abolish the Electoral College,” Beshear said. “I know that’s been with us a long time, but we see where things currently stand.”?

The Electoral College consists of 538 electors — mirroring states’ total members in Congress — meaning a candidate needs 270 electoral votes to win the presidency.?

In 48 states, the winner of the popular vote, no matter how slim the margin, is awarded all of the state’s votes in the Electoral College. Maine, Nebraska and the District of Columbia use a proportional system to award electoral votes.?

Some Democrats, including Beshear and Democratic vice presidential nominee Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, are renewing calls to do away with the Electoral College in favor of a national popular vote.?

According to POLITICO, the U.S. has had five elections in which the winner of the popular vote lost. The races in this century where this happened are Vice President Al Gore’s 2000 bid against President George W. Bush and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s 2016 campaign against President Doanld Trump.?

Both Gore and Clinton are Democrats. Bush was the last Republican to win the popular vote during his 2004 reelection campaign.?

Beshear’s Wednesday night comments drew ire from Kentucky Republicans on social media. The Republican Party of Kentucky said on X that abolishing the Electoral College would make “Kentucky have no say in presidential elections.”?

In a Thursday evening statement, Republican Senate President Robert Stivers said the GOP Senate Caucus sees the Electoral College as “a vital pillar of our Republic that ensures smaller states like Kentucky continue to have a voice and we reject any attempt to dismantle it.” Stivers added that Beshear’s position “proves that he is a nationalized Democrat through and through” and “violates what our founding fathers, including Washington, Jefferson, and others, envisioned for this great country.”

“Governor Beshear’s proposal to eliminate the electoral college not only threatens the federal balance but disrespects every Kentuckian who values their representation in the highest levels of government,” Stivers said. “This proposal is a blatant dereliction of his responsibility as the head of the Commonwealth’s executive branch and a disrespectful affront to every Kentuckian who values their right to be heard.”

Kentucky has eight electoral votes, which have consistently gone to Republican presidential candidates since the 2000 presidential election.?

In his response on Thursday, Beshear said that Kentucky would benefit from a popular vote for president, although he doubts the Electoral College will be abolished anytime soon.

“At the end of the day, regardless of the changes that are or are not made, certainly in my activities, I want to make sure that we are moving not just this state, but other states into a place where they are also considered important in these elections, that we have a seat at the table nationally. That’s good for Kentucky, but it’s also good for every single state.

A recent Pew Research Center poll found that 63% of Americans would instead prefer that the winner of the popular vote be the winner of the presidential election while 35% prefer maintaining the Electoral College.

This story was updated Thursday evening with additional comments.?

This was the scene on a rainy primary Election Day in 2023 at Elkhorn Crossing School in Georgetown. (Kentucky Lantern photo by Abbey Cutrer)

Early voting for all registered voters will begin this week as a surge of Kentuckians participated in excused in-person absentee voting last week.?

Republican Secretary of State Michael Adams said in a post on X that 16,441 voters cast ballots last week during the first three days of in-person absentee voting, which is a 114% increase over the same period in 2022. Adams said those voters included 9,739 Republicans, 5,690 Democrats and 1,012 voters registered as “other.”

Three more days of excused in-person absentee voting continue through Wednesday.

No-excuse early voting begins Thursday, Oct. 31, and lasts through Saturday, Nov. 2. Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 5.?

Voters will cast their ballots in a number of races, including elections for president, U.S. representatives, state legislators and many local offices. Kentucky voters will also consider two constitutional amendments, one that would bar those who are not U.S. citizens from voting in Kentucky elections and another that would allow the General Assembly to fund nonpublic schools.?

Early voting polling locations and hours vary by county. To find local information, visit the State Board of Elections’ website. Also listed are Election Day polling locations and drop box locations for returning mail absentee ballots.?

The deadline to request absentee ballots was Oct. 22. At the time, Adams said on X that 130,695 Kentuckians had requested a ballot.

“As absentee ballots generally make up 2%-4% of all ballots cast, this portends a massive overall turnout,” Adams said. “For the love of God, vote early.”?

During the 2020 presidential election, 658,000 voters requested an absentee ballot. That was amid the coronavirus pandemic and emergency regulations that expanded eligibility to vote by mail in Kentucky.?

As of Saturday, 56.49% of requested mail-in ballots had been returned to local county clerks’ offices, according to State Board of Elections data.?

In September, 24,536 Kentuckians registered to vote. The deadline to register for the general election was Oct. 7.

Kentucky has 1,649,657 registered Republicans, or 47% of the total number of registered voters. Democrats make up 43% of registered voters with 1,507,936 voters.

For more voting information, visit govote.ky.gov.?

Tennessee House Speaker Cameron Sexton, third from left, with Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, Gov. Bill Lee and Lt. Gov. Randy McNally, at the November 2023 rollout of Lee’s universal school voucher program. (Photoby John Partipilo for the Tennessee Lookout)

This story was originally published by Chalkbeat. Sign up for their newsletters at ckbe.at/newsletters

A new universal school voucher proposal will be the first bill filed for Tennessee’s upcoming legislative session, signaling that Gov. Bill Lee intends to make the plan his No. 1 education priority for a second straight year.

Senate Majority Leader Jack Johnson said this week that he’ll file his chamber’s legislation on the morning of Nov. 6, the day after Election Day. He expects House Majority Leader William Lamberth will do the same.

The big question is whether House and Senate Republican leaders will be able to agree on the details in 2025. The 114th Tennessee General Assembly convenes on Jan. 14 as Lee begins his last two years in office.

During the 2024 session, the governor’s Education Freedom Scholarship proposal stalled in finance committees over disagreements about testing and funding, despite a GOP supermajority, and even as universal voucher programs sprang up in several other states.

Sponsors in the Tennessee House, where voucher programs have had a harder time getting support from rural Republicans and urban Democrats, attempted to woo votes with an omnibus-style bill that included benefits for public schools, too. But Senate Republican leaders balked at the scope and cost of the House version.

Johnson recently gave a voucher update to school board members in Williamson County, which he represents, on the development of new legislation.

Similar to last year’s proposal, the new bill would provide about $7,000 in taxpayer funds to each of up to 20,000 students to attend a private school beginning next fall, with half of the slots going to students who are considered economically disadvantaged. By 2026, all of Tennessee’s K-12 students, regardless of family income, would be eligible for vouchers, though the number of recipients would depend on how much money is budgeted for the program.

“The bill is not finalized, but we’re all working together with the governor’s office to come up with a bill we all can support,” Johnson told Chalkbeat after the presentation.

Testing accountability is among chief issues to settle

Johnson said the Senate’s 2025 bill will again include some type of testing requirement for voucher recipients — either state assessments or state-approved national tests — to gauge whether the program is improving academic outcomes.

However, the Senate bill will eliminate a previous provision that might have allowed public school students to enroll in any district, even if they’re not zoned for it. That policy proposal had been included at the insistence of Senate Education Committee Chairman Jon Lundberg, a Bristol Republican who lost his reelection bid in the August primary.

Lamberth, the House leader, did not respond this week to multiple requests for comment about his chamber’s plan, which in 2024 had no testing requirement for voucher recipients. Instead, the House version sought to dramatically reduce testing and accountability for public school students, including replacing high school end-of-course assessments with ACT college entrance exams.

The House bill also included numerous financial incentives to try to garner support from public school advocates. One idea was to increase the state’s contribution to pay for public school teachers’ medical insurance by redirecting $125 million the governor had earmarked for teacher salary increases.

Johnson told school board members the governor is planning a “substantial” increase for public education funding in 2025 but didn’t specify how much or for what.

“I think we’re going to have some things in there that will be great for all public education,” he said when asked later about including costly incentives such as teacher medical insurance funding. “Whether it’s in that (voucher) bill or if it’s in a separate bill is a great question. We will see. I don’t know the answer.”

Williamson County school board rescinds earlier anti-voucher resolution

Johnson told board members in his home district that he expects “nominal” impact to Williamson County’s two suburban school systems south of Nashville, if the bill passes the legislature in 2025. Most enrollees, he said, would be in urban areas that have more low-performing schools and private school options.

Later Monday, Williamson County’s board, including four newly elected members whose campaigns were supported by a conservative out-of-state political action committee, voted 10-2 to rescind a resolution passed by the previous board opposing Lee’s Education Freedom Scholarship Act.

The governor is from Williamson County and graduated from a public high school there in 1977. So it was significant when his local board voted in March to join more than 50 other school boards across Tennessee on record against his signature education proposal.

But Dennis Diggers, a new board member, argued that it was appropriate to revisit the issue given the recent election, and proposed rescinding the resolution.

“Four of the six candidates who won their election ran publicly for more than six months on this issue, so it was out there,” Diggers said. “I am not going to deny the parents in Williamson County the chance to help their kids.”

Meanwhile, a Tennessee policy organization that supports vouchers released a new poll showing 58% of the state’s voters are more inclined to support a candidate who supports letting parents collect public funding to choose where their child is educated, including public, private, charter, or home schools. The Beacon Center poll did not use the word “vouchers” in its question to voters, which tends to poll worse than language about “school choice.”

Universal vouchers would mark a major expansion of vouchers in Tennessee, where lawmakers voted in 2019 to create education savings account options for students in Memphis and Nashville. That targeted program, which has since expanded to the Chattanooga area, has 3,550 enrollees in its third year, still below the 5,000-student cap, according to data provided by the state education department.

A spokeswoman for the governor said his administration continues to work with both legislative chambers on a “unified” universal voucher bill to kick off discussions for the 2025 session. She also noted that $144 million remains in this year’s state budget for the program, even though lawmakers didn’t approve the bill.

“We remain grateful for the General Assembly’s continued commitment to deliver Education Freedom Scholarships to Tennessee families by keeping funding for last year’s proposal in the budget,” said Elizabeth Johnson, the governor’s press secretary.

Marta Aldrich is a senior correspondent and covers the statehouse for Chalkbeat Tennessee. Contact her at [email protected]. Chalkbeat is a nonprofit news site covering educational change in public schools.

Rep. Nima Kulkarni, D-Louisville, asks a question during the June meeting of the Commission on Race and Access to Opportunity. (LRC Public Information)

The Kentucky Supreme Court denied a challenge that sought to disqualify Louisville Rep. Nima Kulkarni from seeking reelection this fall.

In an unpublished opinion released Thursday, the state’s highest court unanimously denied a motion from Kulkarni’s primary challenger, William Zeitz, and previous opponent, former Rep. Dennis Horlander. Zeitz and Horlander sought an appeal of a Franklin County Circuit Court decision that allowed a vacancy in the 40th House District primary election to stand.?

“Because the Democratic primary election was a nullity, a vacancy was created that needed to be filled,” the court’s opinion said. “No candidate emerged from the primary for either party. The Democratic candidates both were undone by Kulkarni’s victory and subsequent disqualification.”?

James Craig, Kulkarni’s attorney, called the court’s decision “a big and final win” for the representative.?

“This case has finally ended where we knew it would from the start,” Craig said. “The Kentucky House District 40 voters chose her by a wide margin in the primary, and we’ve been to two circuit courts and the Kentucky Supreme Court to save their voice. Today’s unanimous decision protects the voices of the voters. The Democratic nominating process was done correctly and with integrity. This is a big win for my client Rep. Kulkarni, but it is a bigger win for democracy.”?

For months, Horlander has sought to legally bar Kulkarni from the ballot after challenging the validity of her candidacy papers. One of her two signatories was not a registered Democrat, as required by state law, at the time of signing. In that case, the Supreme Court disqualified Kulkarni, effectively nullifying the primary election in the 40th House District.?

Subsequently, Republican Secretary of State Michael Adams permitted the local political parties to nominate candidates for the general election. Democrats selected Kulkarni. Republicans did not nominate a candidate.?

Kulkarni defeated Horlander in the 2018 and 2020 Democratic primaries for the 40th House District. In an unofficial vote count, Kulkarni received 78% of ballots cast in the May primary election. Zeitz received the remaining 22%.

In September, Zeitz and Horlander previously appealed to the Kentucky Court of Appeals, but a panel of judges denied that motion after requesting the Supreme Court review the matter. The Supreme Court denied that transfer.?

Zeitz and Horlander’s attorney, Steven Megerle, said in a statement that Adams’ interpretation of the law “is now confirmed to be correct.”?

“The result is Nirupama Kulkarni has no opponent and will be elected with these quirky facts. William Zeitz, an Army tank veteran, who served overseas and here who did nothing wrong is out,” Megerle said. “Politics often benefits the privileged like Ms. Kulkarni, not asphalt truck drivers like Bill Zeitz. But our Commonwealth’s compact gives the final say to the collective body of the General Assembly to determine qualifications of its members. And I hope there might just be a robust discussion by that branch to finally determine whether Nirupama Kulkarni or William Zeitz should be seated for the people of House District 40. “

Kentucky’s general election ends Tuesday, Nov. 5.?

Sen. Mitch McConnell is raking in less money for his reelection campaign than at this time four years ago. But he is sitting on a comfy $8 million cushion. (Getty Images)

FRANKFORT — U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell’s reelection committee raised just $76,000 between July 1 and Sept. 30 — the lowest quarterly contribution total it has reported in the four years since his 2020 reelection, according to reports filed with the Federal Election Commission.

The $76,000 compares to $1.7 million that Sen. Rand Paul’s reelection committee reports it raised in the same period.

And it is far less than the $325,000 that McConnell’s campaign raised during the comparable quarter during his previous term, July through September of 2018.

Follow the money

An occasional series of campaign finance notebooks

By Tom Loftus

McConnell, who is 82 and has won election to the Senate seven times, has not said whether he will seek another term in 2026. Many political analysts expect he will not run, particularly after two incidents in the summer of 2023 when he froze for several seconds during press availabilities.

McConnell allies, however, say the recent low fundraising amounts are insignificant because McConnell’s reelection committee still has a formidable balance on hand of $8 million. And at this same point in his previous term (Sept. 30, 2018) FEC records show McConnell’s committee had $3.4 million on hand.

His supporters say McConnell’s recent fundraising efforts have been focused on helping Republicans retake the U.S. Senate as well as raising money for the McConnell PAC (Bluegrass Committee) which, in turn, has given $200,000 to the campaigns of Republicans running for the Kentucky General Assembly this fall.

Yet McConnell has always been able to tend to these two other fundraising responsibilities while raising big dollars for his own reelection. And a review of past reports the McConnell reelection committee has filed with the FEC shows this downward trend:

In the first nine months of 2021 McConnell’s reelection committee reported raising $3.6 million; in the first nine months of 2022: $1 million; in the first nine months of 2023: $390,000; in the first nine months of 2024: $341,000. Not a normal trend of an incumbent looking toward the next election.

Beshear’s PAC not yet reporting much support for fellow Democrats

Gov. Andy Beshear’s In This Together PAC continues to report raising modest amounts in contributions and through September has reported giving only a small amount to help the candidates in Kentucky and around the country that Beshear supports.

The super PAC reported raising $68,000 in September and having $708,000 on hand as of Sept. 30. Its report shows it made one contribution during the month: $5,000 to a political committee of Michigan Democratic U.S. Rep. Elissa Slotkin, who is running for the U.S. Senate in November.

According to reports it has filed with the FEC since it was created by Beshear in January, In This Together has made $36,400 in contributions to help other candidates. That’s just 14% of its total spending of $259,394. The rest has gone to operating expenses.

Eric Hyers, who managed Beshear’s two campaigns for governor and oversees the super PAC, says In This Together decided from the start to save its money until late in the campaign season when voters are paying closer attention.

“At the end of the cycle, it will be clear that the vast majority of our funds went directly to working to elect good people and win critical elections,” Hyers said.

Donors to In This Together last month include five members of the Chavez family of Cincinnati, who together contributed $21,000. A Chavez family company owns parking garages and parking lots in Northern Kentucky and Cincinnati and has been a major donor to Andy Beshear political committees for years.

Others who donated $5,000 each to In This Together last month were:? Judith Vance, of Maysville; Robert Vance (a Beshear appointee to the University of Kentucky Board of Trustees), of Maysville; Duane Wall, New York, attorney with the firm White and Case; Myrle Wall, a store owner from New York; the Norfolk Southern PAC, of Washington; and the United Steelworkers PAC, of Pittsburgh.

The biggest expense of Hal Rogers leadership PAC?

Hal Rogers’s leadership PAC continued to pay his wife Cynthia Rogers her $4,000 monthly salary last month as the “event planner” for the Rogers’ leadership PAC called HALPAC. It was the largest expense paid by HALPAC during September.

So far in this election cycle (since Jan. 1, 2023) FEC records show HALPAC has paid $84,000 in salary to Cynthia Rogers. That’s about 22 percent of all of the PAC’s total spending and the second highest expense for the PAC during the cycle. (The PAC’s largest expense over this cycle has been $96,975 paid to Churchill Downs.)

HALPAC reported making two political contributions to Republican members of Congress seeking reelection during the month: $3,000 each to Ken Calvert for Congress (Corona, California); and Juan Ciscomani for Congress (Tucson, Arizona).

HALPAC reported $61,000 in contributions, and $12,000 in spending, during the month and as of Sept. 30 had $82,600 on hand.

The vast majority of its contributions in September came from 11 out-of-state donors who each gave $5,000. HALPAC’s report does not list the occupations or employers of those donors.

Elected in 1980, Rogers has no Democratic opponent in this year’s election as he seeks a 23rd term. He has served in Congress longer than any other Kentuckian.?

U.S. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell speaks to reporters after an appearance in Louisville, Oct. 23, 2024. (Kentucky Lantern photo by McKenna Horsley)

LOUISVILLE — U.S. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell said the presidential election will be “a cliffhanger” when asked Wednesday if he still supports former President Donald Trump’s campaign.

The Kentucky senator fielded questions from reporters, including about his earlier endorsement of Trump, after a Kentucky Chamber of Commerce event. Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, and Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democrat, have 13 days left to sway voters.

“Looks like seven or eight states that are going to determine who wins, that’s where both candidates are spending all of their time, which is smart,” McConnell said. “I don’t have a clue how it’s going to turn out. I think it’s going to be really, really tight.”

McConnell was also asked about recent comments by John Kelly, a retired Marine general and Trump’s former chief of staff. Kelly said Trump’s leadership was “dictatorial,” “fascist” and lacking empathy.

“I think the election is pretty clear,” McConnell said. “If you’re satisfied with the Biden years, you’re going to vote for the Democrat. If you think we can do better, support the Republican.”

A? biography of McConnell, “The Price of Power,”? written by The Associated Press’ deputy Washington bureau chief Michael Tackett, is slated to hit shelves next week. According to early reports, McConnell called Trump “stupid as well as being ill-tempered,” a “despicable human being” and a “narcissist” following the 2020 presidential election.?

McConnell endorsed Trump’s reelection bid earlier this year following the former president’s Super Tuesday wins. At the time, McConnell said it “should come as no surprise” as he had said he would support the eventual Republican nominee.?

Trump and McConnell have often been at odds. McConnell once blamed the former president for “disgraceful” acts sparking the attack on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. In February, Trump said he was unsure if he could work with McConnell in a second term. Days later, McConnell announced he planned to step down as the Senate Republican leader this November.?

McConnell’s remarks preceded Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz’s visit to Louisville Wednesday afternoon. Walz, Harris’ running mate, is scheduled to attend a fundraiser for the Harris campaign. McConnell did not respond to a question about that appearance.?

Amendment 2 would change Kentucky's Constitution to allow the General Assembly to spend tax dollars for educating students at private schools. (Kentucky Lantern photo by Austin Anthony)

FRANKFORT — A multimillion-dollar television advertising campaign supporting the so-called “school choice” amendment on the November ballot is being single-handedly funded by Jeff Yass, a Pennsylvania billionaire and Republican mega donor.

In early September a political action committee called Protect Freedom began running television ads advocating passage of Amendment 2 which would change Kentucky’s Constitution to allow the General Assembly to spend tax dollars for educating students at private schools. One of those ads features Republican U.S. Sen. Rand Paul making the pitch for the amendment.

Protect Freedom is a national PAC closely affiliated with Paul and largely funded by Yass since it was formed by Paul’s political associates in 2017.

A report filed by Protect Freedom with the Federal Election Commission on Wednesday shows that it got $5,000,250 in total contributions during the period between July 1 and Sept. 30. Of that total, $5 million (99.99 percent) was donated by Yass on Sept. 6.

The report also shows that it paid $2,031,418 in September to Strategic Media Placement, an Ohio media company that has placed Protect Freedom’s ads advocating for the school choice amendment with Kentucky television stations.

Protect Freedom as of Wednesday morning has bought $4.1 million in ads promoting the amendment, according to a representative of Protect Our Schools, a group opposing the amendment that has been tracking advertising buys in the race.

Yass is managing director and co-founder of the Philadelphia-based trading firm Susquehanna International Group. He is worth $44.3 billion according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. His holdings include a major investment in the China-based ByteDance, the parent company of the hugely popular social media site TikTok.

Yass also is the country’s second largest political donor, having made $79.7 million in political contributions since Jan. 1, 2023 — nearly all of that to Republican causes, according to Open Secrets, a website that tracks political contributions. (That total does not include the $5 million he gave in September to Protect Freedom.)

And for many years Yass has made big contributions to political committees — particularly in Pennsylvania but also in many other states — advocating school choice.

He is no stranger to donating in Kentucky.?

Last year he donated millions to PACs that unsuccessfully supported Republican Daniel Cameron’s campaign for governor.

And he has long been a massive donor to PACs affiliated with Paul. The $5 million he gave to Protect Freedom in September brings his total contributed to Protect Freedom to $34 million since 2017. In? 2021 he gave $5 million to a PAC that successfully supported Paul’s reelection in 2022.

Advocates for Amendment 2 say it will improve education by making it possible for more parents to have a choice in deciding where to send their children to school.?

Another pro-amendment group called Kentucky Students First recently reported that it had raised about $1.5 million to promote the amendment. Kevin Broghamer, who is treasurer? of Kentucky Students First, declined to immediately answer questions from Kentucky Lantern Wednesday morning. Broghamer, who is also treasurer of Paul’s campaign committee, said someone with the group would call back if it had any comment. As of early Wednesday afternoon the group did not call Kentucky Lantern back.

Opponents of the amendment say that it would divert tax dollars from already under-funded public schools to private schools.

A PAC called Protect Our Schools has recently reported raising about $3.1 million from teacher unions for its advertising campaign to defeat the amendment. Of that total $2.4 million came from the National Education Association, and $250,000 each from the Kentucky Education Association and Jefferson County Teachers Association.

Eddie Campbell, president of the Kentucky Education Association and board member of Protect Our Schools, said of Yass’s donation, “A billionaire is giving our politicians in Frankfort a blank check to divert our tax dollars from public schools. … He’s flooding the airwaves with misleading ads.”

Campbell said the difference between the big contributions to each side is that Yass is just one person, while the teacher unions are made up of tens of thousands of “members of local communities who are concerned about the harmful effect this amendment will have.”

Gov. Andy Beshear, flanked by opponents of Amendment 2, spoke at a news conference Tuesday at Consolidated Baptist Church in Lexington. (Kentucky Lantern photo by Jamie Lucke)

LEXINGTON —? Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear joined teachers union president Randi Weingarten Tuesday to rally opponents of a constitutional amendment that they warned would defund Kentucky’s public schools.

Beshear took issue with what he called “misinformation” being spread by supporters of Amendment 2. “You don’t have to read very far to know that those trying to get you to vote ‘yes’ on Amendment 2 aren’t telling you the truth,” Beshear said — a criticism later disputed by Jim Waters of the conservative Bluegrass Institute for Public Policy Solutions, which supports the amendment.

If voters approve the measure’s changes to the state Constitution, Kentucky’s legislature would for the first time be free to put public money into private schools. Kentucky is one of three states with similar questions on the ballot this fall.

Weingarten, president of the 1.8 million-member AFT which represents teachers, nurses and other professions, stopped for a news conference at Consolidated Baptist Church as part of a pre-election bus tour through multiple states where AFT is supporting political allies including the Democratic presidential ticket.

Weingarten, an attorney and former history teacher, praised the protections for public schools in Kentucky’s Constitution. “I’m here to say to Kentucky, if we want to have that Kentucky culture of public schooling being the equalizer for all? kids, we need to vote ‘no’ on Amendment 2.”

She said that in states that have funded vouchers to help pay private school tuition, most of the parents using them were already sending their kids to private schools. “And, in fact, many private schools in the country have raised their tuition.”

Thirteen states and the District of Columbia fund some? form of vouchers that provide a set amount of money for private? school tuition, according to the Education Commission of the? States. Thirty-three states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico have some form of “school choice” program, according to EdChoice, a nonprofit that advocates for the programs.

Josh Cowen, a professor of education policy at Michigan State University, told the gathering that voucher programs are failing students. He said 20 years of research led him to “call vouchers the education equivalent of predatory lending” because kids who leave public schools to attend the non-elite private schools that will accept them suffer declines in academic performance.

Cowen, formerly a professor at the University of Kentucky, is the author of “The Privateers: How Billionaires Created a Culture War and Sold School Vouchers” published recently by Harvard Education Press.

“When it comes to vouchers, it isn’t the school choice at all. It’s the school’s choice. The schools are doing the choosing,” Cowan said, adding that “30% of kids who do come to a voucher school from a public school end up leaving within the first couple of years … because they’re pushed out, asked to leave or they just can’t make it work.”

The movement toward school vouchers has been fueled by a network of super wealthy individuals and their nonprofit advocacy groups, most prominently Americans for Prosperity linked to Charles and David Koch. Another champion of school choice, Jeff Yass, a billionaire options? trader who lives near Philadelphia, has also put millions into a political action committee associated with Republican Kentucky U.S. Sen. Rand Paul, who is featured in television ads supporting Amendment? 2.

Saying he wanted to address “three pieces of misinformation,” Beshear ?said a pro-Amendment 2 flier had implied that he supported the measure because it would give him more options. “Let me be clear, I’m fully opposed to Amendment 2.”

Beshear also disputed assertions in advertising for Amendment 2 that its passage would raise teachers’ pay, saying “that? fails math.” Beshear also said that even though supporters ?argue that Amendment 2 in itself makes no policy changes, Republican lawmakers through their past votes for charter schools and a tax credit to support private schools have made their intentions clear, even as their commitment to further cuts in the state income tax will reduce revenue available for education.

“Amendment 2 would allow Frankfort politicians to take taxpayer money away from public schools and send it to unaccountable? private schools,” Besher said. “Let me tell you the people of Kentucky do not want that and when they are educated on what this amendment will actually do, they will vote against it as many? times as you’ll let them.”

Waters? of the Bluegrass Institute disputed Beshear’s assertion that Amendment 2 supporters are spreading misinformation.

“Voters are not voting on vouchers or any type of policy. The amendment removes barriers so legislators can create school choice policies without being struck down by the courts.”

Waters also said data show that teacher pay is “positively affected by choice policy.” The Bluegrass Institute in August published a brief by John Garren, a University of Kentucky emeritus professor of? economics, that found “increased school choice raises the demand for teachers’ services” and that “this increased? demand pushes up pay for teachers generally in public, private, and charter schools.”

Students arrive at Carter Traditional Elementary School in Louisville in January 2022. (Getty Images)

Amid calls in the Republican-controlled legislature to deconsolidate Jefferson County Public Schools in Louisville, a new study found that some states that have proposed splitting up large urban districts ultimately did not put those changes into law.?

The Office of Education Accountability, an agency that researches education for the legislature, studied school governance models across the country and presented its findings to Kentucky lawmakers on the Education Assessment and Accountability Review Subcommittee Tuesday morning. Other findings in the report included that consolidating school districts can result in long-term saving costs but local communities often oppose it.

Co-chair of the subcommittee, Sen. Stephen West, R-Paris, asked OEA presenters if consolidation had a positive impact on student performance. OEA Research Division Manager Deborah Nelson said the research on the effects of consolidation were inconclusive.?

Rep. Tina Bojanowski, D-Louisville, asked if deconsolidation has an effect on student performance. Bojanowski teaches at a JCPS elementary school.?

“If you took a large urban school district and split it up, is there any evidence that you would have improved academic outcomes?” she asked. Nelson said there has not been a state deconsolidation of large districts, so it cannot be studied. Some small districts have succeeded from a larger district, but there have not been studies on student achievement in those cases.?

According to the OEA study, Nevada’s legislature considered dividing the Clark County School District in Las Vegas in 1997 but no legislation to that effect was approved. In New Mexico, legislation in 2017 included a provision to deconsolidate districts with more than 40,000 students but it did not pass. In Nebraska, legislation was passed in 2006 to deconsolidate Omaha Public Schools, but the legislation was later repealed.?

“We have no data we can point to for deconsolidation,” West said in a subsequent comment. “In the case of JCPS, for us as a state, we don’t have a lot to go on, really, is what you’re telling us.”?

Last year, a group of Republican lawmakers called for exploring legislative changes to JCPS after a bus-scheduling? debacle delayed the start of the school year. Among policies they wanted to tackle was creating a commission to evaluate splitting up JCPS, the state’s largest school system.?

During the 2024 legislative session, the General Assembly approved a task force to review governance of the school system. That group has met during the legislative interim and any recommendations it will make must be submitted to the Legislative Research Commission by Dec. 1.?

Louisville residents expressed concerns about deconsolidation during two task force meetings held at local schools. A co-chair of the task force, Sen. Michael Names, R-Shepherdsville, told reporters after the first local meeting that he suspected no legislation could come from the task force next legislative session because of the amount of information the task force wants to review.

On other issues, OEA’s report found that Kentucky’s school governance laws for state and local boards of education were similar to most states in the U.S. and that state takeover of school districts can often lead to some improvements for districts’ fiscal health but “on average, does not lead to improvements in student achievement.”?

The report did study authorization models for charter schools and noted that while Kentucky law does have a governance framework for charter schools, none are currently operating in the state. States with charter schools have varying authorizers.?

In Kentucky, authorizers can be the local school board in the district where the charter school would be located or a group of local school boards formed to make a regional charter school. There are also two local government authorizer options: the mayor of a consolidated local government or the chief executive office of an urban-county government.?

Louisville has a consolidated local government plan. Lexington operates under an urban-county government model.?

Kentucky Secretary of State Michael Adams, a Republican, speaks to a crowd while accepting the 2024 John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award. (Screenshot via JFK Library Foundation livestream)

Kentucky Republican Secretary of State Michael Adams is mulling a run for governor, according to a recent interview with his law school’s publication.?

An alumni profile of Adams entitled “Election Defender” in the Harvard Law Bulletin says he is considering a run for governor as he is term-limited as the state’s top election official. Adams graduated from Harvard Law School in 2001. He won bids for Kentucky secretary of state in 2019 and 2023.?

In response to the Kentucky Lantern on Monday, Adams’ spokesperson Michon Lindstrom said right now Adams “is focused on running a smooth presidential election and will discuss any future plans at a later date.”?

Speculation about Adams making a future gubernatorial bid swirled after he gave a victory speech last November that focused on topics outside of the purview of the secretary’s office, including public safety, quality of life and the state’s long-term future. When asked at the time by the Lantern about his future political plans, Adams said it was too soon to say.?

“It is way too early to try to predict what I’ll be doing in four years,” Adams said. “I think I showed my party I’m a strong player on the bench. I have found a way to reach across the divide and over-perform in places Republicans generally can’t compete.”

In the 2023 general election, Adams was the top vote-getter after he gained more than 784,000 votes.?

Adams was awarded the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award earlier this year. He was selected for his work to increase voting days in Kentucky, as well as for standing up for free and fair elections despite ire from fellow Republicans and death threats from election deniers.?

The Harvard Law Bulletin interview focused on Adams’ career after graduating from Harvard Law and how he first became interested in civics. According to the article, Adams says? that state government fits his style more than more polarized national politics.

Kentucky Senate President Robert Stivers, left, and House Speaker David Osborne are among the Republicans who declined to answer the Right to Life candidate survey this year. They conferred during the State of the Commonwealth address in the House chambers on Jan. 3, 2024. (Kentucky Lantern photo by Arden Barnes)

LOUISVILLE — Kentucky Right to Life is endorsing in fewer legislative races this year — 45 candidates for the General Assembly received an endorsement from the anti-abortion group, down from 86 in 2022 and 88 in 2020.

Planned Parenthood’s Tamarra Wieder said the decrease in endorsements is a sign that Kentucky politicians no longer want to take the unpopular stands required to win a Right to Life endorsement.??

Wieder, state director of Planned Parenthood Alliance Advocates Kentucky, said it’s an “incredible indictment on the brand and on the movement.”?

“What this shows is that they have become too extreme, even for their followers,” Wieder said. “They are out of step with Kentuckians, and I think it also shows the legislature is afraid of putting their name on anti-abortion policies.”?

Addia Wuchner, Kentucky Right to Life executive director, did not respond to a Lantern reporter’s voicemail and an email sent to an address posted on Kentucky Right to Life’s website last week.

In a newsletter sent in response to the story, the organization acknowledged “challenges” facing Kentucky’s anti-abortion movement … “as public opinion evolves.”

“While we respect diverse opinions, it’s crucial to clarify that (Kentucky Right to Life) does not measure its mission by popularity or changing political winds,” the email said. “We remain guided by a steadfast moral compass, prioritizing the protection of life over convenience.”?

In order to be considered for an endorsement, the Kentucky Right to Life Victory PAC requires candidates to answer questions about issues important to the group and sign the survey. The organization also considers voting record, a candidate’s involvement in organizations related to abortion, electability and background.?

In 2024, about 50 Republican candidates “declined” to answer the survey, according to the endorsement report. Right to Life endorsed 45 legislative candidates and “recommended” others based on their voting history.?

All 100 House seats and half of the 38 Senate seats are on the ballot every two years, although many seats go uncontested.

The Lantern used information from VoteSmart to count endorsements from earlier elections; Kentucky Right to Life Victory PAC’s voter guides from prior elections are not posted on its website.

It’s unclear if everyone marked as “declined” this year received the survey.?

Although endorsed by Right to Life at times in the past, the top Republicans in both chambers of the legislature are not endorsed this year. Among those listed as declining to answer the group’s questions: Senate President Robert Stivers, House Speaker David Osborne, Senate President Pro Tem David Givens and Speaker Pro Tem David Meade.

Other prominent Republicans listed as declining to respond are House Majority Floor Leader Steven Rudy and Senate budget committee chairman Chris McDaniel.?

All of them were still recommended by Right to Life based on their voting records.

A Senate GOP spokesperson said Stivers and Givens “agree that their voting record speaks for itself.”?

No Democrats answered the Right to Life survey this year and none were endorsed.

Candidates wary of surveys in general

Political considerations about abortion changed after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the federally-guaranteed right to abortion in 2022. The ruling allowed a near-total abortion ban that Republican lawmakers had already put on the books to take effect in Kentucky. It has no exceptions for victims of rape or incest and a narrow exception to protect the life of a pregnant patient.?

Morgan Eaves, the executive director of the Kentucky Democratic Party, said the decline in candidates taking the Right to Life survey shows that “Kentucky Republicans know that their extreme anti-choice and zero exceptions policy is unpopular, and that’s why they’re running away from it now.”?

Republicans, however, gave little sign of backing off the abortion ban during this year’s legislative session. Although lawmakers of both parties sponsored bills to loosen abortion restrictions, none of the measures made any headway. Bills protecting in vitro fertilization also failed to advance, after the temporary suspension of the fertility treatment in Alabama stirred a political storm.?

Republican Trey Grayson, a former Kentucky secretary of state, was reluctant to say if the decline in GOP candidates responding to the Right to Life survey signaled a rift with the organization. Candidates, he said, have become more wary of surveys in general. Advocacy interest groups are trying to advance an agenda and elect people who are part of their causes, Grayson said. A? lawmaker seeking reelection recently complained to him about “gotcha” questions on candidate surveys.?

Challengers are more likely to respond to surveys, Grayson said, while incumbents can point to their voting records, floor speeches and websites.

‘ … not that much more to give’

Last year Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear used the abortion ban to his advantage against Republican challenger Daniel Cameron. Cameron had been endorsed by Right to Life but waffled on abortion after Beshear aired ads attacking him as extreme for opposing rape and incest exceptions. (Kentuckian Hadley Duvall, who spoke in a Beshear ad about being impregnated by her stepfather when she was 12, is now playing a prominent role in the campaign of Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic? candidate for president.)

The year before, in November 2022, Kentuckians had defeated an anti-abortion constitutional amendment that Republicans put on the ballot before Roe v. Wade was overturned.

Republican strategist Tres Watson, a former spokesperson for the Republican Party of Kentucky, said it’s not Republican politicians who have changed but Right to Life. Having gained its long-time goal of outlawing? abortion in Kentucky, the organization is “continuing to ask for more when there’s just not that much more to give.”

“I think that the leadership over there needs to reconsider their relationship with candidates and with the legislature if they want to continue to be an influencer in Frankfort,” Watson said of the group.?

Weider of Planned Parenthood said the Right to Life questionnaire “is more extreme than ever.”?

Watson said he thinks Republican lawmakers support adding exceptions for rape and incest to the abortion ban. “I think that if you were to remove elections from the equation, I think that an exceptions bill would pass easily among Republicans,” Watson said. “But I think that the threat of Kentucky Right to Life coming out and attempting to make pro-life legislators appear to be pro-abortion liberals is preventing that from passing.”?

Watson said when he worked for the state Republican Party candidates were advised not to respond to a survey from Northern Kentucky Right to Life “because it asked you to take extreme positions that didn’t sit well with independent voters and center right Republicans.”?

IVF among the questions

Kentucky Right to Life’s 2024 questionnaire asks candidates about their support for maintaining a ban on assisted suicide, banning mail-in abortion pills, adding a “Human Life” amendment to the U.S. Constitution to include “all human beings, born and unborn” and more. It highlights issues surrounding in vitro fertilization in which unused frozen embryos are discarded.?

Questions included:?

• If you are in a position to do so, would you advocate, support, sign into law and/or defend against legislation that would permit the cloning of human embryos or laboratory-created life for the purpose of the harvesting their stem cells for research or therapeutic cloning? (procedures requiring the creation and destruction of human lives)
• Do you believe that embryos created through IVF (in vitro fertilization) should be protected as all other lives??
• Do you believe medical schools and nursing programs operating in conjunction with universities in the Commonwealth of Kentucky that receive state funding should have mechanisms in place such as conscience exceptions that permit students to be excused from participating in specific curricular activities and training, i.e. abortion procedures that violate the student’s religious or ethical beliefs?
• Are you morally and/or medically opposed to chemical abortions, such as RU-486, the abortion pill, and other drugs known to prevent the newly created human being from attaching (implantation) to his/her mother’s womb or medications that cause the woman’s body to expel her developing child in the early stages of her pregnancy?
• Do you agree that the personal protection afforded to every member of the human race under the Fourteenth Amendment should be extended equally to the preborn?

Eaves, the Kentucky Democratic Party chief, said most Kentuckians and Americans “believe in some form of pro-choice policy.”

Is IVF protected in Kentucky? Depends on whom you ask.

In May, the Pew Research Center reported that 63% of Americans “say abortion should be legal in all or most cases, while 36% say it should be illegal in all or most cases.”?

Gallup polling also shows the majority of Americans think abortion should be legal in certain cases.?

Additionally, 54% of those surveyed by Gallup in May considered themselves “pro choice” and 41% considered themselves “pro life,” the largest gap since 1995.?

Weider of Planned Parenthood said the effects of the abortion ban on health care, especially for? people who are experiencing miscarriages or nonviable pregnancies, will continue to push politicians away from Right to Life.

?“You are starting to see pushback on what was once, I would say, a badge of honor for the majority of conservative politicians in Kentucky,” she said. “And I think it is an indictment on what has happened to Kentucky and health care. And we are seeing the daily fallout.”??

This story was updated with response from Kentucky Right to Life.?

Kentucky Secretary of State Michael Adams told lawmakers: “It is illegal to impersonate a peace officer, and for good reason. It should be equally illegal to impersonate a secretary of state or county clerk and put out false information in any format about our elections.”?He was speaking Tuesday to a task force studying artificial intelligence. (Kentucky Lantern photo by Matthew Mueller)

Kentucky’s Republican Secretary of State Michael Adams told lawmakers it’s “too soon” to tell what effect artificial intelligence will have on elections but that it has “potential for significant impact,” and he urged them to consider making it a crime to impersonate an election official.

Adams appeared before the General Assembly’s Artificial Intelligence Task Force Tuesday to discuss AI, which has become a growing concern for possible influence in this year’s presidential election. A recent study from the Pew Research Center found 57% of U.S. adults were extremely or very concerned that people or groups seeking to influence the election would use AI to create fake or misleading information about presidential candidates and campaigns.?

“Should you take up AI legislation when you return in 2025, I would encourage you to consider prohibiting impersonation of election officials,” Adams told the task force. “It is illegal to impersonate a peace officer, and for good reason. It should be equally illegal to impersonate a secretary of state or county clerk and put out false information in any format about our elections.”?

Adams highlighted a bipartisan bill from Lexington legislators, Republican Sen. Amanda Mays Bledose and Democratic Caucus Chair Sen. Reggie Thomas, that would have limited the use of “deep fakes” or deceptive AI to influence elections in Kentucky. In the recent legislative session, the bill died in the House after gaining approval in the Senate.?

Adams gave an example of a political consultant receiving a fine of $6 million from the Federal Communications Commission for fake robocalls to New Hampshire voters that mimicked President Joe Biden. The calls encouraged voters to not vote in the state’s Democratic primary. Adams said the fine was for violating telecommunication law and New Hampshire brought criminal charges against the consultant because of a state law making it a crime to impersonate a candidate.?

“As you look to protect candidates and voters from such practices, I urge you to consider inclusion of election officials,” Adams said. “An impersonation of me or my deputy secretary or senior staff of the State Board of Elections or a county clerk actually could do more harm than impersonation of a candidate.”?

Adams noted that concerns of AI influence in elections is not just an American problem. Other countries, such as the United Kingdom and South Africa, will also have consequential elections this year. Thus, they face issues with AI interference in elections as well.?

Bledsoe, who is a co-chair of the task force, said that there is tension between legislation aimed at preventing misuse of AI to influence elections and free speech protections. Adams said in response that laws against voter suppression do exist.?

“I think that the process and distrust of what is actually being said is the greatest danger to a voter, and we want to protect (the voter) as much as possible,” Bledose said.?

Rep. Josh Bray, R-Mount Veron, the other co-chair of the task force, said what Adams was asking was “very reasonable.”?

“It’s something I know that we’ve debated internally,” Bray said. “We’ve had Senate bills filed, we’ve had House bills filed, and it’s very clear that this is something that’s going to be with us as the technology evolves.”?

Kentuckians will be voting this fall on two constitutional amendments. This is the view approaching the Sugar Maple Square polling site in Bowling Green, May 21, 2024. (Kentucky Lantern photo by Austin Anthony)

To help voters better understand Amendment 2, which would allow Kentucky’s legislature to steer public dollars into nonpublic schools, LINK nky and Educate NKY will host a Community Conversation next week.

The event is scheduled for 6 p.m. Oct. 14? at the Erlanger branch of the Kenton County Public Library. RSVP for a free ticket to the in-person event here, or watch live on the Link nky Facebook page.

Evan Millward, who was previously an anchor and reporter with WCPO-TV in Cincinnati, will be moderating the event.?

Speakers will be:?

• Brigitte Blom, president and CEO of the Prichard Committee for Academic Excellence, a public school advocacy group that has come out publicly against Amendment 2. Before coming to the Prichard Committee, Blom was director of public policy for United Way of Greater Cincinnati with a focus on early childhood policy. Blom has worked in policy, research, and advocacy on issues related to education, poverty, and state taxes and budgets – including work for universities in Ohio and Kentucky and for the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland.
• Jim Waters, president of the Bluegrass Institute for Public Policy Solutions, which is advocating for the passage of Amendment 2. Waters has been with the free-market public policy think tank since 2003.?
• Jorge Elorza, CEO of Democrats for Education Reform. In his two terms as mayor of Providence, Rhode Island, Elorza worked to engage the state department of education to turn around the city’s school system. Democrats for Education Reform was created in 2007 to address education inequality in public schools across the country. Neither Elorza or Democrats for Education reform have taken a public stance on Amendment 2.
• Lauren Hodge, the director of foundational education at yes. every kid. foundation., whose mission is to promote education that empowers families, helps implement bottom-up solutions, and advances education freedoms across the country, according to its website. Hodge previously worked at EdChoice as a state director and on the Legal Defense in Education team. She also litigated for several years in the public sector in Indiana in both criminal and civil courts. Hodge and yes. every kid. foundation. have not taken a stance on Amendment 2.?

Kyle Rittenhouse during his trial at the Kenosha County Courthouse on Nov. 5, 2021 in Kenosha, Wisconsin. (Photo by Sean Krajacic-Pool/Getty Images)

This article is republished from the Northern Kentucky Tribune, a nonprofit publication of the Kentucky Center for Public Service Journalism.

Controversial gun rights advocate Kyle Rittenhouse is to be the special guest of a campaign fundraiser Oct. 9 for state House candidate TJ Roberts of Burlington.

The event will mark Rittenhouse’s second appearance in Kentucky this year. His appearance last spring at an event at Western Kentucky University in Bowling Green sparked several protests on campus.

Rittenhouse, 21, gained national attention at age 17 for shooting three men in Kenosha, Wisconsin, two fatally, in August 2020 during protests following the police shooting of Jacob Blake.

Rittenhouse had left his home in Antioch, Illinois, and joined a group of armed people in Kenosha who said they wanted to protect private property.

He was cleared of multiple charges, including homicide, after claiming self-defense. Two civil lawsuits against him are pending.

The prosecution of Rittenhouse made him a celebrity among American right-wing organizations and media, gaining him meetings with former president Donald Trump and political commentator Tucker Carlson.

Roberts said he first met Rittenhouse when they both worked for the National Association for Gun Rights.

The fundraiser was initially scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Oct. 9 at the Metropolitan Club, a private business club in downtown Covington. A minimum donation of $150 to attend was urged.

The venue was changed because the club became concerned after a death threat emerged on social media aimed at Rittenhouse. The post, since removed, appeared on X, formerly Twitter, as a threat to show up at the event, scare Rittenhouse and then shoot him.

The Roberts campaign said Thursday afternoon that the venue had been changed to a barbecue restaurant in Florence because of what it called “intimidation from the far left and threats of violence.”

Roberts is not a member of the club, but a member reserved the space without disclosing the nature of the “political fundraiser.” According to a source close to the Metropolitan Club, its board was not comfortable with exposing members to even the threat of violence or a police presence for security.

In a release Roberts said, “I will always stand against the cancel culture tactics employed by the radical left” and said that despite arranging for armed security provided by the Covington Police, the venue “caved to the mob’s intimidation.”?

Roberts softened his criticism Thursday night, striking a more conciliatory tone. “I don’t blame the Metropolitan Club for what it did. Its board had to act accordingly after the death threat on social media,” he said.

Roberts said his fundraiser with Rittenhouse now will be held at Smokin’ This and That BBQ in Florence.

He said the owner of the restaurant “is a true American patriot who supports our First Amendment right to free speech and will not surrender to the pressures of those who seek to silence us. This is not just about our event — it’s a fight for the freedoms that make America great.”

Guy Cummins, owner of the barbecue restaurant, said he has held fundraisers for many organizations. “I’m a former Marine who tries to do what is right,” he said.

Cummins said he was “not very familiar” with Rittenhouse. Told a bit about him, Cummins said, “I understand that he was found not guilty. I expect everything will go just fine with this fundraiser.”

Three other Republican state legislators from the area are to be at the fundraiser: Savannah Maddox, Steven Doan and John Schickel.

Steve Rawlings, now state representative from District 66, is running for the state Senate to replace the retiring Schickel.

Peggy Nienaber of Burlington is the Democratic nominee running against Roberts in the general election ending Nov. 5.

Nienaber did not respond to an email, seeking comment about Roberts’ fundraiser.

But Jonathan Levin, the state Democratic Party’s communications director, said in an email, “TJ Roberts’ latest fundraiser with right-wing poster boy Kyle Rittenhouse is yet another reminder to voters that he’s an extremist with a disturbing view of the world that doesn’t belong in the General Assembly.?

“Whether it’s spewing antisemitism, making light of school shootings hours after the tragedy in Uvalde, or disparaging Martin Luther King, Jr., Roberts has shown all of us that he’s unfit for office.?

“Kentuckians deserve leaders who will address the real issues that matter most — like good-paying jobs and health care — instead of using their platforms to stoke fear.”

Roberts, in response, said, “There is nothing extreme or controversial about the right to self-defense. When the Democrats attempt to demonize and dehumanize Kyle Rittenhouse, they are attacking those who engage in self-defense, and making heroes out of rioters who attempt to murder law-abiding citizens.”

Amendment 2 would change Kentucky's Constitution to allow the General Assembly to spend tax dollars for educating students at private schools. (Kentucky Lantern photo by Austin Anthony)

FRANKFORT — With the general election next month, Kentucky’s top Democrats and Republicans are both criticizing what they say is misinformation about a proposed constitutional amendment that would allow the General Assembly to fund nonpublic schools.?

Amendment 2, which Kentucky voters will decide, was a top priority for GOP lawmakers during this year’s legislative session; Democrats consistently opposed the idea. The partisan skirmish continues in the race to sway voters.

Speaking with reporters in Frankfort this week, Senate President Robert Stivers and House Speaker David Osborne, both Republicans, said unfounded speculation about what the amendment would do is an obstacle for its supporters to overcome.

Stivers and Osborne stressed that the amendment merely lowers constitutional barriers that in the past have blocked the legislature from expanding what its supporters call “school choice.”

Opponents warn that if Amendment 2 is approved, the Republican-controlled legislature would create a system of vouchers, as 10 states have done, to help families pay for private school tuition diverting funds from public schools.

“I think what some people are saying about the amendment is not accurate,” Stivers said. “There is nothing in the amendment except it would allow the legislature to go beyond what the constitutional definition of common schools are.”?

In the past, Stivers said, the focus of “school choice” legislation in Kentucky has been targeted “on failing school systems” but, he said, those laws were declared unconstitutional.?

In recent years, Kentucky courts have struck down the legislature’s attempts to authorize charter schools in the state and tax credits to help families pay private school tuition. Those bills narrowly passed over Gov. Andy Beshear’s vetoes.?

Amendment 2 would suspend or “notwithstand” seven sections of the state constitution but only to enable “the General Assembly to provide financial support for the education costs of students in kindergarten through 12th grade who are outside the system of common (public) schools,” according to language approved by the legislature.

If voters approve the? amendment, the Republican leaders said, decisions about next steps would involve stakeholders and extensive debate by lawmakers — debate that Osborne predicted would be “contentious.”

“If you look at the history of the school choice debates in the legislature, they’ve been very contentious, and they’ve been very incremental in the things that they have done,” Osborne said. “I think to expect there to be sweeping legislation that’s going to happen the next day is clearly just not going to happen, but there’s really not been a tremendous amount of discussion about what that policy will look like.”?

Stivers predicted “we’re probably a year away from any type of legislation,” noting that the General Assembly next convenes in January in the middle of a school year. The Kentucky Department of Education, superintendents, teachers and families would also need to give input on any future legislation, he said.?

When lawmakers debated the amendment earlier this year, some Republicans joined Democrats in opposing the ballot measure, particularly those with a history in public education or who represent rural communities.

Meanwhile, Kentucky Democrats point to the lack of specifics in the amendment as a reason voters should defeat it.?

“Amendment 2 is really just a blank check for the Republicans in the General Assembly,” said House Democratic Caucus Chair Cherlynn Stevenson of Lexington. “Do not let them convince you to write it.”?

Stevenson spoke during a news conference in the Capitol Rotunda last week, along with Lt. Gov. Jacqueline Coleman and Kentucky Democratic Party Chair Colmon Elridge.

Coleman, who has been traveling the state campaigning against the amendment,? said its supporters are putting out false information. She said she was aware of a recent campaign mailer saying that Gov. Andy Beshear supported it, which is not true.?

“There’s a lot of conversations that still need to be had,” Coleman said. “And it’s my hope that the folks who are tied in the most in our education communities — parents, teachers, volunteers, all of the folks who work in our schools — help to educate the people around them about what this really means.”?

Elridge argued “we don’t even know what the choice actually is” because Republican lawmakers have not shared what changes in policy and law they would pursue if the amendment passes.?

Stevenson called for supporting education by funding universal pre-K programs and pupil transportation along with finding ways to lower class sizes rather than supporting the amendment.?

When asked if it’s a challenge to persuade voters to support Amendment 2 without telling them more about what would come next, Osborne said that “makes it easier for people to distort it” but he thinks “the people of Kentucky are smart enough to figure this out.”?

“Most people do like to maintain status quo, and so that is an impact on any constitutional amendment,” Stivers said.?

Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 5. In-person, excused absentee voting will be held Oct. 23, 24, 25, and Oct. 28, 29, 30. Early in-person, no excuse absentee voting will take place Thursday-Saturday, Oct. 31- Nov. 2. To find out times and locations of? early voting in your county, visit the State Board of Elections website at govote.ky.gov.

U.S. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell speaks during the Graves County Republican Party Breakfast, part of the Fancy Farm Picnic political festivities, on Saturday, Aug. 3, 2024, . (Kentucky Lantern photo by Austin Anthony)

FRANKFORT — While Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear’s new political action committee, In This Together, has yet to report donating to a Democratic legislative candidate, U.S. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell’s old PAC has reported giving $200,000 to help Republicans running this fall for the Kentucky legislature and local offices.

In a report filed with the Federal Election Commission, McConnell’s Bluegrass Committee PAC reported giving $2,100 (the maximum allowed by state law) on Aug. 20 to each of 95 Republicans running in Kentucky. McConnell’s PAC gave to 90 Republican candidates for seats in the General Assembly, three candidates for Louisville Metro Council and two mayoral candidates. The PAC also reported giving $1,000 to the Kentucky Federation of Republican Women.

Follow the money

An occasional series of campaign finance notebooks

By Tom Loftus

?It was a lot of money, but a routine disgorgement from Bluegrass Committee, which for 35 years has been McConnell’s so-called leadership PAC — a major but under-the-radar force in helping fund Republicans running for office at all levels in Kentucky. It has also been a consistent donor to candidates supported by McConnell outside Kentucky.?

Although called a leadership PAC, there’s no leadership requirement to start one. Almost? all members of the U.S. Senate and House have one to collect and disperse political money.

Granted, being a leader in a legislative body, as McConnell has been for decades, helps raise money.?

A constant flow of dollars from the PACs of big corporations and associations has funded McConnell’s Bluegrass Committee. These PACs are limited to giving no more than $5,000 per year to a leadership PAC. And scores of them give $5,000 to Bluegrass Committee year after year.

In August, donors of $5,000 to Bluegrass Committee included PACs of Boeing, AT&T, McKesson, Union Pacific, National Beer Wholesalers and the National Automobile Dealers.

Since Jan. 1, 2023, FEC records show 91% of the $838,000 in contributions taken in by Bluegrass Committee during this political cycle has come from these PACs. Only 9% has been donated by individuals.

The donations not only allow McConnell to make big political contributions, they also help pay for folks who run his perpetual political operations.

For instance, in August the largest expense of Bluegrass Committee was $10,000 paid to Haney Consulting, the company owned by McConnell’s longtime fundraising consultant, Laura Haney. Since Jan. 1, 2023, Bluegrass Committee has paid Haney Consulting $200,000, FEC records show.

Beshear created In This Together in January to raise money he could use to support like-minded candidates in Kentucky and across the country. From January through August Beshear’s super PAC reported raising $897,500. Eric Hyers, a Beshear political strategist, said in July that the PAC would wait until fall to begin significant spending in support of candidates.

Hal Rogers’ leadership PAC

For many years 5th District U.S. Rep. Hal Rogers of Kentucky also maintained a leadership PAC, although it is understandably much smaller than Senate Republican Leader McConnell’s PAC.

Rogers’ PAC, called Help America’s Leaders PAC, or HALPAC, came under the scrutiny of Lexington Herald-Leader reporter John Cheves four years ago.

Cheves’ report revealed that HALPAC made very few political contributions to fellow Republicans, but spent? its money on other things, like a $3,000 a month salary to Rogers’ wife, Cynthia Rogers, for “PAC event planning.”

More recent reports show that HALPAC still gives very little to other Republican candidates — only $8,000 (or 2.3% of the PAC’s total spending since Jan. 1, 2023.)

But one thing has changed since that Herald-Leader story.

HALPAC no longer pays Cynthia Rogers $3,000 a? month for PAC event planning.

It pays her $4,000 a month for PAC event planning.

In fact, since Jan. 1, 2023 through August 2024 it has paid Cynthia Rogers $80,000, FEC records show. That’s 23% of the PAC’s spending during the period and 10 times the amount HALPAC has made in contributions to other Republican candidates.

Kentucky Lantern sent Rogers’ office questions in hopes of getting more details of the PAC’s spending. HALPAC replied with a statement late Thursday that said, “All expenditures are done in accordance with the purpose of the PAC and FEC regulations, including all event and personnel expenditures. There is not a more stalwart team player for the Republican Party than Hal Rogers. Over the years he has generously donated directly to countless candidates and to the National Republican Congressional Committee to help elect a Republican majority.”

RPK Building Fund still getting big more corporation contributions

Special interest corporation dollars are continuing to flow into the Republican Party of Kentucky’s Building Fund as groundbreaking for the expansion of the party’s headquarters took place late this summer.

According to a report filed by the RPK this week with the Kentucky Registry of Election Finance, the RPK’s building fund got $385,000 in contributions between July 1 and Sept. 30 with the majority of that coming from a whopping $300,000 donation from Brown-Forman of Louisville.

Also during the quarter, the Boeing Co. PAC gave another $75,000. (It had previously given $100,000 to the building fund.) And Toyota Motor North America Inc. gave $10,000.

That brings the total raised so far for the project to $3.6 million; nearly all of that was donated by big corporations that lobby both Congress and the Kentucky General Assembly. The largest donation of $1 million was made early in the fundraising drive by pharmaceutical giant Pfizer Inc., of New York. The second largest donor was a small Ohio gas distribution utility called NWO Resources. (The president and director of N.W.O Resources is James Neal Blue who is also chief executive and chairman of General Atomics Corp., a defense contractor that the Forbes website says is best known as the manufacturer of the Predator drone.)

The party headquarters is located in a house about four blocks down Capitol Avenue from the Kentucky Capitol. A sign out front identifies it as the “Mitch McConnell Building.” And the senator himself was on hand early last month when ground was broken for the expansion which will add 6,800 square feet of space for more offices, conference rooms and an auditorium.

The project was made possible by a 2017 law that — among other things — allowed state political parties to create building funds which could accept donations from corporations of unlimited amounts.

The building fund reported spending $133,600 during the recent quarter and that as of Sept. 30 it still had more than $3.2 million on hand.

Most of that spending was for an architect and a construction manager, but a lot of it — $20,000 — was paid to Haney Consulting, the business owned by McConnell’s fundraiser. Reports filed by the building fund with the election registry show that since Jan. 1, 2023 the building fund has paid Haney Consulting $120,000 to raise the corporation contributions for expanding the RPK headquarters.?

Democrat Adam Moore, left, and Republican Thomas Jefferson are running to represent House District 45 in the Kentucky General Assembly.

After his support for LGBTQ+ teens cost Republican Rep. Killian Timoney the primary, voters in his suburban Lexington district will choose between the Republican who defeated him and a Democrat who describes himself as more of a Libertarian.?

The candidates are Democrat Adam Moore, a military veteran and business owner, and Republican Thomas Jefferson, who has retired from finance and car sales. The election is a test of how culture war issues will play in the district.?

Moore and Jefferson are vying for a seat in the General Assembly in a district that encompasses southwestern areas of Fayette County and part of Jessamine County. They recently spoke to the Kentucky Lantern in separate interviews.?

House District 45 candidates

Thomas Jefferson

Party: Republican

City: Lexington

Raised for general election: $23,664.83

Website: www.tjforky.com

Adam Moore

Party: Democratic

City: Lexington

Raised for general election: $46,685.59

Website: www.kydeservesmoore.com

In the primary, the Jessamine County Republican Party endorsed Jefferson over Timoney, citing the incumbent’s votes against two GOP anti-transgender bills, 2023’s Senate Bill 150, which among other things banned gender-affirming care for transgender minors, and 2022’s Senate Bill 83, which prevents trans women and girls from competing on their schools’ female sports teams.?

Jefferson said that Timoney is a “very nice gentleman” and a good family man, but he disagreed with his voting record, particularly on those measures.

“I would never ever think of running against a fellow Republican unless I felt like they weren’t doing the job that I expected,” Jefferson said. “And unfortunately, Killian voted way differently than I would, and I believe differently than most of the 45th District would vote as well.”?

Moore, the Democrat, said Timoney was targeted by “a negative smear campaign” and said he expects to be likewise targeted heading into the general election. Mailers to primary voters from outside groups referred to Timoney as a “groomer” for voting against the anti-transgender bills.?

Moore too praised Timoney’s character, adding that while they may disagree on policies, at the end of the day Moore knew that Timoney cared about people.?

“I think the Thomas Jefferson defeat of Killian Timoney in the primary signals a shift in the Republican Party,” Moore said.?

The two legislative candidates have gone back and forth on participating in a debate or forum. Last week, Moore issued an invitation on social media to Jefferson for a public forum. Jefferson told the Lantern he would have to know more about the proposal before accepting it.?

“I’d be more than glad to debate anybody,” Jefferson said. “It doesn’t matter who it is, but it all depends on who is hosting the debate, who the moderators are,” Jefferson said. He then pointed to GOP criticism of the ABC presidential debate for the moderators’ live fact-checking of Republican former President Donald Trump.

Moore said in response that he’s open to having any “credible local journalist” moderate. He added that he believes it’s fair to fact check someone in a debate when something false is said.?

Adam Moore

Moore, a former Republican who interned for U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell, said that service has always been important to him. As an intern, he got experience responding to constituents’ concerns and in the Army, he learned lessons completing missions while facing hard days. Both experiences have prepared him for representing the 45th House District, he said.?

“Service has always been important to me,” Moore said. “It’s why I joined the Army, why I’m involved with local civic organizations, and the road that I’ve kind of traveled on, this is just the next logical step as well, being able to continue serving and to serve in a different way and serve in a way that I think I can really succeed at and do a good job at.”

Moore said he has never fit the model of stereotypical Republicans or Democrats. He added that he’s “always been more of a Libertarian,” in that he believes in avoiding excessive government spending while letting people live their lives as they wish socially.?

“As far as being a Democrat now, I’ve already said I’ve been pretty Libertarian in my leanings as far as the government should basically stay out of people’s lane if they can,” Moore said. “And what we see now is the Republican Party has been molded in this image of Donald Trump, which is not policies. It’s become more of a cult of personality.”?

If elected, Moore has some policies in mind that he would like to support, such as eliminating sales taxes on services and expanding on Gov. Andy Beshear’s executive order that restored the right to vote to nonviolent felons. Moore said the order did not cover felons convicted in other states or charged with federal crimes.?

“I would like to extend that same thing and put that in law to anyone in Kentucky who is now a lawful citizen who has served their time,” Moore said. “We’ve all made mistakes, and of course, not all mistakes are the same, but once you’ve served your time, the bare minimum to be a part of our democracy is having your right to vote.”?

Additionally, Moore would? like to establish a veterans’ caucus. As for a couple recent policies passed by the Republican-controlled legislature, Moore said he is against a proposed constitutional amendment that would allow the General Assembly to fund nonpublic schools, Amendment 2, and an omnibus crime bill, House Bill 5. Both passed earlier this year.?

Moore took issue with a controversial part of the crime bill that created illegal street camping.?

“What you do is you, you identify the causes of homelessness, and all the causes of homelessness are also the causes of other crime that that bill is seeking to address, and homelessness is a part of that but that might also be battling with addiction, that might be systemic poverty. There are things to address that are not Band-Aid solutions, that is adding to our already overcrowded prison system.”?

Thomas Jefferson

Jefferson worked in the car business for nearly four decades and retired three and a half years ago. While he’s “brand new to politics,” he’s finding that resonates with voters he meets. Jefferson said he decided to run for office after getting “tired of throwing rolled up socks at the TV.”

Jefferson said he believes his career experience will translate to working with others in the General Assembly.?

“One thing you find out in sales is you have to compromise and you have to negotiate. Politics is the same way,” Jefferson said. “To accomplish anything, you’re going to have to understand what the other people want to try to accomplish, put forth what you want to try to accomplish and come up with a compromise that everybody gets some of what they want.”?

Among lawmakers, Jefferson said he would be most aligned with Liberty Caucus members including Reps. Savannah Maddox, Candy Massaroni and Matt Lockett. The Kentucky Liberty Caucus’ website defines Liberty politicians as ones who are “more critical of government debt spending, corporate handouts, the influence of money and lobbyists in politics, and intrusion upon the rights of individuals than the establishment.”

Jefferson has also signed a term limit commitment. The commitment did not specify how many terms he would seek, Jefferson said, but added he would be open to three terms, or six years.??

“I want to serve for a few terms and do what I can to help our Commonwealth, and then pass the baton on to somebody else that can go ahead and have some fresh ideas. Besides that, I think that’s what our founding fathers really expected. It was supposed to be an honor to serve, but also a burden at the same time, and so they never expected to have career politicians out there.”?

Jefferson said he supports Amendment 2 and would “forward the opportunity for school choice” if elected this November. However, he added that he, his wife and daughters attended public schools.?

“We appreciate the jobs that they (public school teachers) do, and they’re unsung heroes in a lot of ways, but the public school system is not always a good fit for every child, and I would love to to empower average middle-class citizens like myself that don’t have the opportunity because of finances, to give their child a different avenue towards learning and help them succeed in life,” Jefferson said.??

Additionally, Jefferson said he supports greater transparency in government and schools. He would like to publish synopses of bills online and get input from constituents on legislation. He also supports parents having greater access to know what curriculum and books are taught in schools.?

Jefferson is a co-lead usher of Southland Christian Church and regularly volunteers with a mentor program through the church for elementary school kids.?

Kentucky Senate President Robert Stivers, left, and House Speaker David Osborne are among the Republicans who declined to answer the Right to Life candidate survey this year. They conferred during the State of the Commonwealth address in the House chambers on Jan. 3, 2024. (Kentucky Lantern photo by Arden Barnes)

FRANKFORT — The top two Republicans in the Kentucky General Assembly laid out the process to remove a lawmaker in response to questions about allegations of inappropriate behavior against Louisville Democratic Rep. Daniel Grossberg.?

Speaking to reporters in the Capitol Annex Wednesday afternoon, House Speaker David Osborne said indications of impropriety within the chamber are taken seriously. Meanwhile, Senate President Robert Stivers said he sees a bipartisan appetite to review the matter.?

In the months following this year’s legislative session, the Lexington Herald-Leader revealed allegations of inappropriate behavior towards women by the freshman lawmaker, including text messages. The newspaper recently reported Grossberg received a lifetime ban from a Louisville strip club after inappropriately touching a dancer and that he offered another dancer $5,000 to have sex with him.?

Grossberg has repeatedly denied the allegations and has said he plans to seek treatment “to reduce my impulsive behavior.”?

Osborne said that while an ethics investigation is ongoing, “we have taken steps to, at the request of the minority (caucus) and their leadership, to make some changes.” The Herald-Leader has previously reported Grossberg is the subject of two investigations by the Legislative Research Commission and the Legislative Ethics Commission.

“Certainly, we take any indication of impropriety or inappropriate behavior very, very seriously in this workplace, and will continue to do so,” the speaker said. “There is a process for removing a member from the body and expelling the member from the body. So that certainly will be, I’m sure, a possibility. To my knowledge, those conversations are not ongoing at this point.”?

Kentucky legislators are not subject to the typical impeachment process, but rather can be removed by a two-thirds vote of their chamber, under the state Constitution.?

Democrats have largely unified in shunning Grossberg following the reports. Leading Democrats, including Gov. Andy Beshear and Lt. Gov. Jacqueline Coleman, have called on Grossberg to resign. House Democrats voted to expel Grossberg from their caucus. He’s been booted from his interim committee assignments.?

However, Grossberg appears to have little resistance in getting another term. He faces no opponent in the November general election for the 30th House District after narrowly winning his primary election by 50 votes.?

Stivers said that he had previously told Osborne he sees “a bipartisan request to look into this.”?

“It appears to be that there is a bipartisan sentiment to do something if it is proven,” Stivers said. “And if that happens in that way, the Senate will support their decision, even though we will not be able to impact that decision.”?

The Senate Democratic Caucus leadership has also joined Democrats in calling on Grossberg to resign.

When asked if a special session of the legislature to remove Grossberg was a possibility, Osborne said he anticipated the matter would wait until lawmakers convene for the regular session in January.?

In Kentucky, the governor must call the legislature into a special session. The General Assembly sought an amendment to give it that power in 2022. Beshear opposed it. Stivers said that perhaps if the governor had supported the amendment, “we could have already dealt with it.”?

Grossberg’s attorney, Anna Whites, did not immediately return a request for comment Wednesday afternoon.?

Signs hoisted by the audience for an Amendment 2 debate at the Fancy Farm Picnic express conflicting views on the school funding amendment that Kentucky voters will decide in November, Aug. 3, 2024. (Kentucky Lantern photo by Austin Anthony)

Kentucky Attorney General Russell Coleman’s office sent a cease and desist notice to a public school district that took an online stance against a constitutional amendment that would allow the General Assembly to fund nonpublic schools.?

Augusta Independent Schools became the second public school district in the state to openly oppose Amendment 2 via Tuesday night posts on X and Facebook. The amendment has drawn ire from public school officials and Democrats who warn it would reduce dollars now allocated to public education.

The Ohio River school district said in its Facebook post that the amendment would “take public taxpayer dollars and give them to private schools, leaving our public schools with fewer resources.” Tuesday’s post was the first of the district’s “Be Informed Series,” which it said would continue twice a week until Election Day next month.?

“If you believe in strong, well-funded public schools for all students, vote NO on Amendment 2 this November 5th,” the post said. “Protect Kentucky’s Public Schools!”?

Christopher Thacker, general counsel for Coleman, wrote the Wednesday letter to Lisa McCane, the school district’s superintendent calling the anti-amendment posts “partisan political messages” and asked that they be removed.

“We certainly understand that individuals on both sides of the debate over Amendment 2 feel strongly about the issue,” Thacker wrote. “The Office of Attorney General also fully supports the First Amendment rights of all Kentuckians — including school officials — to express their views on this important ballot question. However, public officials may not commandeer public resources to promote their own partisan positions.

“Quite simply, messages that are appropriate for an individual social media account may not be permissible when posted on an official platform that purports to speak for the school district itself, rather than for any single individual or group of individuals.”?

McCane, the Augusta superintendent, was not immediately available for an interview Wednesday. The school district removed the posts Wednesday night and released a new statement online. The district said it intended to inform voters about how the amendment would affect public education and the amendment “would negatively impact the education and services we provide to our students in the Augusta Independent School District.”

Last month, Pulaski County Schools made similar posts on its social media accounts and websites but later removed them after backlash from Republicans, including U.S. Rep. Thomas Massie.?

At the time, Coleman issued an advisory “to remind those entrusted with the administration of tax dollars appropriated for public education that those resources must not be used to advocate for or against” proposed Constitutional Amendment 2. Thacker cited that advisory and the school district’s policy on political activities in his letter to the Augusta superintendent.

Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear, who is also a former attorney general, questioned the original advisory and asked if it would have been issued in response to lawmakers using their official letterhead or social media accounts to campaign against the amendment.?

“If we are going to put out opinions like this, it has to be content neutral, and it has to apply to more than just a school district fighting for its funding,” the governor said.?

Speaking with reporters Wednesday at the Capitol Annex in Frankfort, Republican House Speaker David Osborne said Coleman has “been pretty clear that we don’t need to clarify” the law around schools issuing political messages.?

Republican Senate President Robert Stivers added that the law also applies to lawmakers. He said they have taken care to not use state resources to advocate for or against the amendment, but have said what the amendment’s language is.?

“That’s it. Not advocating for or against it using state dollars because state dollars shouldn’t be used for political advocacy,” Stivers said.?

At first, comments had been turned off on Augusta Independent’s posts, but were later turned on Wednesday afternoon.?

Augusta Independent had 294 students enrolled last school year, according to Kentucky Department of Education data. Located in Bracken County, the town is in Northern Kentucky.

This story was updated Thursday morning.?

Cease and desist letter to Augusta schools superintendent

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear walks onstage before speaking during the first night of the Democratic National Convention at the United Center in Chicago, Aug. 19, 2024. (Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

Kentucky Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear was named to the TIME100 Next list for 2024 following his reelection in a red state and consideration as a running mate by Vice President Kamala Harris put him in the national spotlight.?

The list curated by Time Magazine recognizes emerging leaders from around the world. Beshear was highlighted for “his convincing portrayal of post-partisan leadership” during his 2023 campaign, particularly speaking of unity in the state and citing the Bible’s story of the Good?Samaritan.

“The scion of Kentucky Democrats’ most formidable family, he has managed to lead his conservative state even as a Republican supermajority at the statehouse routinely sends him veto-destined legislation, delivering on big ideas like legalizing medical marijuana and expanding Medicaid to cover vision and dental care,” Time wrote. “And his commitment to reproductive rights has been as steady as his presence during a slate of floods and tornadoes, making the 46-year-old Beshear a winner of praise well beyond -Kentucky.”?

While Harris ultimately picked Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as her running mate, Beshear has continued to act as a surrogate for her campaign, regularly appearing in national TV news. Beshear also addressed the Democratic National Convention last month where he renewed his message on overcoming political division and supporting reproductive freedom for a wider audience.?

“I’m honored to be included on the 2024 #Time100Next list with such phenomenal people,” Beshear said on his personal X account Wednesday morning. “This honor is a testament to the great work we’re doing in Kentucky and the rest of the world is noticing. Thank you, @TIME.”?

Others appearing on the list include CNN journalist Kaitlan Collins, pop singer Sabrina Carpenter and Olympian Ilona Maher.?

Daniel Cameron looks over the crowd after conceding defeat on election night, Nov 7, 2023, in Louisville. (Kentucky Lantern photo by Matthew Mueller)

FRANKFORT — Kentucky’s attorney general and two University of Louisville physicians waged a legal battle for more than a year that almost no one knew about —? even though it involved the Republican candidate for governor and an issue of intense public interest.

The secrecy around the case – from its outset in June of 2023 – is highly unusual. It ended Monday when the file was unsealed under a Franklin Circuit judge’s order. The Lantern first revealed the case’s existence and reported many of its details in August based on a Court of Appeals ruling and sources with knowledge of the situation.?

The newly unsealed file provides further insights into what happened when the powers of Kentucky’s top prosecutor intersected with abortion politics in an election year.

The dispute involved then-Attorney General Daniel Cameron’s efforts to pursue a criminal investigation against the two U of L physicians who, when it was still legal to do so, performed abortions and trained medical students and residents at EMW Women’s Surgical Center in Louisville. Cameron also was Kentucky Republicans’ nominee for governor last year.

Kentucky appeals court rejects AG’s efforts to get employment records in abortion case

After the U.S. Supreme Court ended the constitutional right to abortion in the summer of 2022, the physicians testified in court against the near-total abortion ban that immediately took effect in Kentucky.

Cameron, whose office was defending the abortion ban, then sought the physicians’ pay, tax and other records from U of L through the civil discovery process. When that didn’t work he used a grand jury to subpoena the records as part of a criminal investigation that he said would discover whether public dollars had been misused.

In the end, the case turned on what two courts determined were Cameron’s misuse of the grand jury process and his lack of evidence of any crime.

Politics alleged

Lawyers for the physicians argued that Cameron’s actions were motivated by politics, that he was using abortion litigation “for political gain in his gubernatorial campaign” — a claim that Cameron’s office branded “offensive” and “slander.”?

The doctors’ lawyers said Cameron “apparently believes that depicting abortion providers as greedy profiteers advances his arguments that abortions should be outlawed.”?

It’s impossible to know how public knowledge of the case might have affected the 2023 race for governor. By September 2023 — less than two months before the gubernatorial election — the politics of abortion had changed in Kentucky.?

That month Democratic incumbent Gov. Andy Beshear began airing powerful commercials featuring a rape victim and a prosecutor criticizing Cameron for opposing exceptions for rape and incest in the abortion ban. And Cameron quickly modified his position, saying he would sign legislation creating exceptions for rape and incest if the Republican-controlled General Assembly approved it.

Franklin Circuit Judge Phillip Shepherd tried to unseal the case at that time, but was thwarted by Cameron who immediately appealed the ruling to quash the subpoena and successfully pleaded to keep the case secret at least until the appeals court ruled on its merits.

Beshear defeated Cameron in the governor’s race by about 5 percentage points, and Cameron has since taken a job as executive director of a non-profit group called 1792 Exchange. (That group’s website says it works to? protect small businesses, other non-profits and philanthropic organizations from “woke” corporations.)

AG Coleman ends appeals

Cameron did not respond to an email from the Lantern sent to 1792 Exchange seeking comment on the outcome of his ill-fated investigation.

Current Attorney General Russell Coleman did not ask the Kentucky Supreme Court to review the August Court of Appeals ruling that upheld Shepherd’s decision to quash the subpoena. Rewa Zakharia, chief of the criminal division in Coleman’s office, declined comment on Friday after a court hearing when Shepherd ordered the case finally unsealed. Zakharia referred questions to the office spokesman Kevin Grout, who did not return phone messages from Kentucky Lantern.

One of the attorneys for the doctors, William Brammell, released a statement that said, “We appreciate the judge’s thoughtful handling of this case and ultimate decision to unseal it, making it available to the public.? In a functioning democracy, it’s critical that citizens know what their government is doing and the judge’s decision in this case balances that right to access with our client’s understandable personal privacy interests.”

On Aug. 9 a three-judge panel of the Kentucky Court of Appeals unanimously affirmed Shepherd’s quashing of the subpoena. Its order said the subpoena amounted to a “fishing expedition” and that Cameron’s premise that tax dollars may have been illegally spent on abortions was not supported by the facts of the case.

The appeals court sent the question of whether the case should be unsealed back to Shepherd. On Friday Shepherd unsealed the case with the exception of one document, and he released 177 pages of records Monday with the names of the physicians redacted.

The U of L physicians and another physician who practiced at EMW Women’s Surgical Center initiated the case on July 21, 2023, asking Franklin Circuit Court to quash a subpoena seeking payroll, personnel and other records

They argued that Cameron unsuccessfully sought the same records in the civil case challenging the constitutionality of Kentucky’s abortion ban and that the material sought was not relevant to any possible criminal charges. They suggested a political motive which Cameron hotly disputed.

“It has become clear that Mr. Cameron will use abortion litigation, against providers and others, for political gain in his gubernatorial campaign.”

Cameron said the subpoena was issued as part of his office’s responsibility to investigate “crimes involving the use of public funds.”

The plaintiffs filed the case under the pseudonyms Jane Doe 1, Jane Doe 2 and John Row, and asked that the case be sealed to protect their privacy. Cameron offered no objection and Shepherd let the case initially proceed under seal.

As the case proceeded, Shepherd, over the objections of the doctors’ lawyers, gave Cameron the opportunity to present a confidential (“in camera”) written explanation “that will set forth the subject matter of the Attorney General’s investigation.”

Cameron did so. That record remains the only part of the file still sealed. But whatever is in it, it did not convince Shepherd.

Grand jury never asked for or asked for subpoena

The judge wrote a 16-page order quashing the subpoena. Shepherd agreed with nearly all points made by the physicians’ attorneys. He said even the confidential submission from the attorney general “provides no information which grants its office jurisdiction.”

Shepherd said the investigation was brought in the wrong county because the doctors work in Jefferson County. “There is no indication that any of the conduct under investigation took place in Franklin County. Nor is there any allegation that state funds were used directly in any manner that would violate the penal code,” he ruled.

Shepherd noted that while Cameron obtained the subpoena from the clerk of the Franklin Circuit Court, the grand jury never asked for the subpoena or voted to authorize it.

And because the subpoena sought the same records Cameron was unsuccessfully trying to get in the separate civil case, the judge concluded, “this subpoena appears to be a classic ‘fishing expedition.’”

He said the doctors had a right to be concerned the information might be used in a way that would “subject them to vilification or harassment by opponents of abortion.”

The judge also said he was inclined to open the case because the public should know what goes on in court. Shepherd issued a lengthy order in which he attempted to unseal the records. “The Court believes that the public has a right to know, and to decide for themselves, whether the Attorney General is wielding the authority granted to him appropriately and in accordance with the requirements of law.”

But Cameron filed an emergency request to keep the entire file sealed, which the appeals court granted.

In August, the Court of Appeals ruling against Cameron sent the case back to Shepherd to decide whether to unseal the case.

The Kentucky Lantern and Louisville Public Media filed briefs asking that the case be opened.?

Abortion politics: A Kentucky timeline

2019 – Kentucky’s legislature votes along party lines to enact two anti-abortion laws: A ban on abortions after six weeks of pregnancy. A ban on all abortions that would take effect only if the U.S. Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade, the so-called “trigger law.” Federal courts blocked the six-week ban.

Feb. 26, 2020 – The Family Foundation calls on Attorney General Daniel Cameron to investigate whether medical school faculty at the University of Louisville are violating state law through ties to what was then the state’s only abortion clinic, EMW Women’s Surgical Center in Louisville.

U of L President Neeli Bendapudi firmly rejects the allegations, saying U of L and EMW are separate entities. Residents in obstetrics and gynecology, as part of their training, must learn all aspects of reproductive health care, and abortion provider EMW is the only place they can learn the procedure.

March 30, 2021 – General Assembly approves putting an anti-abortion amendment on the 2022 ballot. It would add a new section stating Kentucky’s Constitution does not secure or protect a right to or funding of abortion.

June 24, 2022 – U.S. Supreme Court ends the constitutional right to abortion in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, overturning Roe.

EMW and Planned Parenthood, both in Louisville and Kentucky’s only abortion providers, stop performing abortions “out of an abundance of caution.”

June 27, 2022 – EMW and Planned Parenthood file suit in Jefferson Circuit Court seeking to block enforcement of the abortion ban.?

July 6, 2022 – Jefferson Circuit Judge Mitch Perry hears arguments from both sides with Attorney General Daniel Cameron’s office defending the abortion ban. Among those testifying are two University of Louisville OB/GYNs who provide abortions at EMW and say abortion is essential to health care.

July 7, 2022 – Republican lawmakers in Frankfort grill U of L medical dean Toni Ganzel about whether public funds have been used to provide abortions. He tells them U of L does not pay physicians to perform abortions. Rep. Jason Nemes, R-Louisville, tells Ganzel,? “If university funds are used for abortion, the taxpayers ought to know, and the legislature should take that into account when we’re talking about funding the university and other things.”

July 30, 2022 – Judge Perry issues a temporary order allowing abortions to resume in Kentucky.?

Aug. 2, 2022 – Legal abortions stop after the Court of Appeals grants Cameron’s emergency request to reinstate the two laws banning almost all abortions in the state.?

Aug. 3, 2022 – Two U of L professors suspend their work at EMW. U of L pauses its residency training affiliation with EMW until “we can determine the future of the relationship.”

Nov. 8, 2022 – Kentucky voters defeat the anti-abortion constitutional amendment by almost 5 percentage points, 52.3%? to 47.7% or 742,232 votes to 675,634 votes.

Nov. 15, 2022 – Kentucky Supreme Court hears arguments in abortion providers’ challenge of abortion ban.

Feb. 16, 2023 – Kentucky Supreme Court leaves abortion ban in place, saying abortion providers lack standing to challenge the law on behalf of their patients, leaving unanswered questions about the ban’s constitutionality. Calling it a “significant victory,” Cameron says, “We will continue to stand up for the unborn by defending these laws.”

May 16, 2023 – Cameron wins primary, becomes Republican candidate for Kentucky governor, challenging incumbent Andy Beshear, who opposes Kentucky’s no-exceptions abortion ban, calling it “extreme.”

June 2023 – Cameron issues a Franklin County grand jury subpoena for payroll and personnel information for two unnamed U of L employees, seeking evidence that state funds may have been misused. All parties agree to seal the case.

July 2023 – Jane Does and Roe ask Franklin circuit judge to quash the subpoena.

Sept. 1, 2023 – Democrat Beshear’s campaign airs an ad featuring Jefferson County prosecutor Erin White attacking Cameron for opposing abortion ban exceptions, even for rape and incest victims. ?“Cameron believes rapists deserve more rights than their victims. That’s extreme. And it’s dangerous,” she says.

Sept. 18, 2023 – Cameron changes his position on abortion, saying he would sign legislation creating exceptions for rape and incest if the Republican-controlled General Assembly approved it. He later appears to soften that statement to reassure abortion opponents.

Sept. 20, 2023 – Beshear campaign airs ad in which Hadley Duvall says, “This is to you, Daniel Cameron. To tell a 12-year-old girl she must have the baby of her stepfather who raped her is unthinkable.”??

?September 2023 –? Franklin Circuit Judge Phillip Shepherd quashes the subpoena and tries to unseal the case records. Cameron appeals. Court of Appeals grants his emergency request to keep the case sealed, pending a final outcome.

Oct. 4, 2023 – Russell Coleman, the Republican nominee for attorney general says he supports exceptions for rape and incest and will “call on the General Assembly to take a hard look at that issue.”

Nov. 5, 2023 – Beshear and Coleman win their races by comfortable margins.

Aug. 9, 2024 – Kentucky Court of Appeals rejects the attorney general’s subpoena as an improper “fishing expedition” and outside the scope of the Franklin County grand jury because the records sought by the attorney general are from another county. Returns case to Franklin Circuit Court to consider unsealing the file.

Sept. 20, 2024 – Kentucky Lantern and Louisville Public Media file motion asking that records of the case be unsealed.

Sept. 27, 2024 – Shepherd orders the case unsealed with redactions and excluding an “in camera” filing.

Voting is one of the duties and privileges of living in a democracy. You'll also get one of these stickers. The deadline to register to vote in Kentucky is Oct. 7. (Kentucky Lantern photo by Austin Anthony)

Kentucky’s deadline to register to vote ahead of the November general election is Monday, Oct. 7.?

Voters in the Bluegrass State will consider a ballot that includes the presidential race between former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris, congressional races, a number of legislative races, two constitutional amendments and more. Some regional and local elections include a Supreme Court race in Central Kentucky and a Court of Appeals race in Western Kentucky.?

Registering can be completed online, via mail or by returning voter registration cards to your county clerk’s office. Registration ends at 4 p.m. local time on Monday.?

The general election is Tuesday, Nov. 5. Excused in-person voting is Oct. 23-25 and Oct. 28-30. No excuse in-person voting is Oct. 31-Nov. 2.?

Kentucky’s online absentee ballot request portal is open through Tuesday, Oct. 22.?

According to the State Board of Elections, the qualifications for voters to register in in Kentucky are:

• Be a U.S. citizen and a Kentucky resident for at least 28 days before the election. Non-U.S. citizens and U.S. nationals do not qualify.
• Be at least 18 years old by the general election.?
• Cannot be a convicted felon. For some with an expungement, executive pardon or executive order, the right to vote may be restored.?
• Cannot have been judged mentally incompetent in a court of law or have voting rights removed.
• Cannot claim the right to vote outside Kentucky.??

To complete a new or updated voter registration, request an absentee ballot or learn more information about voting in Kentucky, visit govote.ky.gov.?

Signs hoisted by the audience for an Amendment 2 debate at the Fancy Farm Picnic express conflicting views on the school funding amendment that Kentucky voters will decide in November, Aug. 3, 2024. (Kentucky Lantern photo by Austin Anthony)

Kentucky Attorney General Russell Coleman’s office has denied a Republican political strategist’s open records request and sided with Pulaski County Schools regarding communications about a proposed constitutional amendment that could affect school funding.

In the decision issued Friday, the attorney general’s office said the school district did not violate the state’s Open Records Act when it “denied the request as unreasonably burdensome” according to state law. Blake Gober, a GOP political strategist, had submitted a request for internal and external communications between school district board members and staff with references to “‘Education Opportunities Constitutional Amendment (Ballot Question 2)’; ‘Amendment 2’; ‘Question 2’; ‘Yes on 2’ or ‘No on 2.’”

A public agency may deny open records requests if producing the records would impose an unreasonable burden or if the records custodian “has reason to believe that repeated requests are intended to disrupt other essential functions of the public agency,” under Kentucky state law. However, the agency must provide evidence to demonstrate that.?

“The District explained that, as written, the request sought 18,473 emails from 2,123 District employees,” the open records decision said. “The District also stated that the requested records would need to be reviewed and redacted for exempt information before they could be produced. Finally, the District invited the Appellant to narrow the parameters of his request, stating it would work with him to fulfill such a subsequent request. This appeal followed.”?

TJ Roberts, an attorney representing Gober in the appeal, said the opinion “was a narrow ruling on the broad nature of the request.” Roberts said Gober plans to narrow his request. Roberts is a Republican candidate for the 66th House District in Northern Kentucky.?

Gober said in a Monday afternoon statement that while he was disappointed in the Attorney General’s office ruling, he was more disappointed by the school district. He said he would file a new request rather than seek an appeal in court to continue “seeking the answers the public deserves while seeking to alleviate the supposed ‘unreasonable burden’ that (the school district) claimed they were facing.”

“Their sole job is to educate but they have chosen to use their publicly funded resources to spread disinformation and lies about Amendment 2,” Gober said. “Rather than put students first, they have chosen to fight for the status quo that is failing so many students across our great Commonwealth.”

Last month, Republicans supporting Amendment 2 criticized Pulaski County Schools for posting messages on its websites and Facebook account advocating against the ballot measure. If it passes this November, the amendment gives the General Assembly the ability to fund nonpublic schools. The Attorney General’s office later published an advisory that warned school districts to not use tax dollars to advocate for or against a constitutional amendment.?

Amid the initial backlash, Pulaski County Schools said in a statement that school board members had received open records requests “for their private cell phone and devices for texts or emails discussing this issue.”?

Around that time, the Kentucky Lantern submitted an open records request to Pulaski County Schools for recent requests regarding Amendment 2. Gober’s request was disclosed in response, as well as a request from the Kentucky chapter of Americans for Prosperity for communications with specific search terms, including “Amendment 2,” and a defined timeframe.

The AFP requester told the Lantern the school district provided documents Monday. AFP is a libertarian conservative advocacy group that is campaigning for Amendment 2 in Kentucky.

Pulaski County Superintendent Patrick Richardson did not immediately return a request for comment Monday morning.

This story was updated with additional comments Monday afternoon.?

Rep. Daniel Grossberg, D-Louisville. (LRC Public Information)

Leadership of the Kentucky Senate Democratic Caucus joined fellow party members in calling on Louisville Democrat Rep. Daniel Grossberg to resign amid allegations of inappropriate behavior towards women.?

The leaders said in a Wednesday statement that the Senate caucus “remains committed to the principles of respect, accountability, and justice in our efforts.”?

“As public officials, we must uphold the highest standards of conduct and integrity. The recent allegations involving Rep. Daniel Grossberg are deeply troubling,” the statement said. “No one should be subject to harassment or intimidation in any setting. Given the seriousness of these accusations, we call on Rep. Grossberg to relinquish his seat immediately.”?

Last week, prominent Kentucky Democrats, including Gov. Andy Beshear and Lt. Gov. Jacqueline Coleman, called on the freshman representative to resign following a Lexington Herald-Leader report about Grossberg getting a lifetime ban from a Louisville strip club after inappropriately touching a dancer and offering another dancer $5,000 to have sex with him. The House Democratic Caucus permanently expelled Grossberg Friday.?

Meanwhile, through comments shared by his attorney, Grossberg vowed to stay in office and denied the allegations. He faces no opponent in the general election for the 30th House District, which includes central parts of Jefferson County. Earlier this summer, the House Democratic Caucus had temporarily suspended Grossberg and asked the Legislative Ethics Commission to investigate allegations that he sent inappropriate text messages to women earlier this summer.

Lexington attorney Erin Izzo, left, and Court of Appeals Judge Pamela Goodwine are running for Kentucky Supreme Court. (Photos provided)

Two women are vying in Central Kentucky for a seat on the state Supreme Court after the chief justice chose not to seek another term.

The candidates are Pamela Goodwine, deputy chief Kentucky Court of Appeals judge, and Erin Izzo, a partner at Lexington law firm Landrum and Shouse. While judicial elections are nonpartisan in Kentucky, political partisans are lining up on opposite sides of this race.?

Last year, Chief Justice Laurance VanMeter announced he would not be seeking reelection in the 5th Supreme Court district, which includes Bourbon, Clark, Fayette, Franklin, Jessamine, Madison, Scott and Woodford counties. He will be succeeded as chief justice in January by Deputy Chief Justice Debra Hembree Lambert, who was chosen Monday by her colleagues.?

Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear is backing Goodwine saying she would be “a really great Supreme Court justice.” According to campaign finance reports, Goodwine’s donors also? include former Democratic Govs. Steve Beshear and Paul Patton, as well as Democratic state lawmakers. A political organization created this week and organized by the current governor’s top campaign adviser is supporting Goodwine.?

Meanwhile, Izzo has received GOP support — an endorsement from the Clark County Republican Party and donations from local Republican groups in Fayette and Madison counties.

Goodwine told the Kentucky Lantern that “it is critical for impartiality to be demonstrated and upheld in the role of judge and justice.” Judges have a role to fairly interpret the law while also maintaining ethics and integrity, she added.

Judicial watchdog criticizes Beshear’s involvement in Kentucky Supreme Court election

“I have been a registered independent since I became a judge and I am known for continually displaying a strong work ethic along with honesty and integrity to ensure justice for all,” Goodwine said. “My strong reputation for upholding these values along with my 25 years of dedicated service as a judge has earned me respect from all parties. I have staunch supporters from all parties and welcome and accept invitations from all parties to participate in their events.”?

Izzo said she too has attempted to go before a mix of groups that lean left and right or are neutral. She added it “would be dangerous for Kentucky” to open up judicial races to more partisanship in the future.?

“I think as a candidate, there’s not much I can do with my supporters in terms of who’s going to give endorsements and who’s not,” Izzo said. “It doesn’t surprise me, honestly, that Beshear came out and endorsed her given her political leanings. And it doesn’t surprise me that the Clark County Republicans came out and endorsed me because of their political leanings.”

Because of ethics guidelines, Kentucky judicial candidates must avoid indicating their decision in a particular case. Both Goodwine and Izzo discussed their legal philosophies and qualifications with the Kentucky Lantern.?

Justices serve eight-year terms. Both candidates said they intend to serve their full term on the court if elected.?

Goodwine promises ‘dedication to the rule of law and justice for all’

Goodwine said that her 25 years of judicial experience have “given me the vast array of experiences and responsibilities needed to best serve all Kentuckians on the Kentucky Supreme Court.” Goodwine was elected to the Kentucky Court of Appeals for the 5th Appellate District in 2018. Before that she served on the benches of Fayette County Circuit and District courts.?

Being part of the state appeals court prepared Goodwine to join the Supreme Court, she said in written responses to the Kentucky Lantern, as she interpreted complex legal issues and crafted opinions while managing a high caseload.?

“Upon election to the Kentucky Supreme Court, I will be the first woman and only the fifth person in history to serve at all levels of the judiciary in Kentucky,” Goodwine said. “And I pledge to bring to our state’s highest court not only the legal expertise, work ethic, preparedness and passion for the law that I have built my reputation as a judge, but also a commitment to approaching each case with a dedication to the rule of law and justice for all.”?

After moving to Lexington from her hometown of Youngstown, Ohio, in 1979, Goodwine began working as a court reporter before attending the University of Kentucky the following year. She graduated from the University of Kentucky in 1991 and UK College of Law in 1994. Early in life, Goodwine overcame challenges like the deaths of her parents by the age of 19 and and a life-threatening illness. She said those moments taught her to use “challenges as a springboard to grow and thrive” and accomplish her goals.?

Goodwine, 64, said she knew she wanted to be a judge as a teenager and that was later reaffirmed after her mother’s murder.?

“From the courtroom to community outreach, I’ve witnessed the real impact legal decisions have on people’s lives and that fuels my commitment to serving on the Kentucky Supreme Court,” Goodwine said.???

Goodwine said the Kentucky Supreme Court is “the ultimate interpreter of the Constitution, laws and rulings,” and handles lower court appeals and focuses typically on cases with “significant legal or constitutional decisions” and renders rulings with binding legal precedents.?

As an arbitrator, Izzo says, she does ‘a lot of the same things that judges do’

Izzo said her litigation experience across Kentucky makes her qualified for the state’s highest court. For 19 years, she’s worked on litigation, arbitration and mediations. She compared arbitration to working as a judge and said her philosophy is to interpret the law as it is written.?

“As an arbitrator, we do a lot of the same things that judges do,” Izzo said. “We look at cases. We have attorneys come before us. I hear arguments. I make decisions. I hear evidence. I preside over trials. It’s there. It’s just different that it’s here in a conference room, as opposed to the courthouse.”

Izzo, 46, completed her undergraduate degree at Dartmouth in 2000 and graduated from the University of Kentucky College of Law in 2005. Before joining Landrum and Shouse in 2011, Izzo’s career experience includes being an attorney at Fulkerson, Kinkel and Marrs in Lexington, working as an assistant Fayette County attorney and being a judicial staff attorney for the Family Division of the 50th Judicial Circuit. Before law school, she worked as a paralegal at New York City firm Seward and Kissel.?

Describing herself as a “constitutionalist” and not “an activist arbitrator” when it comes to applying law, Izzo said she looks at the intent behind how laws were written. She added that “if there’s something there that might be better socially, or might (be) something that I disagree with, it’s not my place to change.”?

“I look at how things are, what the intention of the founding fathers were with our Constitution, and that kind of carries over to what legislative intent was when a law was adopted,” Izzo said. “Because I think if you really want to understand what the legislature intended with the law, you want to know how things were when it was adopted, what was in effect, what was going on at the time, and so that can have an impact on what a statute means outside of the Constitution.”

Izzo was born in Tennessee and raised in a Portland, Oregon, suburb until the age of 7when her family moved to Louisville.?

Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 5. In-person no-excuse early voting begins Thursday, Oct. 31.?

Gov. Andy Beshear extends a handshake during a ceremonial groundbreaking for The Paddocks of Frankfort at Interstate 64 and U.S. 127. The ceremony was moved into the Capital Rotunda because of heavy rain the day before. (Gov. Andy Beshear, X account)

FRANKFORT — Developers of a large regional shopping center under construction in Frankfort gave $100,000 to Gov. Andy Beshear’s super PAC in August.

It amounts to the largest group of contributions ever reported by the super PAC — called In This Together — which Beshear created in January.

In early June Beshear was joined by the developers and local and state leaders in the Capitol Rotunda to ceremonially break ground on The Paddocks of Frankfort, a major retail development that will feature Target as an anchor tenant.

Beshear thanked developers and investors for making what he said was a $150 million investment that would “support” more than 1,000 jobs. Developers thanked the state and local officials – particularly the Beshear administration and legislature for funding major road improvements that made the long-planned project possible.

The state road plan includes funding to build a realigned interchange at I-64 and U.S. 127 and other improvements in access to the site.?

The Frankfort and Franklin County governments approved tax increment financing for other infrastructure to support the project.

On Friday, In This Together, filed a report with the Federal Election Commission that listed $100,000 in contributions on Aug. 8 from limited liability companies affiliated with the developers, Patrick Madden and Equity Management Group.

Specifically, the donors listed in the report are:

• TPOF Manager LLC, of Lexington, $50,000. This company was formed in February, according to records filed with the Kentucky Secretary of State. The records list no owners or officers of TPOF Manager LLC, but do list Equity Management Group, of Lexington, as its registered agent. Equity Management Group is one of the real estate companies handling the development according to a June press release from the governor’s office.
• Sir Barton Place LLC, of Lexington, $25,000. This is a real estate company managed by Madden.
• War Admiral Place LLC, of Lexington, $25,000. This is another real estate company managed by Madden.

Neither Madden nor Equity Management Group immediately returned phone calls from Kentucky Lantern seeking comment on the contributions.

Eric Hyers, the PAC’s political strategist who managed both of Beshear’s successful campaigns for governor, responded to questions from Kentucky Lantern in a statement: “This is an important economic development project for Frankfort that has been years in the making, and Mr. Madden has been a long-time supporter of Gov Beshear.”

?Hyers also said, “We are proud that ITT (In This Together) is raising money to help good people win in Kentucky and all over the country and that people are donating because of the proven leadership of Governor Beshear.”

Beshear, a Democrat, created In This Together in early January as a mechanism to raise contributions he would use to support like-minded political candidates both within Kentucky and across the country.

From January through August the super PAC has reported raising $897,500.

Before August, the largest contribution it reported was $25,000 from Freedom Senior Share LLC, of Louisville, which operates under the assumed name of Freedom Adult Day Healthcare.

In This Together reported raising a total of $187,900 in August. It reported spending $40,100 during the month and that it had $681,800 on hand as of Aug. 31.

Hyers said in July that the super PAC planned to wait until the fall before spending significant amounts to help candidates supported by Beshear. In August it reported making just one contribution – $6,600 to the campaign of Democratic U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin, of Wisconsin.

Rep. Nima Kulkarni, D-Louisville, (LRC Public Information)

A three-judge Kentucky Court of Appeals panel denied a motion that sought to disqualify Louisville Rep. Nima Kulkarni from seeking election this fall.?

Kulkarni’s primary challenger, William Zeitz, and previous opponent, former Rep. Dennis Horlander, appealed a ruling out of Franklin County Circuit Court last week that allowed a vacancy in the 40th House District primary election to stand. Zeitz and Horlander plan to appeal to the Kentucky Supreme Court.?

“Because the Kentucky Secretary of State, Michael Adams, appears to have correctly applied the law to the particular circumstances presented, we find no substantial question on the merits of this case, and we deny the pending motion,” the Court of Appeals said in a published order.?

Adams, a Republican, declared the vacancy after the Kentucky Supreme Court ruled Kulkarni was disqualified from the May primary election because of problems in her filing papers. Adams invited the local political parties to nominate candidates for the general election. Democrats nominated Kulkarni and Republicans did not name a candidate.?

Kulkarni, by way of her attorney James Craig, said appreciated the appeals court “issuing a thorough and comprehensive opinion today.”?

“The two men who brought this challenge have lost repeatedly at the ballot box, and now their efforts to go around the election process have been denied,” Kulkarni said. “Those who were involved in going against the will of the people and hoping that a court would ignore the voters’ wishes — they also lost today. This was a win, not only for my constituents, but also for democracy.”

Steven Megerle, an attorney for Zeitz and Horlander, said “Kulkarni has not yet stolen this election” and that they would filed an appeal with the Supreme Court to determine when a vacancy occurs. Megerle reiterated that Zeitz was a bona fide candidate for the primary.?

“This case always appeared to be bound back to the state Supreme Court due to the quirky and peculiar posture that it’s had,” Megerle said.

Before issuing its denial, the Court of Appeals requested the Supreme Court review the appeal, but the high court denied the transfer. Judges Sara Walter Combs, Kelly Mark Easton and Jeff Taylor were on the appeals court panel.?

Zeitz and Horlander filed a lawsuit against election officials after Hornlander challenged the validity of Kulkarni’s nomination papers, as one of the two signatories was not a registered Democrat, as required by state law, at the time of signing.

Kulkarni defeated Horlander in the 2018 and 2020 Democratic primaries for the 40th House District. In an unofficial vote count, Kulkarni received 78% of ballots cast in the May primary election. Zeitz received the remaining 22%.

The Court of Appeals said that the question around Kulkarni’s eligibility to be nominated would have been different had the Supreme Court not allowed votes to be cast for her before disqualification.

“Zeitz was not entitled to be declared the winner of an election that did not count and which he lost by a four-to-one margin,” the appeals court said. “Zeitz was not unopposed before the primary votes were cast.”?

The deadline to print ballots for the general election was Sept. 16, and they have been, according to Adams’ office.

“While our Office has stayed neutral in this dispute, we are pleased that the Court did not sow chaos in the election by undoing our work,” Adams said in a statement. “For the past four years, Kentucky has been nationally recognized for our accessible, secure and smooth elections, and we will keep it that way.”

This story has been updated with additional comments Friday afternoon.?

Rep. Daniel Grossberg, D-Louisville. (LRC Public Information)

Prominent Kentucky Democrats, including Gov. Andy Beshear and House Democratic Caucus members, are calling for the resignation of Louisville Democratic Rep. Daniel Grossberg following new allegations of inappropriate behavior toward women. The caucus also voted to permanently expel Grossberg.??

Grossberg issued a statement late Friday afternoon saying he was seeking treatment “to reduce my impulsive behavior.” WHAS radio host Terry Meiners shared the statement from Grossberg. ?It said?the representative is “in treatment to help reduce my impulsive behavior going forward — and I will keep my head down and continue working to serve my constituents.”

Beshear addressed reporters at the Capitol Friday following a morning report from the Lexington Herald-Leader saying Grossberg received a lifetime ban from a Louisville strip club after inappropriately touching a dancer. The story also alleges Grossberg offered another dancer $5,000 to have sex with him.?

“I want to once again state clearly and unequivocally that Rep. Grossberg should resign,” Beshear said. “He should resign.”?

Beshear added that he and Lt. Gov. Jacqueline Coleman “stand united together” in believing that calling for Grossberg’s resignation “is the right thing to do.

“And I hope he hears it, and I hope he follows it,” Beshear said.?

Coleman said in her statement “enough is enough.”

“Women and girls in Kentucky deserve better and so do Rep. Grossberg’s constituents,” Coleman said. “He has had ample opportunity to do the right thing by stepping aside, and if I were him, I’d take it sooner rather than later.”

Grossberg’s attorney, Anna Whites, told the Kentucky Lantern Friday morning that Grossberg plans to continue in office and denied the allegations in the latest Herald-Leader report.?

As the governor’s press conference ended, Kentucky Democratic Party Chair Colmon Elridge released a statement calling Grossberg “unfit to serve” in office.?

“Every individual deserves to be held accountable for their own actions — particularly those who represent Kentuckians in the halls of our Capitol,” Eldrige said. “Representative Grossberg has repeatedly proven that he is unfit to serve and must resign from office.”

The House Democratic Caucus met Friday morning and “voiced strong support for the victims,” said leaders Reps. Derrick Graham, Cherlynn Stevenson and Rachel Roberts in a joint statement. Caucus members “are calling on Representative Grossberg to resign immediately,” they said.

“Our caucus does not believe Rep. Grossberg should hold office as he responds to these appalling matters,” caucus leaders said. “It has become abundantly clear to us that he cannot and should not represent his constituents and our commonwealth any longer.”

The caucus leaders sent an additional statement hours later that said caucus members “voted to expel him permanently as a caucus member.” Grossberg was notified of the change, they added.

The latest revelations follow the House Democratic Caucus temporarily suspending Grossberg after asking the Legislative Ethics Commission to investigate allegations that he sent inappropriate text messages to women earlier this summer. Grossberg has also been asked to “temporarily refrain from participating” in Louisville Democratic Party events and removed from his interim committee assignments.?

Three women anonymously quoted in an August Herald-Leader story about their interactions with Grossberg recently went public and identified themselves. They are Lexington Fayette Urban County Council candidate Emma Curtis, Kentucky Young Democrats President Allison Wiseman?and former Democratic House candidate Sarah Ritter.?

Grossberg represents the 30th House District, which includes central parts of Jefferson County.?

Beshear said last month that Grossberg should seriously consider if “a public office is the best or most appropriate place for him to be at this time.”?

Friday morning, other elected officials, including Democratic U.S. Rep. Morgan McGarvey of Louisville, state Sen. Cassie Chambers Armstrong, D-Louisville, and Rep. Chad Aull, D-Lexington, called for Grossberg’s resignation Friday morning. Chair of the Louisville Democratic Party Logan Gatti also called on the representative to resign.?

Previously, the executive board of Kentucky Young Democrats called on Grossberg to resign after reviewing evidence it had seen at the time and “the experiences of multiple board members.” Louisville Young Democrats and Fayette County Young Democrats have also called on Grossberg to resign.??

Grossberg, who is in his first term in the House, narrowly won his primary election by 50 votes. He does not face a Republican challenger in the upcoming general election.?

Whites said Grossberg plans to continue serving his constituents. In August, Whites told the Herald-Leader that Grossberg has a “neurodivergent diagnosis,” placing him on the autism spectrum, which means his brain processes information differently.

“He’s spent the past several weeks in Frankfort and in his district, working hard to do the job he was elected to do,” Whites said. “We do not intend to attack or disparage witnesses in the paper, but definitely look forward to both the ethics process and any other means of correcting what we see as inaccuracies or false statements in some of the Herald-Leader reporting.”

The Herald-Leader said in a Friday afternoon story that it stands by its reporting. Executive Editor Richard Green said reporters “conducted dozens of interviews, reviewed more than 150 texts and social media messages” to vet its stories.

Grossberg has sought to dismiss an ethics complaint filed by House Democratic leadership against him. Whites said throughout this, Grossberg maintains that the disputes alleged in the complaint could have been resolved “if House Democratic leadership had maintained and retained the harassment reporting policy” it had a few years ago.? Whites said the policy was “known to everybody” so that concerns could be immediately reported and mediated with a confidential third party.

“We want anyone who has a concern or a complaint, particularly if they’re a member of the public, but also if they’re a political peer, like Emma or Allison or anyone else, we want them to have that avenue known to them, that they can use in the moment. Most of these claims are a year or two old,” Whites said. “Those should have been addressed quickly and easily in real time. And if the House had had appropriate, impartial, nonpartisan procedures we wouldn’t see it playing out now, shortly before an election, which looks a little gamesmanship-y.”

Brian Wilkerson, a spokesperson for the House Democratic Caucus, told the Lantern that White’s reference to the reporting policy was “another blatant yet weak attempt by Anna Whites to somehow shift the blame for her client’s reported egregious behavior to someone or something other than her client.” He said the caucus follows Legislative Research Commission policies which are “both strict and clear and provide needed protections for those they cover, which includes partisan and non-partisan employees, as well as third parties in their interactions within LRC.” Legislators and staff are required to review the policies against workplace harassment annually.

Wilkerson added that the caucus has previously sponsored successful legislation “that would have enshrined in law that anyone with ties to the legislature, including lobbyists, would have an official avenue to make complaints and have them handled appropriately.”

‘Nobody should face harassment‘

In response to reporters’ questions Friday morning, Beshear condemned Grossberg’s alleged conduct as “wrong” and reiterated that Grossberg “can’t be a state representative.” The governor added that “nobody should face harassment” in their place of work, in the Kentucky Capitol and across the commonwealth.?

“I want my daughter to grow up in a world free from harassment, I want my son to grow up in a world free from harassment and these allegations and the alleged conduct — it crossed the line in the first story, it crossed the line in this story. It’s too much,” Beshear said. “(Grossberg) needs to resign.”?

When asked if he had heard personally from women who had accused Grossberg of misconduct, Beshear said he wanted to “preserve the confidentiality of any of those conversations that someone had with me.”?

The governor said he knows some of the individuals who have made accusations against Grossberg and “I hate that they’ve gone through what they’ve gone through.”?

“I hope that people see or hear today that we will listen, that they will be believed, and that no one should use a position of authority to make anyone else feel unsafe or harassed,” the governor said. “Now, it’s important that in a world where we still see far too much conduct that’s just totally unacceptable for people to know that if they choose to speak out, they’ll be heard.”?

As for calls to change the Legislative Ethics Code to prevent a lawmaker from engaging in conduct like the incidents Grossberg has been accused of, Beshear said a stronger code is needed as well as stronger enforcement of it.?

The House or Senate may removed a state lawmaker with a two-thirds vote of the chamber, according to the Kentucky Constitution.

This story has been updated with additional comments Friday afternoon.

Home mortgage rates are posted outside a real estate office in Los Angeles after the Federal Reserve interest rates announcement on Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell announced a half-point cut to its benchmark interest rate in the first rate cut since the early days of the COVID pandemic. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)

The Federal Reserve’s first key interest rate cut in four years coincides with another major four-year event: the homestretch of the presidential election.

Fed Chair Jerome Powell downplayed the central bank’s role in the race between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump on Wednesday, in announcing the half-percentage point cut in its benchmark rate. But that didn’t stop the candidates’ campaigns from weighing in, and it could prove a key factor for voters.

“This is my fourth presidential election at the Fed, and it’s always the same. We’re always going to this meeting in particular and asking what’s the right thing to do for the people we serve,” Powell said. “Nothing else is ever discussed.”

The decision to cut for the first time during the Biden Administration indicates the Federal Reserve’s Board of Governors believe the economy has beaten the COVID-19 pandemic-induced wave of inflation that has plagued it since mid-2021. The Fed hiked its key rate 11 times between March 2022 and July 2023.

Inflation peaked at 9.1% in June 2022. The Consumer Price Index, a measure of inflation, rose 2.5% over the past year, according to the latest release from the Bureau of Labor Statistics in August. The unemployment rate was 4.2% in August, down from 4.3% in July, but still much higher than 3.5% in July 2023 when the Fed made its last rate hike.

“We now see the risks to achieving our employment and inflation goals as roughly in balance, and we are attentive to the risks of both sides of our dual mandate,” Powell said.

Wednesday’s was the first in what is expected to be a series of key rate cuts. For now, that benchmark rate is 4.75 to 5%

One member of the Fed’s governing board, Michelle Bowman, dissented with the rest of the group, marking the first time a governor has done so since 2005. Bowman preferred a 25 basis point – or quarter percentage point – cut.

Timing of the rate cut

Both campaigns quickly reacted to the news from the Fed.

Trump, speaking at a crypto-themed bar in New York, said the cut should have been smaller.

“I guess it shows the economy is very bad to cut it by that much, assuming they’re not just playing politics,” the Republican nominee said. “The economy would be very bad or they’re playing politics, one or the other. But it was a big cut.”

Harris, in a prepared statement, was forward-looking.

“While this announcement is welcome news for Americans who have borne the brunt of high prices, my focus is on the work ahead to keep bringing prices down,” the Democratic nominee said. “I know prices are still too high for many middle class and working families.”

Sarah Binder, a senior fellow in governance studies at the nonpartisan Brookings Institution and author of, “The Myth of Independence: How Congress Governs the Federal Reserve,” said there is a long history of presidents pressuring the Fed, from John F. Kennedy to Richard Nixon and Trump, as a president and now as a presidential candidate.

In order to be effective in its role in keeping the economy moving, Binder said, the Fed needs to be trusted as legitimate, and its political support is contingent on doing a good job.

“The Fed doesn’t have the liberty of sitting it out or not doing enough, which can also bring the Fed into politicians’ crosshairs where they really, really don’t want to be,” she said.

Skanda Amarnath, executive director of Employ America, a research group that advocates for full employment, said the Fed should be examining the economic data.

“That’s what they should look at, not where they are in the electoral seasonal cycle,” she said. “I think that’s the case, by and large. I don’t see anything that’s just a real politicization here.”

What a Fed rate cut means for the economy

Many economists and economic advisers have argued for the Fed to cut rates for months to avoid significant damage to the labor market and in the worst case, a recession.

Now, consumers should begin to see lower costs for borrowing money to buy houses, cars and other necessities.

Kitty Richards, senior strategic adviser at Groundwork Collaborative, a progressive think tank based in Washington, D.C., said the Fed should not hold back on cutting rates now that inflation is slowing.

“The Fed pursued four back to back 70-basis-point rate hikes when inflation was heating up. There’s no reason they should allow inertia to hold them back from normalizing rates now that inflation is under control,” she said.

Because shelter makes up so much of inflation, Richards has expressed concern that by keeping rates where they are, mortgage rates have been pushed so high that the housing market is unaffordable for many Americans. This, in turn, affects inflation, she said, creating a vicious cycle.

Dean Baker, senior economist at the Center for Economic and Policy Research, a progressive economic policy think tank, stated that the Fed decision is a good sign for the housing market.

“It is good that the Fed has now recognized the weakening of the labor market and responded with an aggressive cut. Given there is almost no risk of rekindling inflation, the greater boost to the labor market is largely costless,” Baker said in a statement. “Also, it will help to spur the housing market where millions of people have put off selling homes because of high mortgage rates.”

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear walks onstage to address the Democratic National Convention on its opening night, August 19, 2024, in Chicago. (Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

Kentucky Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear will be the keynote speaker at an annual West Virginia Democratic Party dinner later this month.?

Beshear, a two-term governor in a red state, will speak at the party’s Roosevelt Kennedy Dinner at the Charleston Civic Center on Sept. 27.?

West Virginia Democratic Party Chair Mike Pushkin called Beshear “a champion for working families and a proven leader in our region” in a press release Wednesday afternoon. Pushkin predicted the governor’s remarks would be inspiring to West Virgnia Democrats ahead of November elections.?

Pushkin said Beshear’s success in a red state “proves that a Democrat with strong values and a commitment to making government work for everyone can win even in the toughest political environments.”?

Over the summer, Beshear traveled to political events while he was under consideration as a possible running mate for Vice President Kamala Harris, though she ultimately picked Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz. Beshear spoke to Iowa Democrats during a party dinner and addressed Kentucky Democrats during its Forward Together Dinner in Louisville. The governor also gave remarks during the Democratic National Convention in August.?

Like Kentucky Democrats, West Virginia Democrats hold a superminority in the legislature. In its release, the West Virginia Democratic Party said Beshear’s “insights will be invaluable as West Virginia Democrats gear up for crucial races in the November elections.”?

However, Democrats in the Mountain State do not currently hold the Governor’s Mansion. West Virginia Republican Gov. Jim Justice is term limited and is seeking the U.S. Senate seat opened up by Democrat Joe Manchin’s decision not to run for reelection. His opponent, Wheeling Mayor Glenn Elliot, and gubernatorial candidate Huntington Mayor Steve Williams will also speak during the dinner.?

UK President Eli Capilouto, left, shakes hands with Sen. Lindsey Tichenor, ahead of an interim education committee meeting. (Kentucky Lantern photo by McKenna Horsley)

FRANKFORT — Five of Kentucky’s university presidents told state lawmakers that their campuses are focused on inclusivity for all students as an interim committee sought information about diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives in higher education.

The discussion, which lasted a couple of hours, in front of the Interim Joint Committee on Education on Tuesday comes amid Republican hostility to DEI efforts and threats to eliminate them in higher education, both in Kentucky and across the nation.

Before the meeting, Rep. Josh Calloway, R-Irvington, shared on X, formerly Twitter, that he and other lawmakers, including Rep. Candy Massaroni, R-Bardstown, planned to file a bill during the 2025 legislative session that would eliminate a requirement for public universities and colleges to submit diversity plans to the Council on Postsecondary Education and remove penalties for not meeting CPE standards.?

“While Representative Jennifer Decker continues to lead the charge to fully end DEI initiatives in Kentucky’s post-secondary institutions, we aim to refocus colleges on education — not division or exclusionary practices,” Calloway said.?

Decker, R-Waddy, was the sponsor of the House’s answer to DEI in higher education last session. That bill would have eliminated DEI programs in higher education. Meanwhile, a Senate bill proposed a legal path for employees and students to sue universities on the grounds they were discriminated against for rejecting “divisive concepts.” Neither piece of legislation passed.?

Committee co-chairs, Republicans Sen. Stephen West and Rep. James Tipton, “felt it was appropriate to get all the information out on the table” regarding DEI at public universities heading into the next session, West said at the start of the meeting.?

Some of Kentucky’s public universities have already begun looking at their diversity policies in the interim. In recent weeks, the University of Kentucky and Northern Kentucky University announced they were closing their diversity offices. The Kentucky Community and Technical College System said last week it plans to review its programs and resources.?

Campuses represented Tuesday were UK, the University of Louisville, Western Kentucky University, Eastern Kentucky University and Murray State University. Presidents of NKU and Morehead State University previously addressed the education committee about DEI programs on those campuses. KCTCS President Ryan Quarles recently told the Kentucky Lantern he would make a similar presentation in November.?

UK President Eli Capilouto said he hears concerns about DEI in questions regarding how it represents everyone. He said the purpose of the meeting was to “to find a common approach to a common concern,” and that was “how we support everyone, regardless of where they are from, what they think, who they are.”?

While UK eliminated its diversity office, no jobs were eliminated, Capilouto said. He added that the university was recommitting itself to refrain from statements “that appear political or partisan” and protecting academic freedom.?

“??Spaces for learning must be free for the exchange of ideas, and discovery should take our scholars and students wherever their curiosity and questions lead, because that’s the only way we’re going to solve the thorniest of problems,” Capilouto said. “And we should welcome discomfort in hearing ideas. But we can’t tolerate indoctrination, intimidation or disrespect. The lectern serves learning, and is not a pulpit for proselytizing.”?

Kim Schatzel, who became president of UofL in early 2023, told lawmakers? her institution “will support all our students and all needs of all.” Last year, UofL changed the name of its Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion to the Office of Institutional Equity.?

“‘Equity’ means no preference, no bias, no discrimination,” Schatzel said before she listed the various identities that make up UofL’s student body —?Black, brown, white, Jewish, Muslim, Christian, refugees, first generation students, gay, straight, disabled, veterans and more.?

Sen. Lindsey Tichenor, R-Smithfield, referenced pro-Palestine protests at UofL and on other campuses that she said made Jewish students feel unsafe based on religion. She said she appreciated Schatzel’s efforts “to make that right.”

“Our Constitution talks about equality,” Tichenor said. “I don’t love that word, equity. Because it assumes that there’s an overall that everybody can have or comes in, you know, it leaves the same way. That’s just impossible. We’re all different people. So I guess my question to you would be, why would you choose … the Office of Institutional Equity, as opposed to the Office of Institutional Equality, because that truly is more of our founding in the United States of America, that we’re all created equal.”

WKU President Timothy Caboni said the university defines diversity through a combination of identities, such as geographical background, age, socioeconomic status, political views, gender identity, sexual orientation, race and more. The university launched its OneWKU campaign in 2020, which is “cultivating a sense of belonging” for all who are on campus.?

David McFaddin, president of EKU, said his university does not have a diversity office but remains committed to welcoming all. Bob Jackson, Murray State’s president and a former state lawmaker, said universities have a responsibility to advance the future workforce and highlighted academic programs at the university.?

“I say all of these things because our workforce and economic development needs and issues are vitally important for all students all across Kentucky, no matter gender, race, income status or otherwise,” Jackson said. “And that’s who we are. I’m proud of who we are.”?

The League of Woman Voters has a policy against sponsoring one-sided events. Unless all candidates agree to participate, there's no forum. (Getty Images)

The League of Women Voters has a history of organizing debates and forums from elections for U.S. president to Kentucky governor to local school boards. But this year Republicans in Kentucky’s largest city are not accepting a local chapter’s invitations to appear on stage with their opponents.

Some of the candidates aren’t replying to inquiries at all, while others have refused and said they think the League is partisan, according to LWV Louisville leaders.?

The League says that out of contested races for 10 state House seats, two state Senate seats and seven spots on Louisville Metro Council, only one Republican —?Sara-Elizabeth Cottrell in the 41st House District —?has agreed to a candidate forum. Cottrell will appear alongside former Democratic state Rep. Mary Lou Marzian in an Oct. 7 forum.?

Because of a LWV policy to avoid a one-sided event, both candidates must agree to participate in order for a forum to be scheduled.?

Dee Pregliasco, former president of the Louisville LWV, said one candidate accused her personally of partisanship because of a letter to the editor that she had penned. She said the letter had nothing to do with the LWV.

“My bottom line to these people is if you want people to accept your view of government, your view of the community, your view of what needs to be done, then you need to engage them,” Pregliasco said.

Democratic candidates are “willing to do it” when contacted about forums, Pregliasco said.?

Gail Henson, a co-president of the Louisville chapter, said some Republican candidates responded by saying they prefer to meet constituents one-on-one or that they are busy when a specific date had not yet been offered.?

Henson read a response to the Kentucky Lantern from one Republican representative, but did not identify them.?

“I do not consider the League of Women voters to be nonpartisan,” the candidate said. “Thank you for thinking of me, but I am not inclined to participate in your event.”?

The local chapter is part of a national nonpartisan public policy organization founded amid the women’s suffrage movement. The statewide chapter is a regular advocate in Frankfort for government transparency and civic engagement.?

Ahead of the 2024 legislative session, LWV released a report that found the General Assembly has increasingly fast-tracked bills in a manner that makes citizen participation nearly impossible. That report came up in a floor debate over changing rules in the House to loosen leadership’s control.?

Henson said two candidates declined to participate because of the LWV’s stance against Amendment 2, a constitutional amendment on November’s ballot that if approved would allow the General Assembly to fund nonpublic schools with tax dollars. Henson said that the League takes positions only if they align with the organization’s national guidelines. LWV does not endorse candidates for elected office but under its guidelines may take positions on ballot issues.

Opportunity to stand before voters and compare policies

Cottrell, the GOP candidate in the 41st House District race, said she was looking forward to her forum. She added that while the district is “very heavily Democratic,” she wanted to offer an opposing viewpoint for voters. Cottrell said she had not been directed to decline participating in the forum by a lawmaker or the Republican Party.?

“I’m excited about it,” Cottrell said. “I welcome the opportunity to stand in front of voters and people who are interested in the district and compare policies between two candidates.”?

Cottrell said she understands why some candidates may choose to not participate in a forum or a survey because of how questions are worded. But she said has?attended previous events hosted by the LWV and did not “expect there to be any bias.” She did say she has pushed back at some of the League’s stances, including its position on Amendment 2.?

“Democrats are people and Republicans are people. We have different priorities, and that causes us to take different stances,” Cottrell said. She said “we need to push back on this sense that because we’re so emotionally charged about one issue or another, that it has to turn to some sort of battle.”?

Pregliasco said the League has encountered difficulties getting candidates to agree to forums the last couple of election cycles. A trend she sees is that once candidates become incumbents, they do not feel they need to participate in forums. However, the winners of any election —?whether Metro Council or seats in the General Assembly —?represent everyone in that district, she said..?

“So in that sense, our strong feeling is you have an obligation to be out there and letting the public see you against whomever wants to take your job away from you,” Pregliasco said. “There needs to be some comparison.”

In Lexington last year, the local League sponsored a televised gubernatorial debate between Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear and former Republican Attorney General Danield Cameron only to be refused by GOP candidates for lower offices.

Study: Kentuckians increasingly excluded from lawmaking process by fast-track maneuvers

The Lexington LWV published an opinion piece in the Lexington Herald-Leader last October addressing the lack of participation from local GOP candidates for its forums.

“We firmly believe that the success of our democracy relies on an informed electorate,” Lexington LWV said at the time. “Therefore, we urge candidates running for office in future elections to participate in our community forums for the benefit of voters.”

Jonathan Levin, a spokesperson for the Kentucky Democratic Party, said in a statement that Republicans aren’t participating in the forums because they do not want “to talk about their record because they know it’s indefensible” citing policies “from removing a worker’s right to overtime pay to attacking basic reproductive freedoms.”?

“Voters deserve to know where their representatives in Frankfort stand on the issues that matter most,” Levin said. “One out of 19 Republicans being willing to talk directly to voters about their positions is sad but not much of a surprise.”?

Andy Westberry, a spokesperson for the Republican Party of Kentucky, told the Lantern that he “can’t speak to any specific individual’s schedule or whether or not they had prior commitments or scheduling conflicts on the proposed dates and times for the forums.” He also said that “Democrats frequently decline to participate in legislative forums, so I don’t think this is particularly newsworthy or unusual.”?

“The most critical aspect of running a successful campaign is knocking on doors and engaging directly with voters in the district,” Westberry said. “Regardless of party affiliation, that should be a candidate’s top priority.”?

Decline in civic participation

Stephen Voss, a political science professor at the University of Kentucky, said that Republicans’ suspicion of the League “is just one symptom of what’s happened as American politics has become more polarized, especially by gender and social class.”?

In the past, local chapters had members who were usually “upper status women,” both Republicans and Democrats, Voss said. But by taking positions on various issues, particularly in Kentucky politics, “there’s no doubt that they’re a progressive organization.” In addition to opposing this year’s Amendment 2, the Kentucky LWV previously opposed an anti-abortion ballot measure in 2022.

In the past, candidates were “seen as basically obligated to appear” in front of LWV chapters and other neutral organizations, Voss said. However, as Republican voters grow suspicious of such organizations, GOP politicians refusing to speak with them “resonates with voters.”?

“Being progressive politically, and therefore opposing conservative issue positions isn’t necessarily the same as being ‘partisan,’ but for a Republican to doubt they’d get a fair shake in front of an organization that’s already on record taking positions at odds with their party’s positions on a whole range of issues seems like a pretty legitimate excuse to give.”?

Participation in civic events in general is on the decline, Voss noted.?

“If you live in a city and you go to a series of political events, it’s dominated by the same set of retirees,” Voss said. “These events are rarely an effective way to broaden your exposure to the voters.”?

Pregliasco said the best times to host candidate forums are from Labor Day to the third week of October, as excused in-person early voting begins Oct. 23. She said the League would “be glad” to hear from the candidates it hasn’t gotten a response from yet as there is time left to schedule forums.?

The Louisville LVW has scheduled some forums in nonpartisan races — three Jefferson County Public School board districts and a family court judicial election.?

The Kentucky Community and Technical College System is made up of 16 colleges across Kentucky. Its headquarters, above, is in Versailles. (KCTCS photo)

Under scrutiny from Republican lawmakers pushing to end diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs in higher education, Kentucky’s two-year college system on Friday announced it is launching an internal review.?

The goal is “to make sure that our offices and titles correctly reflect our mission of student success for all students,” said Ryan Quarles, president of the Kentucky Community and Technical College System (KCTCS).

In an interview with the Kentucky Lantern, Quarles, a former state lawmaker and two-term agriculture commissioner who became the system’s president this year, emphasized the diverse student population served by KCTCS which touts itself as “the most diverse institution in the state.”

“As KCTCS president, I want to assure our lawmakers and taxpayers and policymakers that we have an environment at our community colleges that is open to anyone and we welcome Kentuckians of all backgrounds and that when we offer support and services and programs that they’re open for every single student,” Quarles told the Lantern.

The review comes as two Kentucky public universities — the University of Kentucky and Northern Kentucky University — have closed their diversity offices amid pressure from Republican lawmakers. Two bills targeting DEI in higher education failed to pass the GOP-controlled General Assembly earlier this year, but the anti-DEI efforts are expected to be renewed when the legislature convenes in January.?

In an announcement released Friday afternoon, KCTCS said its review will begin in coming weeks with the goal of ensuring “all programs, offices and goals align with our commitment to success for all students.”?

KCTCS has 16 colleges across the state and serves more than 100,000 students. According to its website, the system has Diversity Peer Team contacts at individual campuses.?

Quarles said KCTCS delivers education not only on its campuses but also in prisons and addiction recovery centers. He added that more than half of GEDs awarded in Kentucky are awarded through KCTCS.? “When we talk about diversity, sometimes people tend to focus on race, but at KCTCS, we truly are an open access college for all Kentuckians,” he said.

When asked if he thought it was appropriate for the General Assembly to take action on DEI in higher education, Quarles said he would defer to current lawmakers on that.?

Ryan Quarles named president of Kentucky Community and Technical College System

Next week, the Interim Joint Committee on Education will hear from five university presidents on DEI programs within their institutions. Morehead State University and Northern Kentucky University have already made their presentations. Quarles said he is scheduled for a November presentation.?

Quarles said a goal of the review is to ensure consistency across KCTCS and to provide a better awareness of resources available to all students.?

“That means that all of our programs are inclusive, meaning that no programs exclude people,” Quarles said. “And we also want to make sure that our faculty and staff, who work really hard every day to get students across the finish line, that their titles and offices reflect the fact that they support all students.”

“The students that we serve at our community colleges sometimes need a little extra help, including wraparound services such as mental health support, child care, etc.,” Quarles said. “This is going to give us an opportunity to perhaps uncover some best practices to help all students achieve their college dream.”?

Addiction Recovery Care, Kentucky's largest provider of drug and alcohol treatment, has offices and other facilities in Louisa, photographed June 27, 2024. (Kentucky Lantern photo by Matthew Mueller)

Kentucky’s largest provider of drug and alcohol treatment is cutting staff and restructuring some services, citing significant cuts in Medicaid reimbursement from the government health plan that covers almost all of its clients.

Addiction Recovery Care, or ARC, based in Louisa, said in a statement Thursday that, as a result of cuts in payment for addiction and mental health services, “we have had to make difficult decisions impacting some of our staff members.”

The staff cuts come after a dispute with the private insurance companies that process and pay most of Kentucky’s Medicaid claims.

ARC declined to say how many of its 1,350 employees would be affected but said “we are doing everything we can to support the affected individuals during this transition.” It provided no further details.

“Out of respect for our employees we do not discuss personnel matters,” the company said.

ARC also is reorganizing some of its operations in Louisa, the small Eastern Kentucky town where the for-profit company is based and the home of its founder and CEO, Tim Robinson.

Robinson, a lawyer and recovered alcoholic who started the company that became ARC in 2010, has emerged as a politically well-connected figure and major political donor.

A Lantern analysis by Tom Loftus showed that Robinson, his corporations and employees have made at least $570,000 in political contributions over the past decade as his for-profit company grew from a single halfway house to about 1,800 residential beds and outpatient care for hundreds more clients.?

Except for money given to political committees supporting Gov. Andy Beshear, a Democrat, virtually all of the rest went to Republicans like former Gov. Matt Bevin, Attorney General Russell Coleman, U.S. Rep. Hal Rogers and candidates for the Kentucky legislature.

Beshear has praised ARC for its role in helping the state deal with the wave of addiction that engulfed Kentucky in recent decades.

“With the help of organizations like ARC, we are working to build a safer, healthier commonwealth for our people,” Beshear said, speaking at a ribbon-cutting in March for a new ARC facility in Greenup County at the former Our Lady of Bellefonte Hospital in Ashland.

A spokesman for the state Cabinet for Health and Family Services, which administers Medicaid, said that the Beshear administration supports Medicaid services for those in need of addiction or mental health treatment and is seeking ways to expand them.

As for the rate dispute between ARC and the managed care companies, those companies “are contractually obligated to ensure members have access to appropriate medical care,” the spokesman said in a statement, adding: “We have no comment on the operational structure of Addiction Recovery Care (ARC) but these provider types are an essential resource to help individuals break the cycle of addiction.”

Robinson, a lifelong Republican, has praised Beshear as a skilled political leader saying, “I hope he runs for president.”

Enter the FBI

The cuts are the latest setback for the fast-growing company that last year took in $130 million in state Medicaid funds and has expanded from a single halfway house to a statewide network of recovery programs and residential centers in 24 counties across Kentucky.

In July, the FBI announced it was investigating ARC for possible health care fraud and asking anyone with information to contact the federal agency.

An FBI spokeswoman in a statement Tuesday said it has no new information to share about the status of the investigation but said the agency is still accepting information through an online site on its website.

ARC has said it is cooperating.

“We are confident in our program and in the services we offer,” the statement said. “We, and our legal counsel, are cooperating fully in the investigation.”

A few days before news of the FBI investigation became public, Coleman, the attorney general and law school classmate of Robinson at the University of Kentucky, said he was recusing himself from any investigation of ARC, according to Louisville Public Media. It reported Coleman’s top deputy, Rob Duncan, a childhood friend of Robinson who previously has done legal work for ARC, also was recusing himself.

Recovery CEO gives big to support Democrat Beshear and a host of Republicans

Coleman’s office investigates Medicaid fraud.?

Robinson, his corporations and employees gave at least $37,700 to Coleman political committees since late 2022.

‘Significant strides’ threatened

News of the FBI investigation became public just a few days after ARC executives appeared before a Kentucky legislative committee to protest cuts in reimbursement from some of the six national health insurance companies known as managed care organizations, or MCOs, that oversee most of the state’s $1.6 billion a year Medicaid program.

ARC, in a statement, stressed that cuts in reimbursement are driving the staff reductions and facility reorganizations.

“These difficult decisions are a direct result of impending and significant reimbursement cuts for many addiction and mental health service providers in Kentucky,” it said.

The MCOs contract with the state to manage care and provide payments for health services for most of the state’s around 1.5 million residents insured through Medicaid, which gets most of its money from the federal government.

In turn, the MCOs are paid a fixed rate per Medicaid member for overseeing that care.

People with knowledge of the situation have told the Lantern insurers had become concerned about aggressive billing practices and rising costs associated with some addiction treatment companies including ARC.

At the July hearing, ARC officials told lawmakers they and a handful of other providers in Kentucky had been notified they faced cuts of 15% to 20% in reimbursement from some of the MCOs.

Increased access to Medicaid funds and a growth in the treatment industry have helped Kentucky expand to the most treatment beds per resident in the country, an accomplishment touted by Beshear.

That progress could be threatened by the pending cuts, Matt Brown, ARC’s chief administrative office, told members of the interim joint Health Services Committee on July 30.

“Kentucky has made significant strides in access to treatment,” Brown said. “With these cuts it could completely set back addiction treatment in our state 20 years.”

This story has been updated with a response from the Beshear administration.

Porchá Perry demonstrates with other workers in Lansing, Michigan, in favor of bills restoring local control to pass workforce and labor policies on Sept.13, 2023. A new report finds growing union organizing across the country has triggered an anti-labor legislative response in some states, but cities and counties are increasingly pushing back. (Photo courtesy of SEIU Local 1)

Growing union organizing across the country has triggered an anti-labor legislative response in some states, but cities and counties are increasingly pushing back, a new report found.

The report, released this month?by the New York University Wagner Labor Initiative and Local Progress Impact Lab, a group for local elected officials focused on economic and racial justice issues, cites examples of localities all over the U.S. using commissions to document working conditions, creating roles for protecting workers in the heat and educating workers on their labor rights.

In the face of increased worker organizing and Americans’ higher approval of labor unions in the past few years (hitting levels not seen since the 1960s), many states have introduced bills aimed at stopping payroll deduction for union dues and punishing employers that voluntarily recognize a union through the card check process. In April, several governors in Southern states, including Tennessee, Alabama, Georgia, and Mississippi, advocated against auto workers voting for a union.

“We know that there has been an increase in worker organizing and definitely an increase in high-profile worker organizing and certainly that action has had a reaction,” said Terri Gerstein, director of the NYU Wagner Labor Initiative and co-author of the report.

Kentucky kids deserve better than being exploited like it’s 1899

However, state preemption laws, which can make local ordinances void and could prevent many localities from implementing more worker-friendly policies, are also on the rise. There was a surge in preemption laws from 2015 to 2017 on everything from the minimum wage to paid leave, according to a June 2024 analysis from the Economic Policy Institute, a left-of-center think tank.

Although the passage of preemption legislation has slowed, according to the EPI analysis, the effects on localities are still damaging to workers’ rights, authors of the report explain. But labor and policy experts say there are still opportunities for localities to push back against efforts to limit labor organizing and gut the enforcement of labor protections.

“Localities are doing more to fight for working people and advance workers’ rights, and I think in states where there is rampant state hostility and abusive state preemption, local governments are also the leaders of trying to advance workers rights in those states and address new challenges and threats like heat, for example,” said the report’s other co-author, LiJia Gong, the policy and legal director at Local Progress.

Some business organizations, such as the National Federation of Independent Business, say preemption laws help small businesses, which don’t have the capacity “to navigate duplicative, overlapping and potentially contradictory local labor laws.”

“NFIB has supported legislation that creates statewide, uniform standards for minimum wage rates and legislation that establishes a preemption of paid sick leave proposals by local governments,” the group said in a prepared statement.

Gerstein and Gong argue that these efforts are not always concerned with uniformity, such as taking away a locality’s ability to raise the minimum wage when the state does not set a higher minimum wage itself.

In states where there isn’t state-level wage enforcement, localities can pass ordinances that allow workers to file complaints and get stolen wages back without a lawyer, as some Florida localities have done.

There are also things cities and counties can do to prevent heat-related injuries and illnesses, including in the workplace. Miami-Dade County, Phoenix, and Los Angeles have chief heat officers whose role it is to protect people from the effects of extreme heat.

“Unlike a lot of other hazards, people don’t really understand how dangerous workplace heat is and that there are workplace fatalities. But research also shows that there are high rates of worker injuries and accidents of various kinds on hotter days,” Gerstein said.

Amid state efforts to weaken child labor laws, schools are also some of the best tools localities have to ensure kids aren’t working in dangerous conditions, the authors said. School boards could use their power to include workers’ rights education in the curricula, for example.

“School districts can do a lot to educate families on child labor laws and age-appropriate employment opportunities, and they can also play an important role in identifying students who might be working in prohibited occupations and refer those cases to state and federal labor enforcers,” Gong said.

Worker boards can also document and seek to improve working conditions on the local level. The boards, created by local governments, have worker representation and can conduct worker outreach and make policy recommendations on wages and benefits. Last year, the Detroit City Council voted to create an industry standards board for workers at pro sports facilities including Ford Field, Little Caesars Arena, and Comerica Park.

Board member Porchá Perry, a mother of two children who works at Comerica Park and Ford Field, said her role is reaching out to workers to share their experience of working conditions. Workers say they are concerned about low wages, child care, transportation and safety. Perry said that although she is personally less concerned about finding child care, she wouldn’t have to work multiple jobs if wages were higher and she would be able to see her kids more.

“It’s hard to have quality time,” she said.

The board also has spots for city council members and the mayor’s office.

“It’s a voice for everybody – government officials, employees, the management department. It’s somewhere for everybody to sit at the table and speak,” she said.

Britain Forsyth, legislative coordinator for Step Up Louisiana, a group that organizes for economic and education justice, said New Orleans has focused on becoming a model employer. New Orleans increased the minimum wage to $13.25 for city employees, which became effective in 2022, and rose to $15 in 2023. In 2023, the New Orleans City Council codified city employees’ right to organize. Louisiana does not have a state minimum wage law, so the city’s minimum wage is far above $7.25, the federal minimum wage.

Step Up Louisiana is also working to pass a workers’ bill of rights on the November ballot in New Orleans. It would add to the bill of rights in the city’s home rule charter that workers deserve a living wage, paid leave, safe workplaces and health care coverage and says that all laws and regulations regarding unions should be respected.

“We call the question to the city about what we believe in, and we make it clear to employers here and folks who want to open businesses here that this is how we think workers should be treated,” he said.

Authors of the report also suggest that more localities should take on wage theft, since state and federal authorities frequently struggle to enforce wage judgments and recover wages.

These agencies are often under-resourced, have frequent staff turnover and manage complex cases, Gerstein said. Local labor agencies could provide help conducting interviews or prepare cases for state or federal agencies to follow up on. San Diego County has a fund for staff to pursue employers for wages and provides $3,000 to people who are victims of wage theft and have final unpaid wage orders from the state.

Gerstein said she’s seeing cutting-edge approaches to enforcing worker protections in places like Seattle, Boston, New York City and Denver, where the state is friendlier to workers. For example, in Sept 2022, Boston Mayor Michelle Wu created the Worker Empowerment Cabinet, including the Office of Labor Compliance and Worker Protections.

Jodi Sugerman-Brozan, Boston’s deputy chief of worker empowerment and the director of the office of labor compliance and worker protections, said her office has done educational outreach, including free OSHA training sessions for over 1,200 people and a set of trainings for how to create a heat illness prevention plan. Last year, Wu signed an ordinance that requires certain safety standards and training for city construction projects.

“Cities and countries don’t have a lot of power but they can use the power of contracting and vending to drive labor standards,” Sugerman-Brozan said.

But Gerstein added that local governments in more employer-friendly states are also stepping up to advocate for workers.

“It’s a very different landscape where the local government may be the only place where the government is standing up for workers,” she said. “There is largely stagnation in Congress because of the filibuster and other reasons, an unfriendly state government, and your state department of labor isn’t particularly worker protective and is more focused on being employer and business-friendly. State AG offices aren’t really doing anything.”

Even a small local office can make a difference, Gerstein said.

“Hire dedicated staff to be the worker rights person. Create an office and an army of one. That’s how these things can start.”

The Kentucky Public Service Commission regulates the rates and services of more than 1,100 utilities, ranging from large investor-owned electric providers like Louisville Gas and Electric and Kentucky Utilities to small water districts that provide drinking water to rural communities.?(Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)

A former elected official from Eastern Kentucky who was part of Democratic leadership in the Kentucky House has been appointed to a powerful board regulating Kentucky utilities.??

Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear named John Will Stacy of West Liberty, a state representative from 1993 to 2015, to the three-member Kentucky Public Service Commission (PSC).

Stacy was House majority whip serving alongside then-House Speaker Greg Stumbo and then-House Majority Leader Rocky Adkins, who is now a senior advisor to Beshear.

?A spokesperson for Beshear’s office did not immediately respond to questions about why Stacy was appointed and what experience he has in utility regulation.

Stacy replaces Kent Chandler, the former chair and leader of the commission. Chandler resigned from his post in June to the dismay of some consumer advocates and told the Lantern he had no indication or confidence he would have been reappointed by Beshear. Beshear earlier this year made PSC commissioner Angie Hatton, another former Democratic state representative from Eastern Kentucky, the new chair of the commission.?

Stacy served on the House Appropriations and Revenue Committee, shaping state budgets during his time as a lawmaker. He supported the construction of a prospective natural gas pipeline that had some landowners worried over the potential use of eminent domain. After deciding not to seek reelection in 2014, Stacy worked as an economic development director at Morehead State University and also served as Morgan County judge executive from 2019 to 2023. He earned an undergraduate degree from Morehead and a law degree from Northern Kentucky University.

The PSC regulates the rates and services of more than 1,100 utilities, ranging from large investor-owned electric providers like Louisville Gas and Electric and Kentucky Utilities to small water districts that provide drinking water to rural communities.?

The quasi-judicial state agency hears requests from utilities to retire or build new facilities, including solar installations that want to establish in Kentucky. The agency also fields complaints from Kentuckians about service and rates. The commission will have to work with a new board created by the legislature to slow the retirement of fossil fuel-fired power plants in the state.?

Stacy will require confirmation by the GOP-dominated Kentucky Senate during next year’s legislative session to remain in his position, something that hasn’t been a guarantee. Amy Cubbage, an attorney who formerly served as Beshear’s general counsel among other roles in his administration, wasn’t confirmed by the Senate to the PSC in 2022.

If voters approve Amendment 2 to Kentucky's Constitution the state for the first time would be allowed to send public money to private schools. Donors on both sides of the issue recently filed campaign finance reports. (Getty Images)

FRANKFORT — The big money being donated to defeat the so-called “school choice” amendment on the November ballot has come from – as expected – teachers unions, while the big money contributed by proponents of Amendment 2 has come from developers and other business interests in Northern Kentucky.

Reports filed with the Kentucky Registry of Election Finance on Tuesday show that the group opposing the amendment, called Protect Our Schools, appears to have an early fundraising edge. It reported raising $3,055,000 since the spring and has $2,880,000 of that on hand as of Sept. 11.

Meanwhile, the committee advocating for the amendment, called Kentucky Students First, reported raising $1,533,000 so far, and a current balance of $1,118,000.

However, there are other groups that will spend money to influence voters in this race that have yet to report their donations and expenses. The most significant of those is likely to be Protect Freedom, which began airing advertisements advocating for the amendment in Kentucky this week.?

Protect Freedom is a national political action committee that discloses its finances to the Federal Election Commission and is due to file its next report later this month. The super PAC is affiliated with U.S. Sen. Rand Paul and has been nearly totally funded by Jeff Yass, the multi-billionaire options trader from Philadelphia. Yass is a powerful advocate for school choice and among the very largest political donors in the country. Since the beginning of 2023 he donated $14 million to Protect Freedom. And he donated millions to Protect Freedom and other super PACs that supported Republican Daniel Cameron’s unsuccessful campaign for governor of Kentucky in 2023.

Passage of Amendment 2? would allow the Kentucky General Assembly to approve provide state taxpayer funds to private and charter schools.

State lawmakers tried to do that three years ago with a bill that would have provided tax credits for donations supporting private school tuition.

But the Kentucky Supreme Court struck down that law, saying it violated provisions of the Kentucky Constitution.

Early this year Republican majorities in the Kentucky General Assembly approved a measure to let voters decide this November to amend the Constitution so that the General Assembly can provide funding for education outside the public school system.

Biggest donors

In its report filed Tuesday with the state election registry, the pro-amendment group Kentucky Students First reported getting most of its money from donors from Northern Kentucky with ties to the development and hospitality industries. Its biggest donors:

• William Yung, of Naples Florida, president of the hotel and resort operator Columbia Sussex, which is based in Crescent Springs, $500,000.
• Kentucky Education Freedom Fund Inc., a “dark money” political committee based in Louisville and headed by Charles Leis, the chief executive of EdChoice Kentucky, of Louisville. This type of political committee organized under Section 501(c)(4) of the Internal Revenue Service does not have to disclose its donors.
• Anthony Zembrodt, of Covington, retired, $200,000
• Matth Toebben, Crescent Springs, executive of Toebben Companies which is involved in commercial and residential construction, $100,000.
• The Drees Company, Fort Mitchell, homebuilding, $75,000.
• American Federation for Children, of Columbia, Maryland, a national organization that promotes school choice, $75,000.

Protect Our Schools, the group opposed to the amendment, reported the following large donations:

• National Education Association, Washington, a national teachers union, $2,415,000
• Kentucky Education Association, Frankfort, a state teachers union, $250,000
• Jefferson County Teachers Association, Louisville, the Jefferson county teachers union, $250,000
• Movement Voter Project, Northampton, Massachusetts, $60,000
• Council for Better Education, Frankfort, $50,000

The Efficient and Effective School Governance Task Force heard from a couple dozen community members at Louisville Male High School. (Kentucky Lantern photo by McKenna Horsley)

LOUISVILLE — More Louisville residents expressed skepticism about a legislative task force’s intentions amid fears of dismantling Jefferson County Public Schools Tuesday evening.?

While addressing the Efficient and Effective School Governance Task Force, students, teachers, parents and more called for different solutions, like allocating more adequate funding for public schools, giving students incentives to become educators themselves and creating better access to school resources, like transportation.?

Melissa Nelson, manager of education for Metro United Way, said that residents repeatedly said they opposed breaking up the school district out of skepticism. She referred to another speaker’s comments about taking the committee at its word that it wants to help the school district and added “I really hope that’s true.”?

Nelson pointed out some positives she sees in JCPS, such as mental health resources and cultural groups to give students a sense of belonging within their schools.?

“My biggest drawback with JCPS is they don’t work well with others, and I think that is because they are constantly under threat,” she said.?

The task force, which includes government and citizen members, met at Louisville Male High School on Tuesday. About a couple dozen speakers addressed the group within an hour. It was the second of two meetings held to get community feedback in Louisville area schools. The task force typically meets in Frankfort at the Capitol Annex.?

During the last meeting, co-chairs of the task force said deciding to split the district, which serves almost 97,000 students, was not under its purview. Some Republicans have said in the past that “the district is too big to properly manage.”?

One task force member, Senate Democratic Floor Leader Gerald Neal, of Louisville, told reporters after the meeting that while he did hear skepticism about the panel, he also heard several speakers invite the task force to help JCPS. Neal also said that whatever decision is made in the future about the school district won’t be at the hands of the committee, but the entire General Assembly, which is mostly made up of lawmakers who do not have a connection to Louisville and JCPS.?

“I’m hopeful that the legislature will come together and do the right thing,” Neal said.?

Co-chair Sen. Michael Names, R-Shepherdsville, told reporters that he did hear some new points to consider during the meeting, such as making changes around disciplining students with behavioral issues. Nemes said he wished the task force could have more community meetings to hear more feedback as much was focused on the question of splitting up the district.? “I want to hear: What we can do to help, what the Jefferson County Public Schools need, what do the students need, what can be done better? That’s what we want,” Nemes said. “What can we do better? What can we help them with?”

The task force, which was created by a House resolution, must make any recommendations by Dec. 1 in a report to the Legislative Research Commission. The resolution also directs the task force to only review the governance of Kentucky school districts with more than 75,000 students. JCPS is the only district that meets that criteria.

The group’s next meeting will be in Frankfort on Monday, Sept. 16 at 1 p.m.?

Gov. Andy Beshear. attended a July fundraiser for Democrat Kate Farrow, who is running to unseat Republican Ken Fleming from the Kentucky House. The event was held at at Rockdale, an 18th century restored cabin owned by Don Wenzel and Ron Darnell in eastern Jefferson County. (Photo by Beth Thorpe)

LOUISVILLE — Democrats backed by Gov. Andy Beshear are vying to unseat two Louisville Republicans in the Kentucky House this fall.?

The challengers — union leader John Stovall and education advocate Kate Farrow — are hoping to turn Kentucky’s 37th and 48th House Districts blue. The seats are currently held by Republican Reps. Emily Callaway and Ken Fleming.

According to the latest available campaign finance reports, Stovall has outraised Callaway by nearly $20,000 in the 37th district contest. Fleming raised more than $30,000 over Farrow in the 48th.?

?The 37th House District includes parts of Bullitt and Jefferson counties. The 48th House District includes parts of Jefferson and Oldham counties.?

Beshear won Jefferson County in 2023 with about 70% of the vote while Republican candidate for governor Daniel Cameron carried Bullitt and Oldham counties.

The races could be a test of whether Beshear’s popularity will help his party make inroads against the legislature’s Republican supermajority. The two-term governor predicted Democrats “are going to pick up seats in our state legislature” during the party’s Forward Together Dinner in Louisville earlier this year.?

Fleming and Callaway declined the Lantern’s requests for interviews through a Republican Party of Kentucky spokesperson. Both Stovall and Farrow spoke to reporters following a recent Kentucky Democratic Party press conference on labor issues.?

37th District

Stovall is president of Teamsters Local 783. He previously worked for the Jefferson County Board of Education for nearly three decades until joining the Teamsters and representing JCPS employees. He said he decided to run for office after he told fellow union members to get involved in politics themselves.?

“I just thought I’d be a phony if I didn’t live up to what I had asked them to do,” Stovall said.?

His top priorities if elected include creating and protecting jobs, along with securing pensions and health care.?

As for what he’s seen from the Kentucky legislature, Stovall expressed concern over GOP-backed labor bills that ultimately failed during the 2023 session, including one that would have removed requirements for employees to have a “reasonable” amount of time for lunch or rest breaks. To push back on such policies in the future, Stovall said Democrats should “be more aggressive” and speak about those issues with voters.

He criticized other laws enacted by the Republican-controlled legislature. “Now they’re telling you what books you can read. Well, that’s not? freedom. Now, they’re telling you what a woman can and cannot do with her own body,” Stovall said. “That’s not freedom, and they’re wanting to get involved in stuff that they have no business being involved in.”?

Callaway’s website highlights her co-sponsorship of an omnibus crime bill during the last legislative session, House Bill 5. Her website also says she supports eliminating the state income tax, giving parents “more freedom and choices in education,” “is pro-life” and supports the Second Amendment.?

Callaway voted in favor of putting Amendment 2on the ballot this fall that would allow the General Assembly to fund nonpublic schools. ItShe also carried some successful legislation in 2024, including? requiring? local school boards adopt a transportation services policy that includes student behavior rules and another that allows school districts to use passenger vehicles, such as vans, to transport kids to and from school as well as other approved school activities.?

Callaway, who is serving her first term,? introduced a bill dubbed the “Prenatal Equal Protection Act,” which would have criminalized “knowingly and voluntarily causing the death of a preborn child.” That bill was never assigned a committee in the House.?

48th District

Farrow became an outspoken education advocate after narrowly losing a race for Oldham County Board of Education in 2022. She said she ran for that office to further support one of her children, who has dyslexia and ADHD. She came in second, “but I realized I wasn’t done.”?

“I advocated for him, and then looked up and realized there was a lot of kids that needed advocacy too,” she said.?

Farrow said she met with lawmakers on both sides of the aisle to support a literacy bill during the 2023 legislative session, Senate Bill 156. Introduced by GOP senators and signed into law by Beshear, it established a statewide reading research center.?

Farrow said when meeting with voters in her district, the top issues she hears about are repealing Kentucky’s abortion ban and investing in public education, particularly in transportation.?

“I think we need to do better at investing in education and making sure it gets all the way down to the front line,” she said.?

In response to suggestions by some Louisville lawmakers that the state’s largest school district should be divided, Farrow said “busting up JCPS” would increase? overhead expenses since multiple superintendents and school administrations would be created in the county. She also said the move could “unfairly burden” property owners in the West End of Louisville versus the East End when it comes to paying taxes for new school districts.?

“As a business person, I really want to dive into root cause analysis and really efficiently spending our dollars,” Farrow said.?

Before retiring, Farrow worked at the Louisville Water Company, starting as a laborer and finishing as operations manager.

Farrow said she would be open to working across the aisle to try to get some policies passed and develop relationships regardless of party, adding that she is aware she would be “in the superminority in a supermajority situation.” Heading into November, Democrats have 20 seats in the 100-member House.?

“I think there’s more that we have in common than we have in difference, but we have to have those conversations to find it and then move the needle forward together, move it in a more common ground, common sense space,” Farrow said.?

According to his website, Fleming supports eliminating the state income tax, increasing funding to Kentucky’s public education SEEK formula and is looking for ways to strengthen resources for mental health services. He co-sponsored the bill for Amendment 2 and the omnibus crime bill.?

Fleming introduced a resolution to establish the Efficient and Effective School District Governance Task Force in the 2024 legislative session. In the interim, that task force, which includes lawmakers and citizen members, has been reviewing the governance of Jefferson County Public Schools.?

Fleming was also the primary sponsor of legislation this session to expand exceptions to Kentucky’s abortion ban, including for rape and incest. That bill was never assigned to a House committee.?

Fleming has served in the House from 2017 to 2018, and then again from 2021 to present.?

Rep. Nima Kulkarni, D-Louisville, prevailed in Franklin Circuit Court on Monday. (LRC Public Information)

FRANKFORT —?Franklin Circuit Judge Phillip Shepherd issued a ruling Monday afternoon that allows state Rep. Nima Kulkarni, a Louisville Democrat, to seek reelection in November after months of court battles that went to the state Supreme Court. However, the lawyer for a primary challenger has already filed another appeal.

In his order, Shepherd wrote that it was “not in the public interest for the Courts to intervene and dictate the result of this election” and that doing so “would effectively disenfranchise the voters of the District.”?

“In the circumstances of this case, the public interest requires denial of injunctive relief, which would thwart the will of the voters, as well as the will of the political party whose nomination is at issue,” Shepherd wrote.

Shepherd’s ruling is consistent with Secretary of State Michael Adams’ action in response to a state Supreme Court ruling that found that because of problems in her filing papers, Kulkarni was disqualified from the May primary election in the 40th House District. After that ruling, Adams declared a vacancy on the November ballot and invited political parties to submit nominees.?

Democrats in Louisville nominated Kulkarni. The Republicans did not nominate a candidate.

On Monday, Shepherd denied Democratic primary challenger William Zeitz’s request to be named as the qualifying candidate for the general election. Later in the day, Steven Megerle, the lawyer who sought to disqualify Kulkarni, said he submitted a request for an emergency review of? Shepherd’s order to the Kentucky Court of Appeals. The appeals court recommended transferring the case to the Kentucky Supreme Court on Tuesday.??

Megerle called denying Zeitz’s request the “death penalty” to his candidacy and that Kulkarni could have continued to seek office in other ways.?

“She would have still been able to run as a write-in candidate had she been disqualified and the vacancy not declared by the secretary of state,” Megerle said.?

In an unofficial vote count, Kulkarni received 78% of ballots cast in the May primary election. Zeitz received the remaining 22%.

Megerle first represented former state Rep. Dennis Horlander, a Democrat defeated by Kulkarni in the 2018 and 2020 Democratic primaries for the 40th House District. Horlander’s initial case was a challenge to the validity of Kulkarni’s nomination papers, as one of the two signatories was not a registered Democrat, as required by state law, at the time of signing.?

In the Franklin Circuit case, Megerle represented Horlander and Zeitz — the latest legal conundrum regarding the eligibility of Kulkarni. The pair joined together in suing election officials to challenge Adams’? declaration of a nominating vacancy.?

James Craig, an attorney for Kulkarni said that the outcome shows that “elections matter.”?

“This district has chosen Rep. Kulkarni to be their agent in Frankfort, and their voices matter,” Craig said. “We’ll continue to defend them for as long as Mr. Horlander continues to try to set them aside.”?

The various parties in the latest lawsuit all appeared before Shepherd Monday morning. Megerle sought an emergency injunction that would order Adams to put Zeitz on the ballot by issuing a certificate of nomination. Meanwhile, Craig argued that the Supreme Court’s opinion on the matter of declaring a nominating vacancy was clear. He added that Kulkarni had been chosen twice to seek another term in office —?once by the unofficial votes cast in the primary and again when the local party nominated her for the general election.?

Michael Wilson, deputy general counsel for the secretary of state, told the court that Adams had acted in good faith based on direction from the Supreme Court’s opinion. Wilson added the office’s primary concern was printing ballots in a timely manner.?

The deadline to print ballots for the general election is Sept. 16. Monday is the deadline for the secretary of state to certify candidate names with local county clerks.?

The?secretary of state’s office plans to follow the ruling of the court.?

This story was updated Tuesday afternoon.?

William T. Young Library at the University of Kentucky in Lexington. (Mark Cornelison | UK Photo)

Professors in the South are increasingly worried about political interference in higher education, according to a new survey released by southern chapters of the American Association of University Professors.?

The survey, which included responses from nearly 3,000 faculty members, found that about 70% of respondents signaled dissatisfaction with the political atmosphere around higher education and rated it “poor or very poor.” Additionally, about 55% of survey respondents said they were disappointed in their school’s administration for “not adequately defending academic freedom and tenure.”?

According to a news release, 109 respondents were from Kentucky. AAUP chapters that participated in the survey included Kentucky, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas and Arkansas.?

The survey results come on the heels of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives coming drawing fire from Republicans in Kentucky and across the nation. In recent weeks, the University of Kentucky and Northern Kentucky University announced plans to close their diversity offices amid pressure from Republican lawmakers.?

Two anti-DEI bills were debated by Kentucky lawmakers in the 2024 session but died without being approved. However, one policy change did pass as part of a postsecondary funding bill. It changed the formula for performance-based funding of universities by prohibiting the use of “any race-based metrics or targets.”?

Another GOP-backed measure in Kentucky that would have allowed universities to remove faculty for not meeting certain “productivity requirements” did not come out of the House Education Committee last session. Some critics saw it as a path to end tenure in Kentucky.?

Among its overall survey results, the AAUP chapters found that 60% of respondents would not recommend their state “as a desirable place to work for colleagues.” About 28% of respondents had reported they applied for academic jobs in another state since 2022, and another 28% are planning to do so in the coming year. Of those who had applied to another state, the top five destinations were California, New York, Massachusetts, North Carolina and Illinois.

More than 27% of respondents reported that they do not plan to stay in academia longterm.?

Respondents could list multiple reasons why they were seeking employment elsewhere. The top issue was salary at 56.5%, followed by the state’s political climate at 53.3% and academic freedom at 49.6%. DEI and shared governance issues were mentioned by about 30% of respondents.?

Over the summer, the UK Board of Trustees gave its final approval to a new shared governance model that stripped faculty of power over academic decisions by dismantling the University Senate and instating a weaker faculty senate.?

The survey was conducted during state AAUP conferences Aug. 12-30 through social media and email. About 17% of the respondents said they were non-white and 51% were female. More than 60% said they had a tenured position.?

Leaders of the Republican Party of Kentucky break ground on an expansion of the party's Frankfort headquarters. (Kentucky Lantern photo by McKenna Horsley)

FRANKFORT — What speakers hailed as “the house that Mitch built” will be doubling in size? — thanks to more than $3 million from special interest donors and a change of state law in 2017 that legalized such donations.

A slew of prominent Kentucky Republicans joined U.S. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell to break ground Thursday on an expansion of the party’s headquarters which is named for McConnell.

The Republican Party of Kentucky has been headquartered for 50 years in an old house about four blocks down the hill from the Kentucky Capitol.?

McConnell and other speakers said the building’s expansion symbolizes the growth of their party over those five decades as Republicans gained political dominance in Kentucky, a change that many credit in no small part to McConnell’s leadership and fundraising.

“We’ve come a long way, and the people here today had a lot to do with it,” McConnell said. “Thanks for all the praise for me, but it’s a team sport, and many of you have contributed a lot of years and a lot of dollars over the years to bring us where we are today.”?

Plans for the project released earlier this summer show it will add about 6,800 square feet of meeting and office space. The new addition is being designed by Stengel-Hill Architecture, of Louisville, to conform with the surrounding residential neighborhood. It will include a 160-seat auditorium.

Pfizer Inc. gave $1 million

Reports filed by the party with the Kentucky Registry of Election Finance reveal that the project is being paid for with donations by a small number of large contributions from special interests that lobby in Washington and/or Frankfort.

State law caps how much a person can give to a political party in Kentucky, and corporation contributions to candidates and most political committees are illegal. But a 2017 state law allowed Kentucky’s two political parties to establish building funds which could accept corporation donations of unlimited amounts.

The financing of the expansion of the Mitch McConnell Building has relied on those super-size corporate contributions. Party Chairman Robert Benvenuti thanked the 16 donors who together gave $3,212,500.

Kentucky Lantern first reported last year that pharmaceutical giant Pfizer Inc., of New York, made the largest contribution for the project — $1 million.

The second largest donor is NWO Resources, a small Ohio gas distribution utility, which gave $500,000. The president and director of NWO Resources is James Neal Blue, who is also chief executive and chairman of the General Atomics Corp., a defense contractor which the Forbes website says is best known as the manufacturer of the Predator drone.

Telecommunications companies AT&T and Verizon have each given $300,000 as has Metropolitan Life Insurance Company.

In his years in Washington, McConnell has worked to dismantle federal limits on political giving and spending and, thanks to Supreme Court rulings, has largely succeeded.

‘Future dominance of our values’

McConnell, 82, is both Kentucky’s longest serving senator and the Senate’s longest-serving party leader. Speaking on the lawn of the party headquarters, he recalled his humbler beginnings in Kentucky politics then dominated by Democrats. In 1984, he rode President Ronald Reagan’s reelection coattails and a campaign commercial featuring hound dogs to victory over a Democratic incumbent.

McConnell shared one of his favorite anecdotes, the time he was on stage with Reagan who referred to him as “Mitch O’Donnell.”

“I couldn’t be prouder at this stage of my career to look at the Kentucky Republican Party today,” McConnell said. “It’s a great experience to watch that grow and develop over the years. … A whole lot of people deserve the credit.”

The Republican Party now? holds supermajorities in the Kentucky House and Senate and every statewide office except governor and lieutenant governor, both U.S. Senate seats and five of Kentucky’s six seats in the U.S. House. In February, McConnell announced he planned to step down as the Senate’s Republican leader at the end of this year.

U.S. Rep. Andy Barr, who represents Kentucky’s 6th Congressional District, said the senior senator laid the foundation for the modern state party and floated the idea of putting a statue of McConnell in the Kentucky Capitol rotunda. The Republican supermajority recently passed legislation giving the General Assembly authority over permanent displays in the rotunda.?

“This is a groundbreaking for the future dominance of our values and our policies in the Commonwealth of Kentucky,” Barr said.?

Kentucky Senate Republican Floor Leader Damon Thayer, of Georgetown, said he was “proud that it was legislation that I authored that allows for corporate contributions to state party building funds.”?

Afterward, Thayer said in an interview, “These buildings are expensive to operate and maintain and build. Modern day politics is expensive.” He said the contributions “are all reported, you’ve written about it —which I think is wholly appropriate. People know about it and can make their own judgment.”

‘Steadfast leadership’

State House Speaker David Osborne, of Prospect, likened the status of the party’s headquarters to McConnell’s rise in politics. Osborne said he could remember walking into the building when ice was hanging from the ceiling and space heaters were on because the furnace didn’t work.?

“One thing that has not changed along the way is the steadfast leadership of Leader McConnell. … With the evolution of Kentucky politics, we would’ve gotten the majority eventually, but it certainly would not have been as quickly and as productive as it has been with Sen. McConnell’s leadership,” Osborne said.?

Thanking donors, Benvenuti, the party chair, said, “Your generosity has provided more than just the bricks and mortar. It has laid the foundation for future success and growth of our community.”?

Thayer and McConnell both contrasted the expanding GOP headquarters with the headquarters of the Kentucky Democratic Party along Interstate 64 on the outskirts of Frankfort — the Wendell Ford Building named for the late Kentucky governor and U.S. senator.

Jonathan Levin, Kentucky Democratic Party communications director, said the party is in the process of selling its headquarters and plans to move to more modern office space more centrally located in Frankfort.

The Republican fundraising effort for its expansion has lasted nearly two years. McConnell’s longtime fundraising consultant Laura Haney has led that effort. Reports filed by the RPK Building Fund show it has paid Haney Consulting $100,000 in consulting fees since the beginning of 2023.

This summer the fund began paying design and construction costs. As of June 30 the fund reported it still had $3 million on hand.

RPK spokesman Andrew Westberry said he was not certain when the project will be completed.

The Franklin County Courthouse is shown in downtown Frankfort. (Kentucky Lantern photo by McKenna Horsley)

FRANKFORT — Franklin Circuit Judge Phillip Shepherd urged Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear’s administration and Republican Auditor Allison Ball’s office to resolve a dispute over access to an abuse and neglect database before further litigation ensues.?

In a Wednesday morning motion hour, Shepherd gave attorneys on both sides until close of business Thursday to let his office know if they had agreed on a mediator. Otherwise, he would appoint one for them.?

“I think there’s probably a practical solution out there if everybody will just step back, take another look at it, take another try, maybe get somebody to help hammer out an agreement,” Shepherd said.?

Last week, Ball filed the lawsuit against the Beshear administration seeking access for the office of the ombudsman to information about abuse and neglect cases through the iTWIST database. The auditor is seeking an expedited resolution on the matter so that the new Commonwealth Office of the Ombudsman can review information in the database. Named in the lawsuit are Beshear, Cabinet for Health and Family Services Secretary Eric Friedlander and Ruth Day, the chief information officer of the Commonwealth Office of Technology.?

The legislature replaced the Office of the Ombudsman and Administrative Review in 2023 with the Commonwealth Office of the Ombudsman and attached it to the auditor’s office, effective July 2024. The original office was part of the Cabinet for Health and Family Services (CHFS).?

The ombudsman investigates and resolves complaints about agencies in CHFS, including protective services for children and elderly Kentuckians. The ombudsman appointed by Ball, Jonathan Grate, can’t do his job without access to iTWIST, (the Workers Information System), Ball previously told lawmakers.?

On the other hand, CHFS says state law limits access to the computer system iTWIST to cabinet social service officials, with some exceptions for certain parties within the cabinet, law enforcement and prosecutors, outside medical or social service officials and the parent or guardian of the child in question, the Lantern has reported.?

Ball’s lawsuit is the latest in a series of back and forth between her office and Beshear’s administration over access to the database. In July, she sent the governor a demand letter to Beshear and CHFS Secretary Eric Friedlander seeking database access.?

The governor later said that while he supported the office having access, “we have a written statute that is on the books that says we can’t provide certain access.”?

“And I don’t think the General Assembly is going to tell me that if you think that you know what we wanted you to do, then you can ignore the other statutes that we passed on the books,” Beshear said at the time.?

On Tuesday, Shepherd did say he could understand the positions of both the auditor and CHFS. Ball’s office has sought access to the database for months, but CHFS is concerned about maintaining the confidentiality of information regarding minors and families.?

The judge said that he thought everyone in the case could agree that the General Assembly will likely pass a law clarifying access to the database for the Commonwealth Office of the Ombudsman. The legislature reconvenes in January, about four months away, and has a veto-proof Republican supermajority.?

Alexander Magera, general counsel for the auditor’s office, asked Shepherd to consider granting court-ordered access to the database for the new ombudsman’s office.?

“If you all can’t reach an agreement on this within the next week or two, I’m going to reserve the right to take whatever action the court thinks is necessary to make sure the statutory mandate is implemented,” Shepherd said.?

Robert Long Jr., on behalf of the chief information officer for COT, and Travis Mayo, general counsel for Beshear, both filed motions to dismiss the case. They argued the auditor’s office did not have standing to include Day and Beshear as parties in the lawsuit. Shepherd said the governor’s argument could be different on that front since he is the head of the executive branch and has authority over decisions within it.

Rep. Nima Kulkarni, D-Louisville, (LRC Public Information)

LOUISVILLE — Another legal obstacle to Democratic Rep. Nima Kulkarni’s reelection was filed in Franklin Circuit Court Tuesday afternoon.?

William Zeitz, a Democrat who challenged Kulkarni in May’s primary election, has joined with Dennis Horlander, a Democrat who previously represented the 40th House District, in suing election officials after Republican Secretary of State Michael Adams declared a nominating vacancy on the Nov. 5 ballot.

After the state Supreme Court disqualified Kulkarni from the primary election because of problems in her filing papers, Adams declared a vacancy in the nomination process and invited both parties to choose candidates for the general election.

The Louisville Democratic Party nominated Kulkarni Friday evening and she filed with the Secretary of State’s Office Tuesday morning. Louisville Republicans have not yet named a candidate. They have until Monday at 4 p.m.?

Zeitz and Horlander are asking Franklin Circuit Judge Phillip Shepherd to void Kulkarni’s nomination and certify Zeitz as the winner of the May primary. They are represented by Steven Megerle, who represented Horlander’s previous lawsuit challenging the validity of Kulkarni’s nomination papers.?

The foundation of Megerle’s argument is a recent state law that bars disqualified primary candidates from running for the same office. Megerle said Zeitz feels that Kulkarni’s campaign “stole the nomination from him and they manipulated the process” and that he should be certified as the primary election winner.?

“In every case where a candidate is disqualified before the election, the other candidate received their certificate of nomination from either the county clerk or the Secretary of State, depending on who they filed with,” Megerle said.?

A motion hour on Horlander’s first case was set for Tuesday morning in Jefferson Circuit Court, but Megerle withdrew motions on Sunday. Those had included disqualifying Kulkarni as an eligible candidate for the nomination process and certifying Zeitz as the winner of the primary election.?

Kulkarni is seeking a fourth term in office. She previously defeated Horlander in the 2018 and 2020 Democratic primaries for the 40th House District. According to the unofficial votes from this year’s May primary, she received 78% of votes over another Democratic candidate, William Zeitz. No Republicans filed for the primary election.?

Her attorney, James Craig, said in a statement Tuesday morning after the motion hour that those withdrawn motions? should be the conclusion of the matter, calling it “not only a win for Rep. Kulkarni, but it is a win for the voters.”?

“Their intent has been clear throughout this process,” Craig said. “She was nominated by nearly 80% of her district, and she (was) chosen again by her party last Friday.”

Michon Lindstrom, a spokesperson for the Secretary of State’s office said: “While we previously have taken no position in this dispute other than to follow court orders, we will vigorously resist this lawsuit’s demand for an injunction that would prevent the timely printing of ballots for Kentucky voters.”

The deadline to print ballots for the general election is Sept. 16.?

This story has been updated with new information.

The Greenbrier Resort is seen on Aug. 23, 2024 in White Sulphur Springs, W.Va. Portions of the resort, including the hotel, were scheduled to go to public auction this week, but a deal struck between creditors and the governor’s family last week averted the foreclosure. (Chris Jackson | West Virginia Watch)

LEWISBURG, W.Va. — At Lewisburg’s Carnegie Hall, president and CEO Cathy Rennard watched with some anxiety earlier this month as news unfolded that The Greenbrier Hotel was facing foreclosure due to unpaid debts by its owners, Gov. Jim Justice and his family.

The hotel, a crucial part of The Greenbrier resort, which is Greenbrier County’s biggest employer and the largest tourist attraction in the region, was to be auctioned on the county courthouse steps just three days before Carnegie Hall was set to hold its largest annual fundraiser on the resort’s Chesapeake Lawn.

Rennard, no stranger to the nature of the Justices’ business dealings, was banking on at least one delay for the auction.

“I just kind of made a mental decision that I’m just going to walk on as if everything’s going to be all right, and it appears that it will be, for the moment,” Rennard said.

With days to spare last week, the auction was averted. The Justice companies last Thursday announced an agreement with Beltway Capital, which is associated with credit collection company McCormick 101 which bought the loan documents and deed of trust for the hotel from JPMorgan earlier this year.

Under the agreement, the Justice family is supposed to make a payment to Beltway Capital by Oct. 24. If the payment is made, then “all issues concerning The Greenbrier and Glade Springs are concluded.”

“We’ve cleared this [hurdle] now,” Rennard said of the news. “But yeah, now there’s another date looming.”

The Justice family still owes about $9.4 million on loans procured to purchase The Greenbrier in 2009. But those unpaid loans aren’t the only challenges facing the owners of the historic resort.

Louisiana-based bank First Guaranty is suing The Greenbrier Hotel Corporation — the company, owned by the Justices, that operates the resort — over nonpayment of a $35 million COVID-19 relief loan granted to the company in 2021. According to the lawsuit, there have been no payments made on that loan to date.

And perhaps most pressing is the fate of The Greenbrier employees’ health insurance.

According to a letter sent to workers last week, The Greenbrier Hotel Corporation is at least four months and $2.4 million delinquent — with another $1.2 million soon to be due — in premium contributions to the employee health fund. The company, according to the letter sent by attorneys representing the Amalgamated National Health Fund, has been taking money out of employees’ paychecks without remitting it to the fund.

Insurance coverage was initially going to be suspended for the employees on Aug. 27. When the auction was canceled, however, a union representative said that coverage would extend to Aug. 31.

In a news briefing on Aug. 22, Justice said there was “no possible way” that employees would go without health insurance and that claims that contributions were delinquent were untrue.

“And I’ll promise you to the good Lord above that insurance payments have been made and were being made on a regular basis just like we’ve done in the past in many ways,” Justice said.

In an email sent Monday, Ronald Richman, an attorney representing the health fund, confirmed that The Greenbrier Hotel Corporation is still four months delinquent on its mandated payments.

Justice, who is running a Republican campaign for the U.S. Senate, has remained steadfast that none of the challenges being brought against his family’s companies — including those facing The Greenbrier, a move by the federal government to put 23 of the family’s coal companies in contempt for nonpayment of health and safety fines and numerous lawsuits across several states looking to collect on unpaid fines, taxes and debts — are legitimate.

Instead, he’s said repeatedly that they’re the result of political attacks waged against him by Democrats who are threatened by the reality of him winning a seat in the Senate and flipping the body red.

‘We just need good, solid ownership’

Rennard, with Carnegie Hall, grew up in the Greenbrier’s shadow in White Sulphur Springs, and the hotel has always been part of her life, she said. Her father and grandfather practiced dentistry at the hotel’s clinic. She spent holiday dinners in the resort’s halls and celebrated numerous special evenings in the ballrooms.

For most of its history, The Greenbrier was owned by Chesapeake & Ohio Railway and its successor, CSX Incorporated. CSX put the hotel into bankruptcy in 2009. Court records indicated the company lost more than $90 million over five years of its operation, including $35 million in 2008.

Despite the financial challenges, Rennard said under CSX ownership, the hotel was always a source of pride for the area. There was “lots of angst” around it changing hands when the hotel went bankrupt about 15 years ago.

But when Justice purchased the resort in May 2009, she said, people in the community felt good about a fellow West Virginian “with skin in the game” buying it. Now, she said, it’s obvious the Justice companies have been through some “rocky times.”

And there’s no question that the hotel has some “maintenance issues,” like painting, that need to be addressed, she said. Many of The Greenbrier’s regular customers have noticed a decline in the facility, according to Rennard.

“I am so pro-Greenbrier,” Rennard said. “This county and this state needs The Greenbrier, and needs The Greenbrier to be in tiptop operating shape, and needs to restore that pride that the employee base once had about working there and being there.

“I’m hopeful that we’re going to be able to circle back around to that in one way or another, whether another hotelier comes in and ends up with it, that’d be great,” she said. “If the Justice family can get through this hard spot and come out on the other side and reinvest in the property and all that, that’s great, too. We just need good, solid ownership.”

For Kara Dense, president and CEO of the Greenbrier County Convention & Visitors Bureau, the possible sale of portions of The Greenbrier — the county’s “economic driver” —? caused some concern.

“But in the same realm, we also know that people were coming to the Greenbrier Valley as a destination and to The Greenbrier for over 200 years,” Dense said. “It’s not just some fly-by-night business type of thing. We have every confidence that everything will be taken care of and turn out well, and we will continue to market and do what we do: promote The Greenbrier, promote the destination as we always have.”

In 2022, tourists spent $382 million in Greenbrier County, which Dense said is likely the highest she’s seen in her 17 years at the CVB’s helm. The county ranked fifth of West Virginia’s 55 counties for tourism money spent that year, Dense said, citing the state’s annual economic impact study.

“[In] 2022 we were in the middle of a pandemic, and unlike a lot of destinations, our destination thrived during the pandemic, because we hit all of those areas that people were looking for as far as travel: wide open spaces, small towns, uncrowded areas,” Dense said. “The Greenbrier was a major part of that.”

The resort employs 1,500 to 2,000 workers, depending on the season.

In downtown Lewisburg, business owners say they depend on traffic from Greenbrier guests.

Sibel Mallory moved her boutique from Los Angeles to West Virginia, settling eventually in downtown Lewisburg before the COVID-19 pandemic. Most of her customers come from The Greenbrier, she said.

Lately she’s noticed fewer shuttles bringing guests from the resort to Lewisburg. The buses used to come a couple times a day to bring customers to restaurants and shops, she said, but that changed after the pandemic.

“I wish the Greenbrier owner — I don’t know Jim Justice but he’s the owner — would support us,” she said.

“We can’t cut off to his business,” she said, saying that the stores in Lewisburg aren’t competition for the resort but instead a local attraction for those who stay at it.

Shaye Gadowski, owner of A New Chapter Books on Washington Street, said the store’s customers are a mix of locals, visitors to the nearby New River Gorge National Park and from The Greenbrier. Downtown businesses rely on their neighbors, she said, something that was emphasized to her when a downtown Lewisburg art gallery closed last year.

“Even just having that space vacant for a bit, your foot traffic does change in that sense,” Gadowski said. “You don’t realize how much you rely on your neighbors until someone goes into the next phase of life. So we really do rely on each other.”

‘Pay your bills and let us be proud of how you do business’

Dense, with the Convention & Visitors Bureau, said people in the area are used to “disastrous things” happening.

Since Dense has been head of the CVB, in addition to the Greenbrier bankruptcy in 2009, the county suffered losses during the 2012 derecho and the 2016 floods, which killed 23 West Virginians. Fifteen of those who died were Greenbrier County residents. The bodies of two people swept away by the flood were found on The Greenbrier’s golf course.

“We’ve had some pretty dramatic things that have happened, disastrous things, and we’ve come through them,” Dense said. “And I think there’s just that feeling of hope, and knowing just the stability of the Greenbrier …

“We just feel like it’s always going to be there,” Dense said.

And, unlike other parts of West Virginia where out-of-state landowners can dominate, the Justices are members of the community, too.

Justice and his wife have opted to live full time in their Lewisburg home instead of the Governor’s Mansion, with the governor commuting to Charleston for work when necessary. This has brought criticism for Justice, who opponents have called a “part-time governor” due to his residency, his continued coaching of high school basketball teams and his insistence against putting most of his personal businesses in a blind trust despite saying his children are the ones responsible for running them.

But in Greenbrier County, the Justices are neighbors as well as the state’s first family. Rennard said her niece and nephew played on his basketball teams. When the 2016 floods hit, she recalls Justice and his wife, Cathy, driving a John Deere Gator to the makeshift command center in downtown White Sulphur Springs every night to check on response workers.

“His eyes would well up with tears, and I just saw a side of him after that that I had never seen before,” Rennard said. “So I think that’s kind of when I got a glimpse of his big heart.”

But two things can be true, Rennard said. It’s clear Justice cares about the community he lives in, but his family should also be responsible for paying its debts.

“He owes money. I think anybody who you ask around here is going to say, ‘pay your bills,’” Rennard said. “Pay your bills and let us be proud of how you do business.”

The recent challenges at The Greenbrier aren’t exactly unexpected for a business so big. Echoing a sentiment shared repeatedly by Justice, Rennard said it’s normal for businesses to have “bumps in the road.”

Now, she said, she hopes the family can focus on moving forward and catching up on its debts — not just for the community, but for themselves.

“I mean, they’re good people, and so I would like to see their family just be able to live and enjoy life,” Rennard said. “If that means handing The Greenbrier off to somebody else, great. If it means holding on to it and finding a way to really, really keep it moving forward and keep it in the shape that it should be in, then great.”

This story is republished from West Virginia Watch, a sister publication to the Kentucky Lantern and part of the nonprofit States Newsroom network.

Rep. Daniel Grossberg, D-Louisville, speaks on the Kentucky House floor, Feb, 15, 2024. (LRC Public Information)

The Louisville Democratic Party is asking Rep. Daniel Grossberg to “temporarily refrain from participating” in the party’s events amid a Legislative Ethics Commission investigation.

Meanwhile, the executive director of the state Democratic Party said situations involving a few state representatives from Louisville have “certainly been concerning” but pushed back on suggestions that they could hurt the state party’s overall image.

Plus, Gov. Andy Beshear said in his weekly press conference Thursday afternoon that Grossberg should seriously consider if “a public office is the best or most appropriate place for him to be at this time.”?

Grossberg, a freshman legislator from Louisville, has sought to dismiss a complaint to the commission filed against him by House Democratic leadership that alleges inappropriate behavior and communications toward women. He’s also been removed from his interim committee assignments following the allegations, which were first reported by the Lexington Herald-Leader. Grossberg has previously denied “any impropriety” in a statement to the newspaper.

In its statement shared online Thursday morning, the Louisville Democratic Party said its executive committee “is unwavering in its commitment to create a safe and respectful environment for everyone.” It also reaffirmed that the party is committed to “ending all forms of harassment by fostering a culture of inclusivity, providing robust support systems, and holding ourselves accountable.” The party added that “every individual deserves an environment free from harassment” and wants to “ensure this standard is met.”?

“Though we understand the claims against Representative Grossberg are allegations at this point in time, we are asking that he temporarily refrain from participating in LDP events and meetings while the Legislative Ethics Commission investigation is in process,” the party’s statement said.

Grossberg said in a statement shared by his attorney, Anna Whites, that he appreciated “the Louisville Democratic Party’s concern for all parties in this matter.”?

“I will continue to focus on serving constituents while the Ethics Commission completes its review,” he said.?

Kentucky state law makes the ethics commission’s proceedings, including complaints and other records related to a preliminary inquiry, confidential until the commission makes a final determination. However, Grossberg’s response to seeking dismissal of the complaint gave insight into allegations against him, which included refuting text messages highlighted in media reports and helping another lawmaker navigate “unwanted communications.”?

The controversy around Grossberg is one of several embarrassing situations involving Louisville Democrats in the Kentucky House. This week, Rep. Beverly Chester-Burton was arrested for driving under the influence in Jefferson County early Tuesday morning. Rep. Nima Kulkarni was disqualified from the primary election by the Kentucky Supreme Court after an issue with her candidacy papers, though she appears to have a path onto the November ballot.?

In a Wednesday press conference about labor policies, Kentucky Democratic Party Executive Director Morgan Eaves responded to suggestions that the state party’s overall image is at risk, adding that she was more concerned with making sure “the individuals involved” have support. Eaves said “the allegations that have come out recently against different representatives have certainly been concerning” and that “we are in conversations with those folks.”?

“Safety in the workplace, personal dignity —?those are tenets of our party,” Eaves said. “We are always concerned when either a candidate or an elected official appears to skirt some of those tenets, but we also respect the due process of folks, and when you have investigations involved, I think we need to see those through while having serious conversations amongst ourselves about what that means for the party and what that means for individuals affected.”?

Beshear said in response to a reporter’s question on Thursday that he hoped Grossberg “is giving serious thought and having discussions with family members about whether a public office is the best or most appropriate place for him to be at this time.”

Previously, the executive board of Kentucky Young Democrats called on Grossberg to resign after reviewing evidence it had seen at the time and “the experiences of multiple board members.” In a statement earlier this month, it said some of its members had related their “own stories detailing Rep. Grossberg’s inappropriate behavior toward them.”?

This story was updated Thursday afternoon.?

Ava Williams, a junior at Central High School in Louisville, addresses the Efficient and Effective School Governance Task Force. (Kentucky Lantern photo by McKenna Horsley)

LOUISVILLE — Several speakers, including Jefferson County Public Schools students, warned a legislative task force against breaking up Kentucky’s largest school district in a Tuesday evening meeting.?

However, the co-chairs of the Efficient and Effective School Governance Task Force said deciding to split the district, which serves almost 97,000 students, was not under its purview. Some Republicans in the legislature have called for studying whether the district is too big to be successfully managed.

The task force met at Central High School Tuesday evening. It was the first of two meetings the group will hold at a public school in Louisville. It typically meets in Frankfort at the Capitol Annex.?

“I fear that splitting up the district could jeopardize the unique experiences and support that Central provides their students,” said Ava Williams, a junior at Central High School. “Smaller districts may be faced with resource constraints that could limit access to specialized magnet programs, especially for students in disadvantaged areas like Central High School.”?

Williams told the committee that the magnet teaching and learning program she is in has provided her opportunities that she did not think she could have in another school district, such as touring Kentucky State University, an internship available only to students in her magnet program and sitting in on classes at the University of Louisville. Williams also spoke of support she’s had from her connections to teachers at Central.

Other speakers — including JCPS students, employees, parents and representatives of community groups, such as the local NAACP chapter and the Louisville Urban League — also warned against possible ramifications of dividing JCPS into smaller school districts. They instead argued for lawmakers to strengthen education resources through increased funding, citing the need for adequately supporting transportation and teacher pay.

The meeting lasted around 90 minutes and had more than two dozen speakers.

Would dividing JCPS sacrifice diversity? Republican lawmaker, school board member disagree

After a handful of community members addressed the task force, Co-chair Rep. Kim Banta, R-Ft.Mitchell said Co-chair Sen. Michael Names, R-Shepherdsville, asked her to reiterate that the task force would not determine splitting up the district.?

“He wanted me to say that we’re not talking about splitting up the district,” Banta said to jeers from the crowd.?

According to the House resolution that created the task force, the group must make any recommendations by Dec. 1 in a report to the Legislative Research Commission. The resolution also directs the task force to only review the governance of Kentucky school districts with more than 75,000 students. JCPS is the only district that meets that criteria.

Nemes told reporters after the meeting that he suspected no legislation could come from the task force next legislative session because of the amount of information the task force wants to review. While some of the lawmakers backing the initial House resolution may have wanted to see the district split, Nemes said that’s not the task force’s intention.?

“Out of this task force, we’re going to have recommendations, possibly, but mostly a good report,” Nemes said. “And yes, we may ask for more time to do things. Whether there be legislation or not … there may be some minor things, but we’re going to work with Jefferson County Public Schools on what can be done and what should be done.”?

Questions from the task force

Those signing up for public comment were prompted to answer two questions: “How would you like to see the district’s academic offerings, educational capabilities and operations improved?” and “How have these factors affected the enrollment decisions for your child?”?

Terrance Sullivan, the vice chair of the JCPS Advisory Council for Racial Equity, said told the task force that the questions “presupposed the fault on the district and don’t add any space or culpability of the legislature.”?

Sen. Lindsey Tichenor, R-Smithfiled, told reporters after the meeting that she felt like speakers did answer the questions the task force posed, particularly about different programs and opportunities the district offers students. She added that she hoped the task force hears more community perspectives at its next meeting.?

In response to the issue of funding that some speakers brought up, Tichenor said the General Assembly approved additional funding for school transportation in its most recent two-year state budget.?

“I think the idea of ‘fully-funded’ never has an end,” Tichenor said. “It’s always a moving target, so when that gets brought up from the public, we never really have an answer of what ‘fully funding’ means.”?

Nemes added that teacher pensions are “now pretty much solvent” because of money the legislature has added to recent state budgets, as was reported at a Tuesday meeting of the Pension Oversight Board.

Senate Democratic Floor Leader Gerald Neal, of Louisville, told reporters that “there’s no way to tell” if the task force has been effective in reviewing JCPS governance so far through the interim session. He also said that lawmakers behind the resolution had initially pushed for breaking up the school district.?

“The main message is we’re stronger together,” he said. “We’re stronger in uplifting all people.”

Vice presidential candidate Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz celebrates with his daughter Hope, son Gus and wife Gwen at Democratic National Convention on Wednesday, Aug. 21, in Chicago. The Walzes clarified this week that they didn’t use IVF but another kind of fertility treatment to grow their family. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

The broader scope of fertility treatments entered the spotlight this week after Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and his wife Gwen shared that they had children through a less commonly known procedure.

Since Vice President Kamala Harris selected Gov. Walz as her running mate, he has discussed his family’s fertility journey during speeches in Pennsylvania, Nebraska and mostly recently at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, Illinois.

“It took Gwen and I years,” Walz said on Wednesday night. “But we had access to fertility treatments. And when our daughter was born, we named her Hope.”

This week, the Walzes clarified that they conceived via intrauterine insemination, not in vitro fertilization.

IUI involves injecting sperm into the uterus during or just before ovulation to increase the chances of fertilization and pregnancy.

“Our fertility journey was an incredibly personal and difficult experience. Like so many who have experienced these challenges, we kept it largely to ourselves at the time — not even sharing the details with our wonderful and close family,” Gwen Walz said in a statement provided to States Newsroom. “The only person who knew in detail what we were going through was our next door neighbor. She was a nurse and helped me with the shots I needed as part of the IUI process.”

During IVF, eggs and sperm are combined in a lab and an embryo is inserted into the uterus. IVF has been drawn into national reproductive rights debates for much of this year, and Walz has been talking about it on the campaign trail while discussing his family’s fertility journey.

U.S. Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance, the Republican vice presidential candidate, accused his opponent of lying about how he and his wife had children. In an Aug. 20 social media post, Vance said, “Today it came out that Tim Walz had lied about having a family via IVF. Who lies about something like that?” He also shared a clip of Walz talking about fertility care and families on Aug. 9.

In a statement, Harris-Walz campaign spokesperson Mia Ehrenberg said, “Governor Walz talks how normal people talk. He was using commonly understood shorthand for fertility treatments.”

Experts said that patients commonly get IUI and IVF confused or refer to them interchangeably, given that in vitro fertilization is more popular.

“There’s such a huge sort of alphabet soup that comes along with assisted reproduction,” said Kimberly Mutcherson, a professor at Rutgers University-Camden who specializes in reproductive justice, bioethics, and family and health law.

Dr. Kelly Acharya, a fertility physician and assistant professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Duke University, said patients’ partners are more likely to mix up the two treatments or rope related procedures into IVF.

“A lot of times in my line of work, I see people that are referring to other things, like egg freezing, they call that IVF, even though technically it’s not,” she said.

Both Acharya and Mutcherson said the main differences between IUI and IVF are where fertilization occurs, the price and effectiveness.

“Intrauterine insemination or IUI is basically less invasive. It’s typically less expensive, and it is often what is recommended as the first thing that somebody tries,” Acharya said. “When somebody has mild forms of infertility, like if there are mild differences in the semen analysis, or if somebody is young and they’re not quite sure why they’re not getting pregnant, then often a provider will recommend that they do IUI as a first step to help things along.”

IUI is performed during or near ovulation, and it typically takes 10 minutes and is a minor procedure, according to Acharya. The price of IUI varies, depending on insurance coverage, from a few hundred dollars to several thousand dollars.

Mutcherson noted that some people also confuse IUI with intracervical insemination, or ICI. During this method, the sperm is inserted into the cervix — the passageway to the uterus, according to the Carolina Fertility Institute.

Doctors often recommend ICI or IUI as a precursor to IVF, which Mutcherson said can cost $12,000 to $15,000 per cycle — or more with grading and genetic testing. During IVF, “fertilization happens outside of the body,” Acharya said.

IUI, the treatment the Walz family used to have children, is not under the same scrutiny as IVF, which has faced opposition from anti-abortion hardliners. “It sometimes is listed as being less controversial than IVF, because it’s just helping along the natural process of getting the sperm inside the uterus and then expecting fertilization to happen inside the body,” Acharya said.

But Mutcherson said that could also be attributed to the fact that it’s a less well-known procedure.

“I think the really big issue when it comes to something like artificial insemination is that it allows people to create families that a lot of these folks — unfortunately, in the Republican Party and folks who are evangelicals — don’t approve of: families with two moms, families with two dads, single women who are having children,” she said.

Price is a significant barrier to fertility care. Only 21 states require insurers to cover fertility procedures, Stateline reported. A successful birth via IVF can cost more than $60,000, according to a 2022 study published in Reproductive Biology and Endocrinology.

“It requires a lot more physically, emotionally and economically to be able to do IVF,” Mutcherson, who conceived via IUI, said.

IVF became a national reproductive rights issue in February after the Alabama Supreme Court likened frozen embryos to “unborn children” in a ruling. The plaintiffs were couples who sued for damages under an 1872 wrongful death of children law after their embryos were accidentally destroyed in a clinic four years ago, Alabama Reflector reported. Alabama’s fertility clinics temporarily closed after the ruling until Republican Gov. Kay Ivey signed legislation in March shielding providers from criminal and civil liabilities, the Reflector reported.

But there’s still uncertainty over whether embryos and fetuses in the state have legal “personhood” rights. Despite the new law, two fertility clinics in Alabama announced plans to close by the end of the year, though one denied the decision was related to the? ruling.

Since the Alabama ruling, polls have shown most Americans back IVF. A survey conducted by Pew in April found that 70% said IVF is a good thing, while 22% said they’re not sure, and 8% said it’s a bad thing. Awareness is growing, too: 42% of Americans said they or someone they know have had fertility treatments, according to a 2023 Pew poll.

Nationally, Republicans and Democrats condemned the Alabama Supreme Court’s ruling and filed bills seeking to protect IVF this spring, though all of them stalled in Congress. The Republican Party’s platform featured support for both IVF and the equal protections clause of the 14th Amendment, which conservative legal scholars argue can be used to solidify “fetal personhood” along with effectively banning abortion. And in June, the Southern Baptist Convention — the largest Protestant denomination in the U.S. — voted to condemn IVF, particularly the destruction or donation of embryos that are not implanted in the uterus.

“People who believe that life begins at conception, people who believe that an embryo is no different than a 5-year-old sitting in a kindergarten classroom, those are people who have really deep and abiding principles related to procedures like in vitro fertilization,” Mutcherson said.

The number of babies born in the U.S. using assisted reproductive technology has increased in recent years: 2.5% of newborns were conceived using fertility treatments in 2022, according to the American Society of Reproductive Medicine. That’s up from 2.3% in 2021, per federal data.

In this file photo former Kentucky Secretary of State Alison Lundergan Grimes is shown at the 2016 Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)

Kentucky’s Executive Branch Ethics Commission is seeking to reverse a judge’s ruling that cleared former Secretary of State Alison Lundergan Grimes of ethics violation charges.

The commission’s request to the Kentucky Court of Appeals is expected to complicate for the time being any decisions that Grimes may have about returning to politics.?

Speculation about that intensified this week with Grimes’ attendance at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago. She has been mentioned as a possible candidate in 2026 for the U.S. Senate seat now held by Republican incumbent Mitch McConnell, who defeated her in 2014 to win reelection.

Grimes posted photos of herself on Facebook and ?X (formerly Twitter) at the convention with the message “Let’s Go!” to show her support for Kamala Harris as president and Tim Walz as vice president.

The convention has featured keynote speeches by former President Bill Clinton and his wife, Hillary Clinton, who lost to Republican Donald Trump in the 2016 presidential race. The Clintons are close friends to Grimes’ father, former state Democratic Party chair and caterer Jerry Lundergan of Lexington. He was convicted of election finance violations in 2020 stemming from his daughter’s campaign against McConnell and sentenced to 21 months in federal prison.

Repeated calls Wednesday and Thursday to Grimes seeking comment about the appeal and her appearance at the Democratic convention were not returned.

It was not clear who gave Grimes credentials to attend the convention but a Kentucky Democratic political operative said she was not a party delegate or alternate. Party spokesman Jonathan Levin said the party was not releasing the names of any delegate or alternate for security and privacy reasons. Andy Westberry, spokesman for the Kentucky Republican Party, said his party gave a list of names of delegates to its national convention last month in Milwaukee to reporters for planning purposes only and on an embargoed basis.

Would voters care?

Grimes, who was secretary of state from 2012 to 2020, may have success in politics again regardless of the resolution of the appeal to reinstate the ethics charges, said Stephen Voss, associate professor of political science at the University of Kentucky.

“We’ve seen voters forgive candidates for legal troubles for years. Consider Donald Trump,” said Voss.?

The political scientist said voters tend to ignore the charges against the candidates unless they are personally affected by the charges. “How personally relevant to them is the legal problem?” he asked.

“Of course, it’s more advantageous to have a clean, legal slate and you always know your opponents are going to use everything they can to get you.”

Dewey Clayton, political science professor at the University of Louisville, said it’s “very possible” that Grimes can make a political comeback.?

“She has held public office. She comes from a political family with high name recognition,” he said.? “It’s never good to run for any public office under a cloud of suspicion and that cloud is still there to a degree for her with the appeal, which I was not aware of.”

The biggest obstacle for Grimes to run for any national office, said Clayton, is that she is a Democrat in “a very red” state.?

“But I think she can have a political future if she wants it, though there are some variables like the appeal that still need to be played out.”

Grimes’ attorney, J. Guthrie True of Frankfort, said, “We obviously would have preferred no appeal but we are confident in the circuit court ruling that was a complete vindication for her.”

Background on ethics allegations

The five-member Executive Branch Ethics Commission unanimously filed its appeal to the Court of Appeals on June 15, questioning several parts of the circuit court’s order.?

In April, Franklin Circuit Judge Phillip Shepherd cleared Grimes of the commission’s charges that she improperly ordered the downloading and distribution of voter registration data from her public office while she was Kentucky’s secretary of state.?

The commission had been investigating Grimes for several years. As secretary of state, Grimes was the state’s chief elections officer. In her position, she had access to data from the state Voter Registration System in the State Board of Elections.

Shepherd, in his 33-page order, agreed with Grimes’ arguments that the commission’s charges were barred by the five-year statute of limitations and that the record did not support a finding of any violations of the state executive branch’s code of ethics.

The commission had charged that Grimes violated the ethics code by sharing voter information without requiring an Open Records request or other “established process of government.”

Grimes submitted that all the voter data at issue was information in the public domain, that she had full legal authority and discretion as secretary of state to access and share such information. She claimed no statute or regulation was violated by the sharing of such public information.?

Shepherd faulted the Ethics Commission for not conducting an evidentiary hearing in the case to hear testimony from witnesses.

Because the commission acted against Grimes without a hearing, “the evidence in the record relied upon by Grimes is not disputed,” the judge’s order said.

He also said the complaint against Grimes was filed outside the applicable statute of limitations.?

He noted that the attorney general’s office and the Ethics Commission had been investigating for more than eight years allegations of misconduct by Grimes.

“After exhaustive investigation by both the attorney general and the Ethics Commission, there was no allegation concerning any substantive violation of any statute or regulation regarding the integrity of the voting roll,” the court order said.?

“There was no allegation of tampering with the voting rolls, no allegation of improper registration or voting, no allegation of any irregularity in any vote count or tabulation, no allegation of altering any identification of any voter, no allegation of any action that could impact the outcome of any election during Secretary Grimes’ tenure as chief state election officer.”

The order added that the attorney general’s office never brought any criminal charges against Grimes and that the matter was referred to the Ethics Commission.?

Beshear says he’s focused on Kentucky; others say his time in the national spotlight isn’t over

The only allegations pursued by the Ethics Commission were that Grimes allegedly acted unethically in accessing public information in the voter registration system by downloading voter information onto a thumb drive when she was a candidate for reelection.

The commission also looked at whether Grimes improperly shared information on new voter registrations for certain House districts in response to a request made informally through the office of the state House speaker without requiring a formal open records request or charging a fee.?

The judge noted that the commission’s final order did not dispute that Grimes would have lawful access to the voter data but that the crux of its complaint against Grimes was that she “downloaded the lists for a private purpose, without paying the mandatory fees or submitting sworn forms required by law.”

The court order said the commission failed to expressly allege what “private purpose” was served by placing voter data on a flash drive.

“What that ‘private purpose’ could have been is entirely unclear to the court,” the order said. “It further remains unclear what ‘established process of government’ was violated by Grimes’ act of downloading VRS data onto a flash drive.?

“This lack of detail relating to what ‘established government process’ was violated and how using a flash drive constitutes a violation” casts doubt that the commission was proving its allegation by clear and convincing evidence, Shepherd’s order said.??

The commission had said in November 2021 that Grimes must pay $10,000 in fines for two ethical violations pertaining to handling of voter data.

Susan Clary, executive director of the Executive Branch Ethics Commission, said the panel particularly is concerned about the statute of limitations in its daily work.

She said the commission is independent and that Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear had no input on the panel’s decision to appeal the Grimes case.?

“The governor is covered by the ethics code so he must let it act independently,” she said. “No way can he be involved with its decisions.”

The Beshears and Lundergans have been involved in a decades-long political family rivalry that stems from state legislative races in the 1970s between the governor’s father, former Gov. Steve Beshear, and Jerry Lundergan. Both Steve and Andy Beshear, however, supported Grimes in her 2014 race against McConnell.?

Steve Beshear lost to McConnell in 1996. His son has been mentioned as a possible candidate in 2026 for McConnell’s U.S. Senate seat but the younger Beshear has said he wants to serve out the remainder of his term as governor, which ends in 2027. As Harris considered Beshear as a possible running mate, the governor said, “I love my job. I love serving the people of Kentucky. The only way I would consider something other than this current job is if I believed I could further help my people and to help this country.”?

McConnell, who will be 84 in 2026, has not yet said whether he will again seek reelection.

Rep. Nima Kulkarni, D-Louisville, prevailed in Franklin Circuit Court on Monday. (LRC Public Information)

Republican Kentucky Secretary of State Michael Adams has opened a path for Democratic state Rep. Nima Kulkarni to appear on the November ballot, although further legal challenges could arise.

Adams declared a vacancy in the nomination process for Louisville’s 40th House District on the heels of legal challenges against Kulkarni’s candidacy. However, attorneys on both sides disagree on if Kulkarni is eligible to be nominated.?

In a statement issued after the Kentucky Supreme Court finalized its disqualification of Kulkarni Thursday morning, Adams said he interpreted the new opinion to mean that no primary election had occurred since Kulkarni’s candidacy was challenged before votes were cast. Therefore, “the true and legitimate will of the people has not yet been expressed,” Adams said, citing the Supreme Court’s opinion.?

“I take this as a directive to me to certify that a vacancy exists in the nomination for state representative in the 40th District,” Adams said. “I intend to permit the Democratic and Republican Parties to nominate candidates for this office, and give the people a choice.”

The Kentucky Supreme Court in June issued a one-page preliminary order disqualifying Kulkarni as a candidate in the primary election because of problems in her filing papers. On Thursday, the court issued a final 5-1-1 ruling and addressed questions around the nomination process.?

The lawsuit against Kulkarni, filed by former Democratic state Rep. Dennis Horlander, whom Kulkarni unseated in 20018, challenged the validity of her candidacy papers.

Kulkarni’s attorney, James Craig, said they appreciated Adams’ “swift work, which the voters of District 40 deserved.”?

“Notwithstanding today’s Supreme Court decision, Rep. Kulkarni remains eligible to seek her party’s nomination after the declaration of a vacancy, and she intends to seek the nomination,” Craig added.?

Kulkarni won the unofficial primary vote in the district by 78% over challenger William Zeitz. No Republican candidates filed for the election. Kulkarni defeated Horlander in the 2018 and 2020 Democratic primaries in the 40th House District. Kulkarni is seeking a fourth term in office.?

However, Horlander’s attorney, Steven Megerle, told the Kentucky Lantern that Kulknari cannot be nominated by Democrats in this election. He cited a recent state law that bars disqualified primary candidates from running for the same office.?

“The Jefferson circuit court judge should issue a final order with directions on next steps to all of the parties on how this should proceed,” Megerle said. “And we will await his direction, but it is absolutely clear that Ms. Kulkarni has been disqualified, and under the new statute, she cannot be a nominee in the general election.”

In contrast, Craig pointed to a previous brief from Megerle in the lawsuit that said disqualifying “a first-place finisher after the election does not entitle the second-place finisher to ascend to a nomination he was unable to obtain through the ballot box.”?

As for Horlander, Megerle said that he believes Zeitz is the qualifying candidate for office and should be certified as such.

“If the courts and the secretary of state think otherwise, Mr. Horlander will consider the options that may in the future open up,” Megerle said.

Justices weigh in

Horlander filed the lawsuit to challenge the signatures on Kulkarni’s candidacy papers. State law says the documents must be signed by two witnesses who are Democratic voters in the 40th District. At the time of signing, one witness was a registered Republican and changed her registration after the filing deadline. Kulkarni previously testified she thought the voter was a registered Democrat and only later became aware of the issue.?

State law places the burden on candidates to ensure the accuracy of their election filing papers, the court wrote in its majority opinion, written by Justice Shea Nickell.

“It is not unreasonable or unduly harsh to demand strict compliance with clearly enacted legislative mandates for ballot access,” the opinion said. Assuring one’s required election filings are compliant is among the first duties of anyone intent upon seeking public office.”

Justice Kelly Thompson issued an opinion dissenting in part. He wrote that while he agreed with the court’s interpretation that the Court of Appeals could determine if Kulkarni was a bona fide candidate, he disagreed “with its ultimate resolution of that issue.”?

Thompson said he was persuaded by arguments from Justice Angela McCormick Bisig that an 1990 update to state law regarding the candidate nomination process created “sufficient ambiguity that they should be interpreted as intending” to amend previous state law. Thompson called the “hypertechnical requirements” of the law “a trap for unwary candidates who file for office” and suggested the Kentucky secretary of state and General Assembly address the issues.?

Bisig wrote in a dissenting opinion that the court should uphold the ruling of Jefferson County Circuit Court that would have allowed Kulkarni to remain on the ballot. She wrote about different interpretations of the 1990 changes.?

“Given the two possible interpretations of the amendment to the filing requirements statute, I would recognize the long-standing principle that uncertainty or doubt in statutory language ‘should be resolved in favor of allowing the candidacy to continue,’” Bisig said, citing a 2003 case. “The idea of liberal construction of election statutes that favors the goal of broad voter participation is deeply embedded in Kentucky law.”

Editor’s note: This story was updated with additional comments.?

Read the Supreme Court ruling

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear walks onstage before speaking during the first night of the Democratic National Convention at the United Center in Chicago, Aug. 19, 2024. (Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

FRANKFORT — Gov. Andy Beshear’s political action committee had a solid, though hardly spectacular, month of fundraising in July — a month that ended with Beshear still under consideration as a possible running mate by Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris.

Beshear’s PAC, called In This Together, reported to the Federal Election Commission this week that it raised $216,000 in July. It reported spending $43,400 during the month. All of that spending was for operating expenses — none directly for the stated purpose of the PAC to help elect “good candidates” in closely contested races both in and outside of Kentucky.

Since it was created by Beshear in early January, In This Together has reported raising $709,000 and spending $175,000. That left it with a balance of $534,000 as of Aug. 1.

The vast majority of its spending so far — $150,000 — has been on operating expenses, including fundraising consultants, political consultants, compliance consultants, lawyers.

Only about $25,000 so far has been given as contributions to campaigns supported by Beshear.

Eric Hyers, the PAC’s political strategist who managed both of Beshear’s successful campaigns for governor, did not respond to an email and phone call seeking comment on the PAC’s recent report.

Last month Hyers told Kentucky Lantern that from the outset In This Together planned to wait until the fall to do most of its spending to help endorsed candidates. And Hyers said most of that help would come in the form of independent expenditures supporting its candidates rather than direct contributions to the candidates’ campaign committees.

President Joe Biden’s announcement on July 21 that he would step out of the presidential campaign set off a chain of events that put Beshear into the national political spotlight.? Vice President Harris quickly emerged as the Democratic Party’s consensus nominee to replace Biden on the November ballot, and Beshear was among a handful of candidates Harris closely considered as her running mate. On Aug. 6, Harris selected Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz.

In This Together’s recent report shows it got only about 15 percent of its contributions from people (not including political action committees) who live outside Kentucky. One donation of $1,000 came from Kevin Sobkoviak, identified in the FEC report as finance director of the Iowa Democratic Party.

The overwhelming majority of the money came from Kentucky, mostly from regular donors to Beshear political causes. For instance, several officials of engineering firms that hold state contracts were donors: Four people affiliated with Qk4 Inc., of Louisville, combined to give $8,000; two persons with EA Partners, of Lexington, combined to give $5,000; and seven persons with GRW Engineers, of Lexington, combined to give $5,200.

Who gave

Each of these people and political action committees are listed by In This Together as giving $5,000 during July:

Ann B. Bakhaus, Lexington, president Kentucky Eagle Inc.

Robert M. Beck Jr., Lexington, attorney, Stites & Harbison

GeMonee Brown, Bowling Green

Carpenters Legislative Improvement Council PAC, Washington, D.C.

Rodney Casada, Somerset

Charles J. Coldiron, Somerset, owner, Somerset Hyundai

Clay M. Corman, Nicholasville, owner, CMC Inc.

Timothy Crawford, Corbin, attorney

GAAT IT Inc., Beverly Hills

International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers PAC, Washington, D.C.

Anita P. Johnson, Pikeville, attorney, Law Office of Gary Johnson

Gary Johnson, Pikeville, attorney

Kentucky Hospital Association. PAC, Louisville

Kris Mays, Frankfort

Edward D. Necco, Cincinnati, president of Necco

Ralph J. Palmer, Winchester

Quatro Novarro Productions LLC, Austin

William Ramsey, Pikeville, real estate investor

John W. Ridley, Bowling Green

Anne Sheffer, Louisville, law firm manager, Sheffer & Monhollen

Ronald Sheffer, Louisville, attorney

Frank Shoop, Lexington

Glenn Thomas, Louisville, retired

Patricia B. Todd, Lexington

United Food & Commercial Workers Union PAC, Washington, D.C.

United Auto Workers Voluntary Community Action Program, Detroit

Windstream Holdings Federal PAC, Little Rock

Joe and Kelly Craft admire their $10.5 million country ham held by Miss Kentucky Chapel Tinius. (Kentucky Lantern photo by McKenna Horsley)

LOUISVILLE —?Two Republican megadonors once again were the highest bidders at Kentucky Farm Bureau’s Country Ham Breakfast charity auction.?

Kelly Craft, a former United Nations ambassador and 2023 Republican gubernatorial candidate, and her husband, coal executive Joe Craft, bid a record $10.5 million Thursday morning for the country ham that was crowned champion of the 2024 Kentucky State Fair.

?The money will support charities, which Kelly Craft said included the Boys and Girls Club and building new homes in Eastern Kentucky following devastating floods.?

The Crafts have repeatedly made the highest bid at the breakfast in recent years. Last year, the couple joined Central Bank in bidding though they were not present. Craft had placed third in the GOP primary months before, behind winner and former Attorney General Daniel Cameron and former Agriculture Commissioner Ryan Quarles — both of whom were also present Thursday.?

“I’m not going to mix politics with charity,” Craft told reporters when asked about her future political ambitions. “This is a really important day, and I think this is all about the Kentucky Farm Bureau and all about the people that work so hard in our state to make today happen.”?

With former Republican President Donald Trump’s campaign underway this year, the Crafts hosted a Lexington fundraiser for him in May. Before that, the Crafts donated to some of Trump’s primary rivals. Trump appointed Kelly Craft as UN ambassador in 2019 but endorsed Cameron in the Republican primary for governor.?

The KFB Country Ham Breakfast annually brings together politicos with agriculture leaders and high-profile Kentuckians during the Kentucky State Fair in Louisville. However, this year’s crowd heard from only a couple politicians as no candidates are campaigning for statewide offices this year.?

Republican elected officials in the crowd included Attorney General Russell Coleman, Secretary of State Michael Adams, Auditor Allison Ball and Treasurer Mark Metcalf, as well as dozens of members of the General Assembly. Most Democrats, including Gov. Andy Beshear, had a scheduling conflict this year —?the Democratic National Convention in Chicago. Thursday was the last day of the DNC.?

Kentucky’s highest ranking Republican, U.S. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, addressed the breakfast and said it was his 30th time attending the event. He addressed the crowd on issues of foreign policy and agriculture, particularly the farm bill that has been hung up in Congress. The legislation covers agriculture support and nutrition programs.?

McConnell said that if his party were in the majority, “we’d be doing the farm bill.” He added that the situation shows a core difference between elected Republicans and Democrats, and that the latter has a more urban focus.

“Frankly, there are not many Democratic elected officials left in small town and rural America,” McConnell said. “And how that impacts an issue like this — they’re just not particularly interested.”?

Flyers promoting an upcoming McConnell biography, “The Price of Power,” were also on chairs for the breakfast’s attendees before the event began.?

Republican Agriculture Commissioner Jonathan Shell also took a moment to highlight farm issues in Kentucky in his remarks.

“I’ll tell you that when our rural areas of this state prosper, so does the overall economy in the state of Kentucky,” he said. “We in Kentucky have a $8.1 billion impact for our farms and families and businesses that are the backbone of this commonwealth, and we owe them a debt of gratitude.”?

Broadbent B&B, of Kuttawa in Lyon County, produced the Crafts’ 18.2-pound ham. Kelly Craft said the family typically has Critchfield Meats in Lexington cook and slice the ham so it can be served for Christmas dinner.

U.S. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell, left, greets Stewart Perry of Lexington after speaking to a Commerce Lexington public policy luncheon, Aug. 21, 2024. McConnell posed for photos with luncheon attendees but did not take questions from the news media. (Kentucky Lantern photo by Jamie Lucke)

LEXINGTON — Republican Mitch McConnell said it’s important for his party to retake the U.S. Senate in November to protect the filibuster.

Speaking to a Commerce Lexington luncheon, McConnell said Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer “just this week is talking about getting rid of the filibuster. What that does is to say to any given majority, my issue, what I care about, is more important than the structure of the Senate, which has served us well for many, many years,” McConnell said. “That bothers me a lot.”

Earlier this week, Schumer told reporters at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago that he will push to circumvent the 60-vote requirement in order to move voting rights legislation if Democrats this year win the presidency and both congressional chambers, according to media outlets.?

Senate rules require a supermajority of 60 votes from the 100 members to advance most legislation. Most?filibusters have occurred since 2007-08, as use of the 60-vote bar to block a simple majority of the Senate from passing laws has soared in this century.

McConnell, the Senate Republican leader, warned that without the filibuster a Democratic majority could grant statehood to the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, which, McConnell said, would ensure “four new Democratic senators in perpetuity, which significantly disables our side, my side.”

McConnell said, “I worry about today’s Democratic Party becoming so far left that what they want to do is so important they break the rules to get the outcome. So it won’t surprise you to know that I’d like to be turning my job over to the majority leader rather than the minority leader.”

McConnell, who is stepping down as Republican leader at the end of this session of Congress, told the gathering that the “single biggest decision” he made when he was the majority leader was refusing to fill a Supreme Court vacancy during then-President Barack Obama’s final year in office, paving the way for Republican President Donald Trump to appoint Justice Neil Gorsuch. At the end of Trump’s term, with less than two months before the presidential election, McConnell pushed through the confirmation of Justice Amy Coney Barrett. Trump also named Justice Brett Kavanuagh, ensuring a 6-3 conservative majority on the high court.

McConell, who referred to the Trump administration once but did not say the words “Donald Trump” during his 30-minute speech, said, “I’ll say this about that administration’s president (he) took good advice from two White House counsels in a row about who to appoint to the federal courts.”

McConnell praised the Federalist Society, which recommended most of Trump’s judges, saying decades of work by the legal organization paved the way for a recent 6-3 Supreme Court decision that overturned an earlier ruling known as the Chevron deference and weakens the power of the Environmental Protection Agency and other federal agencies.

“I think it’s a great check against runaway government no matter who’s trying to run away,” McConnell said. “So as I look back over my career, I think the thing that I chose when I was majority leader to put first was the thing that will last for the longest.”?

McConnell will continue to serve as Kentucky’s senior senator after stepping down as Republican leader. He has not said whether he will seek reelection in 2026 but is widely expected to retire.

Commerce Lexington President and CEO Bob Quick said the luncheon was attended by more than 350 business and community leaders from Lexington and the surrounding region, the largest turnout since the pandemic — a tribute, Quick said, to McConnell, Kentucky’s longest-serving U.S. senator.

McConnell did not take questions from the news media.

Superintendent Demetrius Liggins included this rendering in his presentation to a legislative committee in Frankfort, Aug. 20, 2024.

Republican state lawmakers grilled the Fayette County Public Schools superintendent Tuesday over the design of restrooms in a new middle school, suggesting the district is trying to circumvent the anti-transgender law enacted by the GOP-controlled legislature last year.?

However, Superintendent Demetrus Liggins told the Interim Joint Committee on Education that restrooms in the new Mary E. Britton Middle School were designed to increase student safety by preventing bullying and other bad behavior in restrooms — a problem that data shows has increased statewide. Liggins said the design decisions had nothing to do with the controversial Senate Bill 150, which also limited medical care for transgender minors.

“This has nothing to do with Senate Bill 150, but we can see from the data that when students are supervised, behavior incidents go down,” Liggins said in response to a question from Rep. Candy Massaroni, R-Bardstown. “That’s just common knowledge.”

Massaroni had asked if the design was “a way just to get around” the 2023 legislation that, among other provisions, bans people from using bathrooms, locker rooms or showers that “are reserved for students of a different biological sex” in schools.?

The committee’s discussion, which lasted nearly an hour, signaled a renewal of Republican lawmakers’ conversations about preventing transgender students in Kentucky schools from using bathrooms of the gender they identify with.

Rep. Matt Lockett, R-Nicholasville, criticized what he called a gender-neutral restroom design in a presentation to the committee and called it an attempt to bypass requirements of the 2023 law.

The design features private stalls with floor-to-ceiling doors and an open communal sink area that can be observed and supervised from the hallway.?

Liggins told lawmakers that the school’s principal has decided to segregate boys and girls into separate restroom areas. He said the new configuration will enable adults to better supervise “restrooms in general.”?

The superintendent said the district’s advisory council on safety saw a need to address supervision of students in hallways and restrooms. Parents and other stakeholders also had a chance to participate in the design process, he said, without raising concerns about the restrooms design.

Liggins highlighted issues the school district faced from a 2021 TikTok trend inspiring damage and theft, mostly in boys’ bathrooms. He added that vandalism cost the district more than $42,000 in repairs. More recently, the school district and others across the nation are trying to prevent students from vaping or using electronic cigarettes in restrooms, Liggins added.?

According to the Kentucky 2022-23 School Safety Report, schools have seen an increase in behavior events reported in bathrooms, with more than 15,000 that school year. In the 2018-19 school year, 4,980 behavior events in bathrooms were reported.?

Henry Clay High School, which is part of Fayette County Public Schools, recently announced it would close restrooms during transitions between classes unless there is a medical need.?

Lockett, whose district includes part of southern Fayette County, called on his fellow legislators to back a bill he had drafted that would require all Kentucky public schools with more than 100 students to have at least 90% of their restrooms designated for one gender — allowing the remaining 10% to be “all access restrooms.” He added that he welcomes input from others on his proposal. The General Assembly can take action on legislation when it reconvenes in January.?

“We expect our schools to be safe, learning environments, not social experiments,” Lockett said. “We expect that our students shouldn’t be afraid or embarrassed, bullied or harassed in school. And at the end of the day, we want our public schools, including Fayette County, to be the best that they can be.”

Lockett referred to renderings of a “gender-neutral open-concept” restroom in Britton Middle School, which will open on Polo Club Boulevard near Hamburg in 2025.?

But Lockett’s “gender-neutral” description is incorrect, a school district spokesperson told the Lexington Herald-Leader after the meeting. “There are individual stalls in pods with sinks outside and signage will designate if the pod is for girls or boys,” FCPS spokesperson Dia Davidson-Smith told the newspaper.

Davidson-Smith also told the Kentucky Lantern that Lockett’s district does not include the new middle school, so none of his constituents would be impacted by the design and thus were not contacted to give input to the school district.

Eunice Montfort, of Frankfort, addressed the committee as a concerned citizen. She said she has ?worked as a health care administrator and in the construction industry and “did encounter individuals who were transgendered” in both careers. She said she opposed “co-ed bathrooms” and thought they were “a terrible idea.”?

In his remarks to the committee, Lockett presented a hypothetical situation where a sixth-grade girl tells her parents that she’s uncomfortable sharing a gender-neutral bathroom with male classmates and faces embarrassment.?

“She uses the restroom, possibly anyway, and enters a stall that a boy just came out of,” Lockett said. “There is urine all over the seat and floor of the stall — because we know how middle school boys are — and so this allows her experience to be even worse.”

Rep. Tina Bojanowski, D-Louisville, said that as an elementary school teacher, her perspective was “completely different than the perspective that Rep. Lockett brings.” She said when a fifth-grade class goes to the restroom, a teacher stands in the hall as kids line up to enter when a stall opens, but the students aren’t supervised in the closed-off restroom.?

Bojanowski said she recently passed a class going to the bathroom at her school and a student told the teacher another child had punched them in the restroom, but “what can the teacher say? She is not in the room.”

“As an educator, I would applaud this design,” she said. “You can have a teacher or an adult standing, watching, sending the kids into the area one at a time to use the restroom in the enclosed stalls, and then they wash their hands and they come out, and you have … eyes on them every minute, except for when they understandably have their own privacy.”?

A few lawmakers did ask some questions of presenters during the meeting, but Rep. Josie Raymond, D-Louisville, asked committee Chairman Rep. James Tipton, R-Taylorsville, “why we needed to cut off questioning and rush the meeting” before going to the next item on the agenda.

“Because we have two more items on the agenda, plus about 12 or 13 administrative regulations to get through today,” Tipton said.?

“I’m happy to stay. Anybody else?” Raymond said in reply. “Everybody happy to stay a little bit longer?”?

Tipton said to Raymond he didn’t know “how long you’ve been in the General Assembly” and added that “you should know by now that we have time restraints on how long we can keep the room,” referring to the meeting room in the Capitol annex.?

Raymond offered that she’s been a member of the legislature for six years. She then asked what event would be in the room next and when it started.?

“Rep. Raymond, I’m just following the rules given to us by the LRC (Legislative Research Commission),” Tipton said. “And you’ve just caused us a delay.”?

Raymond previously announced that she is not seeking reelection to the General Assembly to instead run for a seat on Louisville Metro Council.

Editor’s note: This story was updated with additional comments Wednesday morning.?

UK President Eli Capilouto (Photo by Mark Cornelison | UK Photo)

The University of Kentucky is disbanding its Office for Institutional Diversity effective immediately, President Eli Capilouto announced Tuesday.?

No one will lose their job, Capilouto said in a Tuesday afternoon email sent to staff. Other offices will absorb people and services. That includes a new office called the Office for Community Relations.?

“We share the value that out of many people, we are one community,” Capilouto wrote. “But we’ve also listened to policymakers and heard many of their questions about whether we appear partisan or political on the issues of our day.”?

The office’s goal, according to its website, was to “enhance the diversity and inclusivity of our university community through the recruitment and retention of an increasingly diverse population of faculty, administrators, staff and students, and by implementing initiatives that provide rich diversity-related experiences for all to help ensure their success in an interconnected world.”?

This comes after diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) at public universities came under scrutiny during Kentucky’s 2024 legislative session — and nationally.?

Though Kentucky lawmakers failed to pass a bill that would have ended DEI programs and offices at public universities and colleges, the discussion will continue during the interim.?

The email from Capilouto says the university will also “not mandate diversity training” and will remove diversity statements from in hiring documents.?

He also pointed to the national DEI discussion, writing that “universities across the country are grappling with the same questions that we are asking and being asked around diversity, equity and inclusion.”?

“Kentucky legislators have made clear to me in our conversations that they are exploring these issues again as they prepare for the 2025 legislative session,” Capilouto wrote. “If we are to be a campus for everyone, we must demonstrate to ourselves and to those who support and invest in us our commitment to the idea that everyone belongs — both in what we say and in what we do.”?

Republican praise?

Rep. Jennifer Decker, R-Waddy,? who sponsored unsuccessful legislation to defund DEI offices this year, praised UK for the decision.?

“I appreciate the University of Kentucky for taking this step and remain hopeful that other institutions, as well as the Council on Postsecondary Education, will follow their lead and recognize that this failed experiment has done nothing to make postsecondary education more accessible,” she said in a statement.?

“Our efforts have always been aimed at eliminating unconstitutional, unnecessary, costly and duplicative bureaucracy while still making sure campuses are open and welcoming to a diversity of students and staff,” Decker said.?

Senate Republican Whip Mike Wilson, who sponsored another bill aimed at limiting DEI, called this disbandment a “positive step in the right direction” and said “I would encourage other institutions to follow UK’s initiative. I trust this development, and the university’s efforts are sincere.”?

“We will get a chance to hear from the university and find out more details on what they are doing at our next Interim Joint Committee on Education meeting in September, when the topic of DEI will be on the agenda,” Wilson said. “A true elimination of these DEI policies in our public universities will end the division they promote, allowing our colleges and universities to be the true bastion of free thought we need them to be.”

‘A change without a difference’

Sen. Reggie Thomas, the minority caucus chair who represents Lexington and the University of Kentucky, told the Lantern he was “disappointed to hear” of the move, but doesn’t believe it means UK has abandoned a commitment to inclusion.

“I feel confident that UK is going to still continue to be very active in recruiting Black students, to make sure that that there are groups that will encourage cultural affinity amongst themselves,” he said. “I think that’s a change without a difference.”

Essentially, Thomas said: “there’s more to supporting cultural diversity in any institution other than a name.”

And, given that the DEI conversation “is going to rear its ugly head again in 2025,” he said, “President Capilouto and the UK administration is being proactive in terms of saying ‘look, we’re going to disband our office, but not disband the notion.'”

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear walks onstage before speaking during the first night of the Democratic National Convention at the United Center in Chicago, Aug. 19, 2024. (Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear took the stage at the Democratic National Convention Monday night to speak on abortion rights, how to bridge the divide created by “anger politics” and back Vice President Kamala Harris for president.?

In a roughly five-minute speech, the 46-year-old governor repurposed some of the campaign trail for his 2023 re-election campaign for a country-wide audience. Beshear was introduced on stage by Hadley Duvall, an Owensboro abortion rights advocate who appeared in a pivotal ad for Beshear last year and has since gained national prominence in Democratic politics.?

Beshear began by praising Duvall as “one of the bravest people I’ve ever met.” She began sharing her story about the sexual abuse she experienced as a child after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022 and has spoken against Kentucky’s abortion ban. Beshear said Kentucky voters showed support for reproductive freedom last year when they re-elected him against former Republican Attorney General Daniel Cameron.

“In Kentucky, we put reproductive freedom on the ballot last November and I beat Donald Trump and Mitch McConnell’s handpicked candidate by more than five percentage points,” Beshear said to cheers from the crowd. “This November, we’re going to beat them again. Elect Kamala Harris and Tim Walz and protect reproductive freedom.”?

Beshear was among a shortlist of possible running mates for Harris, but she ultimately picked Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz ahead of the DNC.

In his speech, Beshear attacked the GOP ticket of former President Donald Trump and running mate U.S. Sen. J.D. Vance for their stand on abortion, saying they back policies that “give rapists more rights than their victims” —?a line he’s used to describe Kentucky’s abortion ban passed into by Kentucky Republican lawmakers.

The governor then shifted from having empathy for women who face difficult medical choices like abortion or lacking access to one to having empathy for all.?

“How we treat people transcends party lines. It goes right to the heart of who we are. My faith teaches me the golden rule — that I am to love my neighbor as myself. And the parable (of) the Good Samaritan says we are all each other’s neighbors,” Beshear said. “So I want anyone watching tonight, Republican, Independent, Democrat, to know that you are welcome here.”

Beshear regularly refers to the Good Samaritan, including during his State of the Commonwealth address earlier this year. Toward the end of his convention speech, Beshear also made a reference to another reelection message to overcome division by calling to “end anger politics once and for all.” The governor said Harris “knows we must move beyond anger, extremism and division, that everyone has dignity and deserves respect.”

“That’s how Joe Biden and Kamala Harris lead. They both called to ask how they could help Kentucky in recovering from natural disasters,” Beshear said. “They helped us improve our roads, our bridges, and invested in our people. They didn’t ask me who Kentuckians voted for. They asked me what Kentuckians needed —?and folks, they delivered.”?

Beshear’s remarks came during the convention’s opening evening in Chicago. The governor followed a joint-speech from Americans affected by abortion bans across the country, including Kentuckian Hadley Duvall. She appeared in a pivotal ad for Beshear during his 2023 re-election campaign and has been stumping for Democrats this election season.?

The governor also addressed the crowd ahead of notable Democratic Party leaders U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock of Georgia, U.S. Sen. Chris Coons of Delaware, First Lady Jill Biden and President Joe Biden.?

Duvall appeared alongside Amanda and Josh Zurawski of Texas and Kaitlyn Joshua of Louisiana. They each spoke about how losing access to abortions in their states affected them. Duvall said Harris intends to sign a law to restore abortion rights if she is elected this fall.?

“She will fight for every woman and every girl, even those who are not fighting for her,” Duvall said of Harris.?Speaking at convention can be a pivotal moment for a politician’s national prospects later on. President Barack Obama addressed the DNC as an Illinois state senator in 2004. Some credit that address with putting him on the path to the presidency four years later. Harris herself addressed the DNC as California’s attorney general in 2012 before she accepted the vice presidential nomination in 2020.

Gov. Andy Beshear waves to the crowd after winning reelection, Tuesday, Nov. 7, 2023, at Old Forrester’s Paristown Hall in Louisville. (Kentucky Lantern photo by Austin Anthony)

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear will take the stage at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago Monday night.?

In a Monday morning post on X, formerly Twitter, Beshear tweeted a short video with his son, Will, in front of the stage. He indicated his remarks will focus on “my message of hope, freedom and unity.”?

“I’m going to be speaking tonight at the Democratic National Convention from this stage with a full arena, talking about how we’ve got to elect Kamala Harris as the next president of the United States,” Beshear says in the video.

Since Vice President Kamala Harris launched her presidential bid this summer, the 46-year-old governor was among a shortlist of potential running mates for her following President Joe Biden ending his bid for a second term. Harris ultimately selected Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, and much of the convention is expected to rally around them.?

In an interview with the Kentucky Lantern last week, Beshear said to “stay tuned” when asked if he will be speaking from the DNC stage. He added that the convention will mostly focus on Harris and Walz and campaign issues, but having “somebody from Kentucky on the stage at the Democratic National Convention is a big deal.”?

Beshear’s remarks will be on the convention’s opening night. According to a press release from his PAC, In This Together, Beshear is set to take the stage during the 10 p.m. Eastern hour. He will be introduced by Hadley Duvall, an Owensboro woman who has gained national attention as an abortion rights advocate. She appeared in a pivotal campaign ad for Beshear’s 2023 re-election campaign.?

Other Monday speakers include Biden, First Lady Jill Biden, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson.The DNC’s evening programming block is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. to 11 p.m. Eastern Time on Monday and 7 p.m. to 11 p.m. the rest of the week. Speeches are expected to be aired on the DNC’s YouTube page.

Editor’s note: This story was updated Monday afternoon with additional information.

Gov. Andy Beshear says the media spotlight on him when he was considered a potential running mate for Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic presidential candidate, has the potential to make a difference for Kentucky if Harris is elected. (Kentucky Lantern photo by McKenna Horsley)

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear has said he’s keeping his focus on Kentucky for the remainder of his second term following speculation that he could join Vice President Kamala Harris’ ticket. And while he stresses that the spotlight was good for the Commonwealth, some political observers say it was also good for the governor and that his time in national politics likely isn’t over.

Beshear is term-limited in his current office and if he wants to stay in politics, he must look upward.?

In a recent interview with the Kentucky Lantern at the Capitol, the 46-year-old governor said he’s “not going anywhere” at the moment when he was asked about his future role in national Democratic politics, such as a cabinet position in a Harris administration should she defeat former Republican President Donald Trump this November.?

“I love this job,” Beshear continued, “and even throughout this process, I remember touring Eastern Kentucky for the two-year anniversary of the flood, and looking around, knowing in my heart that this is where I’m supposed to be, that Kentucky is a part of my DNA, and my resolve to get the job done and rebuilding in Eastern Kentucky and in Western Kentucky.”?

While Beshear was on Harris’ shortlist for potential running mates, she ultimately chose Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz.?

Stephen Voss, a political science professor at the University of Kentucky, said he wouldn’t “read too much” into signals Beshear may send through state media outlets right now about his prospects in a possible Harris administration. Through the running mate speculation, he had direct contact with her campaign and was auditioning to become her running mate through press coverage at the time.?

“He did in his answer stick to the focus on Kentucky theme,” Voss said. “That’s really not that different from what he was saying initially when asked about his openness to the vice presidency.”?

Voss likened “Beshear’s current disavowal of national ambitions” to answers he gave during Harris’ running mate selection process. When asked if he would like to join Harris’ ticket in a late July MSNBC interview, Beshear said the “only way I would consider something other than this current job is if I believed I could further help my people and to help this country.”?

As a relatively young politician, Democratic strategist Will Carle said “the sky is the limit” for Beshear’s future career. Carle predicted Beshear could be considered for a cabinet position within a possible Harris administration but added that Beshear could be a viable candidate for a U.S. Senate seat.?

“He’ll be part of the next generation of leaders for the national party no matter what he does — even if he doesn’t go right back into electoral politics or a cabinet position,” Carle said. “But his success in our state really demonstrates that he has the ability to connect with voters that normally have not been aligning with Democrats, and that’s going to be something that will be incredibly valuable to the national party as we move forward into the midterms.”?

Tres Watson, a former spokesperson for the Republican Party of Kentucky, said Beshear would probably consider a cabinet position to move into federal politics if Harris wins. Otherwise, Beshear must figure out a way to stay relevant if he wants to campaign for national office in 2028, Watson said.?

Beshear said in the Lantern interview that the national attention on him was a positive for Kentucky, and hoped that it would give the state “a seat on the national stage, whether that’s the ability to be in the room with those that are going to make decisions on grants, or the ability to talk about an issue that’s very important — and maybe even particular to Kentucky — and hopefully get positive movement or change related to it.”

Watson disagreed with the governor’s notion that the speculation had benefits for Kentucky. Watson added that he gave props to Beshear’s team because “they took someone who really, realistically, had no actual shot at getting the vice presidential nomination” and put him “into the conversation and raise his profile nationally.”?

Carle acknowledged that the national attention on Beshear shone a “big light on the great work that he’s done” in terms of economic development, supporting public education and expanding health care, but thought the governor was right it saying it could help Kentucky recruit businesses and added that it also could persuade prospective college students to consider Kentucky.?

“These are priority wins that people from around the country will get to see — that Kentucky is a welcoming place, that we care about our people, and that we’re an economy on the move,” Carle said. “So it puts us in a place where we’re an emerging state, and Gov. Besher being able to be on the national stage like that just highlights the kind of leaders we also elect here, or at least some of them.”?

Carle added that he does believe the speculation around Beshear will give Kentucky Democrats a boost heading into November elections. Democrats, including Beshear, are rallying against a Republican-backed constitutional amendment that would allow the General Assembly to fund nonpublic schools. Additionally, Kentucky voters will decide legislative races around the state.?

Two candidates Carle is working for had fundraising events during Harris’ running mate vetting process with “overwhelmingly large crowds” and he credited the speculation around Beshear to that.?

The governor and the General Assembly

Beshear told the Lantern he wants to “lay the groundwork for more important changes we need” such as raising pay for educators and implementing universal pre-K. Those have been issues the governor has long called for and included in the budget proposal he submitted to the Republican-controlled General Assembly this year.?

The governor and Republicans in the legislature have a “fundamental disagreement” about how to raise teacher pay, Watson said. In response to Beshear on raising teacher salaries, Republican lawmakers pushed for salary changes through Kentucky’s Support Education Excellence in Kentucky (SEEK) formula and to for them to be determined by local school boards and superintendents. The governor called for direct raises.

Watson said Republican lawmakers allocated extra funding toward one-time projects, such as infrastructure or water projects, rather than recurring cost like teacher raises or universal Pre-K.?

He added the governor and Republican lawmakers can work together when Beshear “comes to the table with an idea that is realistically something that Republican legislators would be interested in,” such as investing in economic projects like manufacturing plants for vehicle batteries. However, Beshear “tends to push things that are ‘pie in the sky’” that won’t gain support with Republican lawmakers and can say on the campaign trail “‘Look at these things I promised you that Republicans wouldn’t give you,’” Watson said.?

“It’s disingenuous. Republicans in the legislature are very frustrated by it, and I don’t see that changing,” Watson said. “You’re talking about changing ingrained behavior in three years. That’s probably not going to happen.

To implement his priority policies, Beshear will have to “take it to the court of public opinion,” Carle said. Beshear has long supported public educators and families who need child care and want to get a head start on education, Carle added.?

“I think if the governor makes a compelling case — which he often does — there will be pressure on the legislature to start to enact some of the policies that we know invigorate economies, that create safer, stronger, healthier communities and that provide relief for parents and give their children an opportunity so that they can compete in a world where education will be the deciding factor on how far they go in life,” Carle said.?

If Beshear wants to have policy influence for the remainder of his term as governor, it could mirror the actions of his father, former Gov. Steve Beshear, Voss said. That would include taking advantage of the legislature not being in session most of the year and using the discretionary influence of the governor’s office.?

Voss said the odds that Beshear could turn a new tide in his relationship with Republican legislative leadership is “pretty small,” and pointed to GOP criticism of Beshear during the Harris’ running mate consideration process. After Walz was selected, the Republican Party of Kentucky issued a statement saying it was “no surprise Kamala Harris took a pass on Andy. His years of controversy and lack of policy wins made choosing him a liability.”?

While some Republicans might have been excited about the possibility of Kentucky’s highest ranking Democrat leaving the state, Voss said, Republicans added to the criticism of Beshear, which shows “that the bad blood runs a little too deep.”

The U.S. Supreme Court, pictured, issued an order maintaining a block on new Title IX rules while a challenge is heard in an appeals court. (Photo by Jane Norman/States Newsroom)

The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday rejected efforts by the Biden administration to temporarily put on hold a federal court’s decision that blocks a central part of new Title IX rules for schools from going into effect.?

The order by the justices allows a decision made by Chief Judge Danny Reeves of the U.S. District Court in Eastern Kentucky to block the rules to remain in place for now. Reeves had sided with Kentucky Attorney General Russell Coleman and five other Republican attorneys general in a lawsuit challenging the new Title IX rules, which aim to protect transgender students.

A federal appeals court last month also declined to put on hold Reeves’ decision, and that court is hearing an appeal of Reeves’ decision in October.?

“The Court expects that the Courts of Appeals will render their decisions with appropriate dispatch,” the majority of justices wrote.?

The order also agreed to leave in place another federal court decision blocking the new Title IX rules brought separately by the Louisiana attorney general and three other Republican attorneys general.?

Coleman in a statement on the order said the Republican attorneys general were defending “equal opportunities for Kentucky’s women and young girls” at the country’s highest court.?

“The Biden-Harris Administration is threatening to rip away 50 years of Title IX protections. Together with our colleagues in Tennessee and four other states, we are fighting to uphold the promise of Title IX for generations to come,” Coleman said.

Title IX deals with sex-based discrimination at any school that receives federal funding.

U.S. Secretary of Education Miquel Cardona previously said in a statement the new Title IX rules would have built “on the legacy of Title IX by clarifying that all our nation’s students can access schools that are safe, welcoming, and respect their rights.”?

The rules, which would have went into effect Aug. 1, sought to roll back Trump administration changes that narrowly defined sexual harassment and directed schools to conduct live hearings, allowing those who were accused of sexual harassment or assault to cross-examine their accusers.

Indiana, Ohio, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia joined Kentucky challenging the administration’s order.

Reeves’ opinion said the states represented in the lawsuit argued that the Title IX rules would “invalidate scores of States’ and schools’ sex-separated sports policies.” The Kentucky General Assembly passed such a law in 2022 to require athletes in schools to play on teams associated with their biological sex

A sponsor of that law, Sen. Robby Mills, R-Henderson, applauded the U.S. Supreme Court order in a Friday statement, which he said “directly condemns the woke ideology promoted by the U.S. Department of Education and the Biden-Harris administration.” Henderson thanked Coleman for defending the law.

“Wokeism and gender ideology must never trump Kentucky values and the U.S. Constitution,” Mills said.

Editor’s note: This story was updated Saturday morning with additional comments.?

Rep. Daniel Grossberg, D-Louisville. (LRC Public Information)

A Kentucky Democratic lawmaker wants to dismiss an ethics complaint filed against him by House Democratic leadership that alleges inappropriate behavior and communications.?

Rep. Daniel Grossberg, a freshman legislator from Louisville, is arguing the complaint filed with the Kentucky Legislative Ethics Commission is “meritless” and an “misuse of the ethics complaint system,” according to a Friday press release issued by his attorney, Anna Whites. His motion to dismiss has been filed with the KLEC, Whites said, but she added they are “exploring the possibility of legal action” and so is at least one businessman named in the complaint.?

In a Friday afternoon statement, House Democratic leaders said they planned to honor the confidential nature of the investigations in light of “Rep. Grossberg’s attorney’s desire to litigate this in the press with misrepresentations rather than through proper confidential channels.”?

Grossberg has been removed from his interim committees following allegations of inappropriate actions toward women, including behavior and text messages. The Lexington Herald-Leader first reported allegations against Grossberg. At the time, he denied “any impropriety” in a statement to the newspaper.

Under state law, the commission’s proceedings, including complaints and other records related to a preliminary inquiry, are confidential until the commission makes a final determination. But Grossberg’s response on Friday offers insight into five allegations raised in the complaint.?

The first is the purchase of a used car that he says was “thoroughly investigated and debunked by KLEC.” The release also says the new complaint “names and accuses a prominent Louisville businessman who is a member of a minority of ‘healthcare fraud and interference in the Certificate of Need process’ all of which is supposedly somehow based upon this used car purchase.”

Grossberg also argues against allegations made around a fundraising call, where a restaurant owner, who, he says, is also a member of a minority community, asked ??how he could apply to be on a state catering contractor list while the representative was making fundraising calls for the House Democratic Caucus.?

“As shown in the texts appended to the Complaint, Rep. Grossberg asked the House Minority Chief of Staff how a restaurant could apply, and shared the information given with the business owner,” the release said. No impropriety is shown in the texts. No improper discussion was had. No quid pro quo arrangement occurred. No ethical misconduct has occurred or has even been coherently alleged.”?

Additionally, Grossberg addressed issues raised around assisting another freshman legislator with “unwanted communications” and advice. Grossberg said he offered to connect the legislator with a law enforcement branch that aided him after he received harassing communications. He calls House Democratic leadership’s characterization of the exchange to show “control or involvement in the harassment” as an “outrageous suggestion” without evidence.?

Another issue Grossberg refutes is the appropriateness of a letter from him and his spouse, a teacher, to students they chaperoned abroad. The letter was reviewed by LRC staff before sending and would likely be “a treasured keepsake for any high school student,” Grossberg’s release said. His response also admonished House Democratic leaders for including the name and address of a high school student.?

Finally, Grossberg refutes text messages highlighted in “a newspaper article.” Grossberg says the House Democratic leaders’ complaint does “not include a copy of any allegedly inappropriate texts,” but includes texts about party business, preventing antisemitism and other legislative actions.?

“??The only text that discusses inappropriate communications is a reference by a thirty party to that third party hearing rumors about inappropriate communication from other unnamed third parties at some unnamed time,” the press release said. “Rumors have no place in a fact-based hearing.”?

Grossberg’s response said that the complaint cites a newspaper article that discusses allegations of questionable texts, which “do not constitute sexual harassment.”?

The Herald-Leader reported that the texts shared with the newspaper “often came late at night,” and Grossberg remarked on the receiver’s physical looks.” The newspaper later reported the representative had invited two women in a text to a “lesbian-themed movie night.”

Grossberg concludes by saying the complaint uses “rumor, inuendo [sic] and their own apparent animus toward Rep. Grossberg to make the unsupported allegations herein. This is unethical and inappropriate in the extreme, particularly for leaders of a caucus.”?

In a statement Friday afternoon, House Democratic leaders said they must “take allegations of inappropriate conduct among our membership seriously, to protect those brave enough to come forward, and to ensure the appropriate agencies investigate their allegations.”?

“As previously stated and per a vote of the Caucus, we have reported multiple serious allegations against Representative Grossberg to the proper legislative oversight bodies for consideration,” the statement said. “These investigations are designed to be confidential to protect those who come forward with their accounts of impropriety.

“We continue to honor that intent as best we can given Rep. Grossberg’s attorney’s desire to litigate this in the press with misrepresentations rather than through proper confidential channels.”

The House Democratic leaders added that they are taking new information, “including additional texts, first-hand accounts, and calls from an outside organization for Rep. Grossberg’s resignation seriously.” Because investigations are ongoing and to protect “all parties involved,” the leaders declined to comment further at this time.?

Editor’s note: This story was updated with additional comments Friday afternoon.?

Rep. Daniel Grossberg, D-Louisville. (LRC Public Information)

A Kentucky Democratic lawmaker has been removed from his interim committees following allegations of inappropriate actions toward women, including behavior and text messages.

Rep. Daniel Grossberg, who represents the 30th House District in Jefferson County, was suspended from the House Democratic Caucus following a vote and a request from his colleagues that the Legislative Ethics Commission conduct an investigation. The Lexington Herald-Leader first reported allegations against Grossberg a couple weeks ago. At the time, he denied “any impropriety” in a statement to the newspaper.

“In light of new information Leadership received from LRC officials it was deemed appropriate to relieve Rep. Grossberg of his committee responsibilities during the interim,” House Democratic leadership said in a statement Thursday. “Many committees do not cast votes during the interim and Rep. Grossberg’s constituents will not be impacted by this decision.”

Anna Whites, an attorney representing Grossberg, said in an email to the Kentucky Lantern that the Legislative Research Commission conducted “a brief investigation several weeks ago” and gave results to Grossberg and Democratic House leaders.?

“No sexual misconduct was found or shared with me or Rep Grossberg, and that was the end of it,” Whites said. “I am not aware of any LRC investigation and do not believe one is ongoing.”?

As for removing Grossberg from his committees, Whites said Democratic House leaders “gave no reason to him and no ‘new evidence’ has been provided to him or to my office by either LRC or the House Minority leaders. I have no reason to believe LRC is involved in this decision.”?

Whites said removing Grossberg from his interim committees is not only “unprecedented,” but also “an unconstitutional disenfranchisement of approximately 46,000 citizens who are being told by Democratic Minority Leaders — ‘You don’t get a voice in Frankfort.’” Democratic leaders in the House have “effectively denied an entire House District, and his is one of the most diverse in the state, a voice in government,” she said.?

The General Assembly has several interim committees dedicated to various topics that study issues between legislative sessions. Information discussed in these meetings often serves as the basis for legislation debated and passed when lawmakers reconvene in Frankfort.?

“Some of the most important legislative work is done between sessions,” Whites said. “That is the only real opportunity for legislators to hear from state agencies, the public, counties and cities, and businesses about the issues that are affecting them. The legislators can workshop those and share knowledge, and think about what bills should be proposed in the upcoming session.”?

Whites added that “appropriate voter protection legal options” are being explored.?

LRC Public Information Manager Mike Wynn said in an email that “LRC is reviewing information on this matter as it becomes available and communicating with legislative leaders.”

“But as a neutral, non-partisan administrative office, we do not comment on possible investigations or actions that may involve legislators, including committee assignments,” Wynn added.

Editor’s note: This story was updated Thursday afternoon with additional comments.?

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear speaks to a crowd at the Iowa Democratic Party’s Liberty and Justice Celebration event in July. (Photo by Jack O’Connor/ Iowa Capital Dispatch)

FRANKFORT —?While he was not ultimately selected as Vice President Kamala Harris’ running mate, Kentucky Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear said the national attention put a positive spotlight on his home state.?

Beshear, 46, was among a shortlist of potential running mates for Harris shortly after she mounted her presidential campaign following President Joe Biden’s exit from the race. Last week, Harris’ campaign announced Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz would join the ticket.?

In an interview with the Kentucky Lantern at the Capitol Wednesday, Beshear said that with about three and a half years left in his second term, his focus remains on doing his job and keeping Kentucky’s momentum on economic development.?

When asked if he thought he may have a future role in national Democratic politics, potentially even a cabinet position in a possible Harris administration, the governor said: “I’m not going anywhere.”?

“I love this job,” Beshear continued, “and even throughout this process, I remember touring Eastern Kentucky for the two-year anniversary of the flood, and looking around, knowing in my heart that this is where I’m supposed to be, that Kentucky is a part of my DNA, and my resolve to get the job done and rebuilding in Eastern Kentucky and in Western Kentucky.”?

Beshear toured Eastern Kentucky at the end of July, and dedicated homes to residents built on higher ground in the mountainous region. The record 2022 floods killed 45 victims. Before that, Western Kentucky was the site of devastating tornadoes in 2021, which had a death toll of more than 70. The natural disasters were key moments of Beshear’s first term.?

“With that said,” Beshear said, “I do hope that the vetting process and the national attention gives us as Kentucky a seat on the national stage, whether that’s the ability to be in the room with those that are going to make decisions on grants, or the ability to talk about an issue that’s very important — and maybe even particular to Kentucky — and hopefully get positive movement or change related to it. I see the benefit of going through this process as hopefully benefiting Kentucky and our needs.”

The governor’s also looking toward Election Day this November. He said he will continue to work toward supporting the Harris-Walz ticket, focusing on sending candidates he supports to the U.S. House and Senate as well as the state legislature, which has a Republican supermajority. A particular issue he plans to focus on is “making sure we defeat” a proposed constitutional amendment that would allow the General Assembly to fund nonpublic schools. He said he will travel the state to campaign against Amendment 2.?

“So while that sounds like a lot, I both ran the governor’s office and an election last year, and so everybody out there can be assured that they’re going to get the best out of me every single day as governor. I recognize that this is a dream job — an important job — and don’t take any moment for granted.”?

Beshear called it “an honor” to be considered as a choice for Harris’ running mate, and noted “massive national coverage of all of the positive things going on in Kentucky.” He said that the attention may also position Kentucky to do more in its future, adding that prospective employers that were not otherwise considering the state had reached out to his administration. Plus, rumors about Beshear’s 2024 election prospects swirled while he was abroad in Japan and South Korea to discuss economic development.?

When asked if he will highlight Kentucky as a speaker at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago next week, Beshear said to “stay tuned.” He added that the convention will mostly focus on Harris and Walz and campaign issues, but the possibility “to have somebody from Kentucky on the stage at the Democratic National Convention is a big deal.”

Looking ahead to the next legislative session, Beshear said his administration plans to work on addressing unfunded mandates, or laws that may have passed but were not funded during this year’s budget session. Recently, Beshear and Republican lawmakers have been going back and forth about funding for a new law to provide financial relief for grandparents and other kinship caregivers who are raising children in Kentucky.

The governor said he also wants to focus on laws that were not changed but are “frustrating” to implement.?

“Certainly, I want to lay the groundwork for more important changes we need, both in educator pay and in universal pre-K. I also want to spend some of this session looking at how other states invest in economic development,” he said, adding as an example that South Carolina has more overseas offices than Kentucky to address foreign direct investment. South Carolina has four international offices, while Kentucky has two.?

However, Beshear must seek to accomplish those goals with a legislature dominated by his opposing party — meaning any veto of his can easily be overridden. Legislation he backs also begins at a disadvantage in the General Assembly. Beshear’s budget proposal earlier this year, which were in bills carried by Minority Floor Leader Derrick Graham, were not assigned committees for reviewing.?

A teacher waves to her students as they get off the bus at Carter Traditional Elementary School in Louisville on Jan. 24, 2022, in this file photo. (Photo by Jon Cherry/Getty Images)

One Kentucky public school district is speaking against a proposed constitutional amendment that would affect school funding — raising questions about what school districts can say on political issues.?

Pulaski County Schools, a district seated around Somerset with more than 7,500 students, shared a message advocating against Amendment 2 on its official Facebook page Friday. Similar images were on the websites of each school within the district as of Tuesday morning. Some Kentucky Republicans, including Congressman Thomas Massie, suggested the posts “blatantly” broke state law.

Meanwhile, the district released a Tuesday statement that said nothing prevented it from sharing the posts, adding: “The Pulaski County Board of Education is not intimidated by the threats of politicians and advocates of Amendment 2,” which it called “an attempt to siphon off public school money for private schools, particularly Charter Schools.”

The school district’s online messages cited data specifically about how the amendment would affect the district from a recent Kentucky Center for Economic Policy (KyPolicy) report.?

If passed, Amendment 2 would allow the Kentucky General Assembly to fund nonpublic schools, such as private or charter schools. Advocates against the amendment say the change could cut into funding for existing public schools.?

KyPolicy, a progressive think tank, estimated that Pulaski County Schools could lose between 8% to 16% of its current budget based on two possible models from other states if the amendment passes.?

Superintendent Patrick Richardson shared a statement from the school district with the Kentucky Lantern via email. The statement says school board members have received open records requests “for their private cell phone and devices for texts or emails discussing this issue” and acknowledged a call for the Kentucky Attorney General’s Office to investigate the posts.

“Pulaski Board members have been threatened and intimidated by some on social media for speaking against this and for exercising their First Amendment rights,” the statement said. “The US Supreme Court said long ago that those rights are not surrendered at the school house gate.”

The school district cited a landmark Kentucky Supreme Court decision, Rose v. Council for Better Education, saying that state law gives the district’s school board “the power to do ‘all things necessary’ to carry out its duties and responsibilities.” The district added that Amendment 2 focuses on school funding.

“The Pulaski County Board and Superintendent have a legitimate and legal right to protect public school money that should properly be spent on the public education of children in Pulaski County,” the statement said. “Nothing prevents the Board from taking a public position on this issue that goes to the very heart of the existence of the Pulaski County Public Schools. This is an ‘educational issue’ and a ‘school funding issue.’ The Pulaski Board Members and Superintendent have a right to speak against Amendment 2.”

Jennifer Ginn, communications director for the Kentucky Department of Education, said in an email that public schools and their leaders “may engage in conversations with their communities to educate community members on public school funding and measures that may impact funding to Kentucky’s public schools.”

“With knowledge of how public schools in their own communities may be impacted, individual community members may make informed decisions on matters impacting Kentucky’s public schools,” Ginn said.

Kentucky law has some limits on how school employees can engage in political activities, such as school board elections. State law also says that public funds cannot be used “against any public question that appears on the ballot.” However, there is disagreement as to whether the law applies to a school district.

According to guidance from the Kentucky School Boards Association, school district employees may have limited political speech during work hours. KSBA, which officially opposes the amendment, says in its guidance that school boards may discuss the amendment during public meetings and board members can share their personal opinions on the topic.?

“Districts always strive to stay within the bounds of policy and meet every letter of the law,” said Joshua Shoulta, the communications director for KSBA. “There is gray area between the use of public funds for lobbying — which is legal — versus use of public funds for what statute refers to as ‘political activity.’ Amendment 2 is a perfect example, as districts seek to inform their communities on the potential consequences of granting lawmakers broad new authority to divert public tax dollars to private schools.”

Pulaski County Schools’ posts has gained criticism from Republicans, including Massie, who represents Kentucky’s fourth congressional district. In a post on X, formerly Twitter, Massie said the school district “is blatantly breaking the law by using public resources to campaign against a ballot initiative.” Pulaski County is in Kentucky’s fifth congressional district.?

T.J. Roberts, the GOP candidate for the House 66th District seat in Boone County, said on X that he was “extremely concerned” about the school district’s online posts and called for an investigation by the Attorney General’s Office.?

“The people of Kentucky deserve to know whether their tax dollars are being used illegally to undermine parental rights and school choice,” Roberts said. “This kind of unlawful activity cannot be tolerated, and I will do everything in my power to ensure that those responsible are held accountable.”?

Republican Attorney General Russell Coleman issued an advisory Tuesday evening “to remind those entrusted with the administration of tax dollars appropriated for public education that those resources must not be used to advocate for or against the” proposed constitutional amendment. Coleman’s advisory highlighted the section of state law prohibiting tax dollars from being used to campaign for public questions.?

“This prohibition on the use of tax dollars to campaign on either side of a ballot question necessarily extends to the use of any public resources paid for by those tax dollars to campaign either in support of or in opposition to the question,” the advisory said.?

The advisory said the Attorney General’s Office will continue monitoring reports about this topic and is “prepared to take any necessary action within its authority to ensure these constitutional and statutory limitations are upheld.”

In a Monday press conference at the Kenton County Courthouse, Coleman said he was aware of the post, which he called “pretty crystal clear.”

“If indeed there’s a violation of state law, we know what the facts are,” Coleman said. “We’re looking at the law. We will act with our partners accordingly.”?

The proposed constitutional amendment was a priority for many GOP lawmakers earlier this year, despite a small group of Republicans in the House and Senate ultimately voting against it. Democrats, including Gov. Andy Beshear, have strongly voiced opposition to it.?

Kentucky voters will decide to reject or adopt the amendment this fall on Nov. 5.

Editor’s note: This story was updated with additional comments Tuesday evening.?

A Kentucky polling place welcomes voters in November 2023. Kentucky is among the states where lawmakers are exploring legislation to protect against the deceptive use of artificial intelligence in elections. Matthew Mueller/Kentucky Lantern

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Inside a white-walled conference room, a speaker surveyed hundreds of state lawmakers and policy influencers, asking whether artificial intelligence poses a threat to the elections in their states.

The results were unambiguous: 80% of those who answered a live poll said yes. In a follow-up question, nearly 90% said their state laws weren’t adequate to deter those threats.

It was among the many exchanges on artificial intelligence that dominated sessions at this week’s meeting of the National Conference of State Legislatures, the largest annual gathering of lawmakers, in Louisville.

“It’s the topic du jour,” Kentucky state Sen. Whitney Westerfield, a Republican, told lawmakers as he kicked off one of many panels centering on AI. “There are a lot of discussions happening in all of our state legislatures across the country.”

While some experts and lawmakers celebrated the promise of AI to advance services in health care and education, others lamented its potential to disrupt the democratic process with just months to go before November’s elections. And lawmakers compared the many types of legislation they’re proposing to tackle the issue.

This presidential election cycle is the first since generative AI — a form of artificial intelligence that can create new images, audio and video — became widely available. That’s raised alarms over deepfakes, remarkably convincing but fake videos or images that can portray anyone, including candidates, in situations that didn’t occur or saying things they didn’t.

“We need to do something to make sure the voters understand what they’re doing,” said Kentucky state Sen. Amanda Mays Bledsoe.

The Republican lawmaker, who chairs a special legislative task force on AI, co-sponsored a bipartisan bill this year aimed at limiting the use of deepfakes to influence elections. The bill would have allowed candidates whose appearance, action or speech was altered through “synthetic media” in an election communication to take its sponsor to court. The state Senate unanimously approved the proposal but it stalled in the House.

While Bledsoe expects to bring the bill up again next session, she acknowledged how complex the issue is: Lawmakers are trying to balance the risks of the evolving technology against their desire to promote innovation and protect free speech.

“You don’t want to go too fast,” she said in an interview, “but you also don’t want to be too behind.”

Rhode Island state Sen. Dawn Euer, a Democrat, told Stateline she’s concerned about AI’s potential to amplify disinformation, particularly across social media.

“Election propaganda and disinformation has been part of the zeitgeist for the existence of humanity,” said Euer, who chairs the Senate Judiciary Committee. “Now, we have high-tech tools to do it.”

Connecticut state Sen. James Maroney, a Democrat, agreed that concerns about AI’s effects on elections are legitimate. But he emphasized that most deepfakes target women with digitally generated nonconsensual intimate images or revenge porn. Research firm Sensity AI has tracked online deepfake videos for years, finding 90% of them are nonconsensual porn, mostly targeting women.

Maroney sponsored legislation this year that would have regulated artificial intelligence and criminalized deepfake porn and false political messaging. That bill passed the state Senate, but not the House. Democratic Gov. Ned Lamont opposed the measure, saying it was premature and potentially harmful to the state’s technology industry.

While Maroney has concerns about AI, he said the upsides far outweigh the risks. For example, AI can help lawmakers communicate with constituents through chatbots or translate messaging into other languages.

Top election officials on AI

During one session in Louisville, New Hampshire Republican Secretary of State David Scanlan said AI could improve election administration by making it easier to organize election statistics or get official messaging out to the public.

Still, New Hampshire experienced firsthand some of the downside of the new technology earlier this year when voters received robocalls that used artificial intelligence to imitate President Joe Biden’s voice to discourage participation in a January primary.

Prosecutors charged the political operative who allegedly organized the fake calls with more than a dozen crimes, including voter suppression, and the Federal Communications Commission proposed a $6 million fine against him.

While the technology may be new, Scanlan said election officials have always had to keep a close eye on misinformation about elections and extreme tactics by candidates or their supporters and opponents.

“You might call them dirty tricks, but it has always been in candidates’ arsenals, and this really was a form of that as well,” he said. “It’s just more complex.”

The way state officials responded, by quickly identifying the calls as fake and investigating their origins, serves as a playbook for other states ahead of November’s elections, said Cait Conley, a senior adviser at the federal Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency focused on election security.

“What we saw New Hampshire do is best practice,” she said during the presentation. “They came out quickly and clearly and provided guidance, and they really just checked the disinformation that was out there.”

Kentucky Republican Secretary of State Michael Adams told Stateline that AI could prove challenging for swing states in the presidential election. But he said it may still be too new of a technology to cause widespread problems for most states.

“Of the 99 things that we chew our nails over, it’s not in the top 10 or 20,” he said in an interview. “I don’t know that it’s at a maturity level that it’ll be utilized everywhere.”

Adams this year received the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award for championing the integrity of elections despite pushback from fellow Republicans. He said AI is yet another obstacle facing election officials who already must combat challenges including disinformation and foreign influence.

More bills coming

With an absence of congressional action, states have increasingly sought to regulate the quickly evolving world of AI on their own.

NCSL this year tracked AI bills in at least 40 states, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands and Washington, D.C.

As states examine the issue, many are looking at Colorado, which this year became the first state to create a sweeping regulatory framework for artificial intelligence. Technology companies opposed the measure, worried it will stifle innovation in a new industry.

Colorado Senate Majority Leader Robert Rodriguez, a Democrat who sponsored the bill, said lawmakers modeled much of their language on European Union regulations to avoid creating mismatched rules for companies using AI. Still, the law will be examined by a legislative task force before going into effect in 2026.

“It’s a first-in-the nation bill, and I’m under no illusion that it’s perfect and ready to go,” he said. “We’ve got two years.”

When Texas lawmakers reconvene next January, state Rep. Giovanni Capriglione expects to see many AI bills flying.

A Republican and co-chair of a state artificial intelligence advisory council, Capriglione said he’s worried about how generative AI may influence how people vote — or even if they vote — in both local and national elections.

“Without a doubt, artificial intelligence is being used to sow disinformation and misinformation,” he said, “and I think as we get closer to the election, we’ll see a lot more cases of it being used.”

Stateline is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Stateline maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Scott S. Greenberger for questions: [email protected]. Follow Stateline on Facebook and X.

As Attorney General Dan Cameron sought to get the employment records of two University of Louisville physicians who performed abortions at the EMW Women's Surgical Center in Louisville. (Kentucky Lantern photo by Deborah Yetter)

FRANKFORT — The Kentucky Court of Appeals has rejected efforts by the office of the state Attorney General to use a Franklin County grand jury subpoena to get employment records in a case that appears to involve two University of Louisville physicians who performed abortions at EMW Women’s Surgical Center and trained residents at the clinic.

Because the case is sealed, the appeals court decision does not identify the parties by name, using pseudonyms Jane Doe 1 and 2 and the employer, Roe, as those seeking to quash the subpoena.

But the details closely track a dispute that arose in 2022 when Republican lawmakers sought an investigation of whether the public salaries of physicians at U of L overlapped with their work at EMW, which paid them separately.

Sources with knowledge of the case told The Lantern the appeals decision involved the attorney general’s efforts to obtain the physicians’ employment records including personnel files, job descriptions and payroll records from EMW.

The appeals court, in an order issued Friday, rejected those efforts as a “fishing expedition” and said further, that the subpoena filed by former Attorney General Daniel Cameron, is outside the scope of the Franklin County grand jury because the information and records the attorney general sought are from another county.

The matter should be left to prosecutors in the county where the records and activities occurred, the order said.

“While we do not wish to overuse the hackneyed phrase of a ‘fishing expedition,’ we reiterate that the (attorney general) was fishing in the wrong pond,” the order said.

The appeals court upheld the decision of Franklin Circuit Judge Phillip Shepherd to quash the subpoena but ordered the case to remain sealed pending his further review.

Since leaving office at the beginning of this year Cameron has been working as chief executive of 1792 Exchange, a nonprofit that says it aims to “steer public companies back to neutral on divisive, idealogical issues.” He did not respond to requests for comment about the case that Kentucky Lantern sent to that organization on Friday and in a phone message.

Kevin Grout, the spokesman for Attorney General Russell Coleman, who is now handling the case, said “We have received the opinion. We are reviewing it to decide next steps.” Grout declined to respond to questions seeking details about the case.

William Brammell Jr., identified in the opinion as an attorney representing Jane Doe 1, said, “We appreciate and agree with the court’s thoughtful opinion.”

But because the case remains under seal, Brammell said he could make no further comment. Other lawyers representing parties in the case did not respond to requests for comment.

Abortions largely ended in Kentucky after the June 2022 Supreme Court ruling overturning the landmark, 1973 Roe v. Wade decision returned control to the states. Kentucky already had laws on the books banning all or most abortions except in life-threatening circumstances.

GOP lawmakers called for investigation

But some Republican lawmakers had questioned the role of U of L physicians at EMW, citing U of L’s public funding, and called for an investigation.

“If university funds are used for abortion,” said Rep. Jason Nemes, R-Louisville at a legislative hearing in 2022, “the taxpayers ought to know, and the legislature should take that into account when we’re talking about funding the university and other things.”

Nemes and other lawmakers said further investigation was warranted.

Cameron filed a grand jury subpoena in June 2023 seeking payroll and personnel information of the two Jane Does, the appeals opinion said. At the time, Cameron, a Republican, was running for governor against incumbent Gov. Andy Beshear, a Democrat, who won a second term.

Through the subpoena, the attorney general “sought to compare the employees’ records for evidence that unspecified and indirect state funds may have been related to some malfeasance connected with their work,” the opinion said.

In July 2023, the Jane Does and Roe asked the Franklin circuit judge to quash the subpoena and in September, the judge did so, the appeals opinion said

But the judge also unsealed a portion of the record, it said.

The attorney general appealed the decision and asked that the case remain sealed, which the appeals court agreed to do, it said.

Friday’s 23-page opinion is the first public record in the case filed more than a year ago, and said it tries to strike a balance between “the necessary secrecy of grand jury proceedings and the right of the public to know what its government is doing.

“We conclude that the public issuance of this opinion with appropriate pseudonyms for most participants will achieve the proper balance,” it said.

But in its description of the case, the appeals court leaves clues that indicate the conflict pits the Attorney General’s Office against EMW and its doctors. For instance, it states that the doctors have two employers, and the second employer gets a small percentage of its funding from the state.

U of L gets some, though not the majority, of its funding from the state. EMW, a private clinic, received no public funds.

The attorney general had argued it should have access to the information it sought through subpoena because state funds may be involved.

The appeals court rejected that argument, saying of the Jane Does, “They are employees, and their employers, not the Commonwealth, are responsible for their paychecks.”

The Appeals court order is written by Judge Kelly Mark Easton with Judges Glenn Acree and Pamela R. Goodwine concurring in the decision.

It vacates the order by Shepherd, the trial judge, to unseal some of the records in the case and sends the case back to him “for further proceedings on the sealing of the record.”

“All of this court’s record, except for this opinion, will remain sealed recognizing the authority of the circuit court to first decide what, if any, further information should be made public,” the order said.

Abortion ban factors into governor’s race

EMW was one of two Louisville clinics that provided abortions in Kentucky until the U.S. Supreme Court struck down Roe v. Wade and a pair of laws passed by the state’s Republican-controlled General Assembly took effect, banning almost all abortions in Kentucky.

The two laws, one the “trigger law” banning abortion and the other, banning abortions after six weeks — before many women realize they are pregnant — took effect after the high court ruling.

They permit abortions only to save the life of or prevent disabling injury to a patient, with no exceptions for rape or incest — which became a heated issue in Cameron’s unsuccessful run last year for governor against Beshear.

Cameron, an anti-abortion Republican who defended the laws in court, was criticized in a Beshear campaign ad by a young woman who had been raped and impregnated at age 12 by her stepfather and said laws Cameron defended would have forced her to bear the child.

Hadley Duvall, an Owensboro native who is now in her early 20s, told?the Kentucky Lantern last year that she began sharing her story about the sexual abuse she experienced as a child after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022.

She recently went national with her story through a campaign ad supporting President Joe Biden on the same issue. Biden dropped his bid for re-election July 21 and his vice-president and abortion rights advocate Kamala Harris is now seeking the Democratic nomination for president.

In 2020, the conservative Family Foundation of Kentucky questioned U of L’s arrangement with EMW, suggesting public money might be going to fund abortions services.

They called on Cameron to investigate and a spokeswoman for Cameron said at the time he would consider doing so.

The spokeswoman said Cameron was committed to enforcing the state’s laws, “which prohibit the use of public funds for abortions. We will review any information provided to determine whether a further inquiry is warranted.”

At the time, then-U of L President U of L President Neeli Bendapudi firmly rejected such allegations, saying “we comply, not just in this program, but in every program with all federal and state laws.”

Al Chandler, a pastor and superintendent of the only private school in Graves County, told the Lantern he does not think his Christian school would "benefit greatly" if voters approve Amendment 2. Chandler gave the invocation at the Graves County Republican Breakfast, part of the Fancy Farm political festivities, Aug. 3, 2024. (Kentucky Lantern photo by Austin Anthony)

GRAVES COUNTY ?— Al Chandler, superintendent of Northside Baptist Christian School, the only private school in Graves County, plans to vote for Amendment 2 — but not because he thinks his local public schools are failing students or families.

“We really have wonderful, wonderful schools. Mayfield and Graves (County) both in our county, are just great schools,” Chandler said. “That really makes the conversation even more muddied if we bring it into our region up here because of the quality of choices that we have.”

Kentucky is in a minority of states that has no charter schools or voucher programs to help families pay for private schools. That could change if voters on Nov. 5 approve Amendment 2, which would lower barriers in Kentucky’s Constitution that have blocked a charter school law?and tax credits supporting private school tuition.?

If voters approve the amendment, which was put on the ballot by Republican lawmakers, Kentucky’s legislature for the first time would be free to fund private schools with public money, though the amendment offers no specifics on what form state support would take.

That prospect worries educators and school officials in Graves County who fear public education would be weakened if state funding is diverted into private schools.?

“It’ll hurt us financially. I mean, it will,” said Janet Throgmorton, the principal of Graves County High School who’s driven school buses across the rural county spanning 566 square miles, the seventh-largest in the state. She took on regular bus driving duties during the pandemic as the district, like others, faced a driver shortage. “They’re not thinking about a school district that travels thousands and thousands of miles because our county is so large and rural.”?

Amendment 2 was a hot topic of debate on stage at the annual Fancy Farm Picnic, but interviews with parents the day before the early August event suggest educating voters will be a challenge for both sides. Also, parents, at least in Graves County, are bullish on their public schools.

“This is just such a great school and they offer so many things, essentially for free,” said Brooke Lowry, whose 14-year-old son Vin starts his freshman year at Graves County High School this week. “He can graduate and have a welding certificate and go get a job automatically out of high school.”?

Lowry, who lives in the Mayfield Independent Schools district but sends her son to the county schools, wasn’t aware of Amendment 2 and was not sure about the idea of allowing public funding to go to non-public schools.?

Whether rural support for public schools will translate into opposition to the amendment is uncertain, but it’s the goal of the public education advocacy coalition Protect Our Schools KY and the Kentucky Education Association, the state’s largest union representing teachers. KEA members in red shirts waved signs among the throngs of onlookers at the Fancy Farm Picnic.

Chandler, lead pastor of Northside Baptist Church in Mayfield, and the Republican lawmakers who represent West Kentucky in Frankfort, talk about the need for more educational “choice,” not necessarily in their hometowns but in other Kentucky places that have, in Chandler’s words, “a lot more controversy, a lot more issues.”

Sen. Jason Howell, R-Murray, who voted to put Amendment 2 on the ballot, told a breakfast crowd before the Fancy Farm picnic that “KEA and the Jefferson County Teachers Association hate this amendment.” Howell also said West Kentucky “has really good school systems.” Rep. Richard Heath, R-Mayfield, told the Lantern the focus of the amendment is larger school districts like Jefferson County and less so West Kentucky.?

The state’s largest school district, Jefferson County Public Schools, has been a target of GOP criticism for years, most recently for a transportation debacle that saw school buses running hours behind schedule in getting kids home at the beginning of school last year.

Chandler, who was a Graves County public elementary school teacher and had homeschooled his kids before leading his Christian school, said more funding doesn’t always fix issues a school district is grappling with.?

Supporters of the amendment, including the conservative advocacy group Americans for Prosperity, have argued public school funding should be controlled by families.?

“Does it hurt them by not being able to provide more resources to Jefferson and Fayette? You know, maybe,” said Chandler, referencing the amendment’s possible effects on the state’s two largest school districts. “Sometimes there needs to be some other options to bring out maybe what that community’s strengths are.”?

Funding worries amid a return to normalcy

Any disruption in state education funding could be acutely felt in Mayfield and Graves County, which are still recovering from natural disasters that damaged property and took lives, including a record rainfall event that caused damaging flooding last year and a catastrophic tornado that tore through Mayfield in 2021.

But signs of normalcy are returning to the county of about 36,000 people. Throgmorton, the high school principal beginning her 29th year in public education, said some students who lost homes are now living in newly rebuilt fully furnished ones. And the new stop lights are working.

“Have you ever been thankful for a stoplight?” Throgmorton said. “It feels normal. Like that’s the way it’s supposed to be.”?

Funding is a constant concern for educators, she said, especially with costs rising because of inflation. Salaries are the biggest item in school budgets. But schools also have to buy toiletries, pay electricity and water bills, fuel school buses and provide students laptops — including when they occasionally get broken.?

“I always tell people that when they say, “Where’s all the money go? They get all these millions of dollars,’” Throgmorton said. “All those expenses you have at home, we have here.”?

The GOP-dominated state legislature this year did increase funding to school districts, though not as much as Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear had called for. Instead of giving the direct 11% raise Beshear had proposed, the legislature encouraged public school districts to raise teacher salaries with the increased school funding. Graves County Schools and Mayfield Independent Schools both gave a 3% raise to their teachers.?

As fall campaigns begin and debate heats up around the amendment, Throgmorton raises questions: Where would the public funding come from to support private schools? Would transportation costs be covered for private schools since some students’ families don’t have reliable transportation? Would private schools that receive public funds be held to the same educational standards and accountability as public schools??

Jennifer Ginn, a Kentucky Department of Education spokesperson, said standards set for public schools that private schools are not subject to include state assessment and accountability and high school graduation requirements. The leader of a private school determines curriculum, Ginn said, while a public school district superintendent has control over curriculum.?

Throgmorton also joins critics who say Amendment 2’s ballot language is potentially deceiving; the preamble asks voters whether “to give parents choices in educational opportunities for their children.”?

“Why are we making this decision when you haven’t even laid out a plan about what that’s going to look like?” Throgmorton said. “Because people may vote, ‘Yes, give everybody school choice.’ And then they may be just mortified at what they’re going to do and how that’s going to look.”?

Republican lawmakers have said little about what comes next, that approval of Amendment 2 just provides the legislature with the option to publicly fund private schools. Rep. Suzanne Miles, R-Owensboro, the primary sponsor of the bill that put Amendment 2 on the ballot, spoke on the Fancy Farm stage. She said accountability concerns surrounding public money for nonpublic schools could be addressed in future legislation — but only if the amendment passes this fall.?

The left-leaning think tank Kentucky Center for Economic Policy in a July report found if Kentucky were to set up a school voucher program similar to the program in Florida, it would cost Kentucky over $1 billion. The think tank also estimates at least 65% of vouchers used in other states subsidize parents already paying private school tuition. Some religious schools in Florida have seen a surge of enrollment thanks to the state’s school voucher program, while other states have seen lawsuits over whether public funding should go to religious schools.?

The think tank researchers wrote Kentucky’s poorest school districts would be hit hardest if public funding is diverted from public schools, considering that some of the poorest school districts rely the most on state dollars. Some Eastern Kentucky Republicans joined with Democrats earlier this year in voting against the legislation that put Amendment 2 on the ballot, also concerned about harm to their public schools facing disaster recovery challenges from floods.?

When asked about that report and opposition from some in the GOP, Miles said there isn’t “a voucher in this amendment” and that “opponents are going to make up things” about the amendment.?

“Any parent that wants to choose right now, they choose. If they can afford to choose, they choose. There’s a lot of children out there and parents that can’t choose,” Miles said. “If every parent and child is happy in Graves County Schools, it would be exactly the way it is.”?

Chandler, the private school principal, said he understood the “fear” of public schools potentially losing funding, but he doesn’t see that happening in West Kentucky. He said he doesn’t think his Christian school would “benefit greatly” if the amendment passes.

He shared an anecdote from when he was leading a homeschooling co-op, mentioning he had conversations with a local public school official who was interested in helping homeschooling families with curriculum. But one of the primary reasons families were homeschooling, he said, was because they “didn’t feel comfortable with what was being taught” in public schools.?

“It seems maybe divisive, but yet at the same time it’s kind of a parental priority to do what’s best for your child and your family,” Chandler said.?

A community bonded through education

As the Fancy Farm Picnic weekend unfolded, the connections people had with local schools in Graves County were apparent, whether it was sporting clothing with school colors while walking around the picnic grounds to the people who put on the picnic themselves.?

Chandler, a Republican, gave a prayer the morning of the Republican breakfast ahead of the Fancy Farm Picnic speeches. Throgmorton has also attended the picnic for decades having previously been the Fancy Farm Elementary School principal for 26 years. The school was used as a resource hub in the immediate aftermath of the EF-4 tornado that devastated Mayfield.

Angela Richards, 52, was sporting a Fancy Farm Picnic shirt the day before the picnic as she and her 14-year-old son Noah walked out of Graves County High School finishing up orientation for incoming freshmen. Only minor complaints came from Noah as she asked to get his picture in front of the school.?

“We may be a small town, but we’re a very passionate town,” she said with a laugh when talking about Fancy Farm. He attended Fancy Farm Elementary, so Throgmorton will be his principal for a second time.?

Richards says having six elementary schools across the sprawling county — and the sense of community the schools build — is an asset. Even if students are funneled into the single high school, “you still have your grassroots from that elementary school.”?

“It’s neat that I think that you can grow up in those smaller communities and be more of a small hometown feel like Fancy Farm,” Richards said.?

Richards, who teaches at a beauty school in Paducah and has been a substitute teacher in Graves County, also was unaware of Amendment 2 and also unsure how she felt about? public funds going to private schools. Some teachers are working two jobs to make a living or buying school supplies on their own, she said.?

“It better not be taken away from my child,” Richards said. “There’s only so much money that the state provides that can be passed around. So if that’s going to make it worse, that would be something that I would totally be against.”

Sen. Mitch McConnell speaks in Louisville before Republican state lawmakers from across the country, Aug. 7, 2024. (Kentucky Lantern photo by Liam Niemeyer)

LOUISVILLE — U.S. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell branded Vice President Kamala Harris’ new running mate as “far left” and said Democrats have “abandoned” rural America in a speech Wednesday before Republican state lawmakers from around the country.

The day after Harris announced Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as her vice presidential choice, McConnell, speaking to a Republican breakfast during the National Conference of State Legislatures annual conference in Louisville, repeatedly used the term “far left” to describe Democrats.?

Some pundits say Walz’s background —? National Guard veteran, former high school teacher, football coach and congressman who represented a district that voted for former President Donald Trump — could resonate with crucial Rust Belt voters who have drifted away from supporting Democrats.?

McConnell said Walz was recommended to Harris by Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, an independent known for progressive stances; he said the Harris-Walz ticket represents “the far left of the Democratic Party.”?

“By the way, that’s most Democrats today. Most Democrats today are far left,” McConnell said.?

Sanders had urged Harris to pick Walz as her running mate? because he would “speak up” for the working class.

McConnell said rural areas, including regions of Kentucky that had been Democratic strongholds, have drifted over recent decades to Republicans. He credited former President Barack Obama for that shift, along with? Americans’ rejection of “this kind of elitist, coastal view.”

“We want to thank them for their help completely reversing the political dynamic in rural, small-town America,” McConnell said of the Democratic Party. “They have abandoned rural America.”

Walz’s military and Midwestern background paired with what Democrats describe as a down-to-earth demeanor have spurred hopes among Democrats that Walz can succeed in the swing states of Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania this fall.

Republicans have panned the selection of Walz as an “empty suit” who will only move the ticket further to the political left. Walz, as governor with a Democratic-controlled legislature, signed into law a number of Democratic goals ranging from protecting abortion access to requiring utilities supply 100% carbon-free electricity by 2040. While serving in Congress, Walz also cultivated a bipartisan, relatively moderate record, such as when he voted in 2014 to build the Keystone XL pipeline. That pipeline was intended to carry Canadian crude oil into the country and was opposed by environmental groups.?

Democrats across the country, particularly in North Carolina, have made it a priority to reach and connect with rural voters. The Kentucky Democratic Party recently started a listening tour of? rural counties after Democratic Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear made electoral inroads with voters in his reelection campaign last year.

Kentucky Senate President Robert Stivers, R-Manchester, who introduced McConnell, told reporters he believes the selection of Walz as a vice presidential candidate confirms what McConnell said, arguing that Democrats are trying to appeal to rural voters.

“Whether they can or they can’t, that becomes a good question. I think that will be based on the policies that they put forward, and hopefully that’s what we get into, is the policies that each party wants to put forward to see what it does for rural America,” Stivers said.?

The Fancy Farm Picnic is a whir of political messaging. Al Cross writes that it has become less good natured in recent years. A view of the gathering at the St. Jerome Church parish picnic in Graves County, Aug. 3, 2024. (Kentucky Lantern photo by Austin Anthony)

CALVERT CITY — Other speakers at Friday night’s Marshall County Republican dinner were clean-shaven and dressed up. Marty Barrett had a long beard and wore overalls. He stood out. And his message stood out more.

Barrett, who moves dirt for a living and helps govern the county on Kentucky Lake, ambled to the lectern and got right to the point: “The thing I think we need to work on right now is getting caught up in the hatred and the divisiveness between the parties.”

That was a different message than the typical political rhetoric delivered by most of the local and statewide officials at the dinner. It’s held the night before the annual political speaking at the Fancy Farm Picnic in Graves County, where the traditional barbs between the parties have been less good-natured in recent years.

Barrett, the vice chair of the Marshall County GOP, told his constituents that he doesn’t like personal attacks. And, he said in an interview, that includes the type of personal attacks for which former President Donald Trump is noted: “I disagree with that.”

He told the crowd, “Attack the policy, don’t attack the people.”

Interviewed after the dinner, he said, “I don’t like Trump’s personality. I like his policies. … He stretches everything and brags everything up, and my understanding is that in the part of the country he’s from, that’s a normal thing.”

Barrett, 55, owns and runs an excavating and trucking company with four employees, and is a magistrate on the county fiscal court, Kentucky’s version of a county commission.

“People look at us as politicians, but what we are is public servants,” Barrett told his fellow Republicans, who have him polite applause.

The court and the county of 32,000 have gone Republican in recent years, to the point that a plurality of the voters are registered Republicans. Like some other speakers, Barrett noted that, but stuck to his theme.

“I don’t want to forget what it was like being in the minority,” he said, noting that he has many Democratic friends. “It’s new to them, and they don’t know how to take it. … We can still be neighbors.”

Barrett said in the interview that people in both parties cast those in the opposite party as threats or enemies.

“They don’t respect each other. They don’t respect each other’s values; they don’t respect each other’s religion, or lack thereof,” he said. “Just because I disagree with somebody doesn’t mean I don’t respect ‘em, you know. If they’re still providing for their families and doing what they believe is right, then that’s to be admired.”

He said one example of the lack of respect in politics is Republicans’ repeated mispronunciation of Vice President Kamala Harris’s name, with the accent on the second syllable instead of the first, which is how she pronounces it.

Barrett said it’s a way of “making fun of her,” but “I don’t agree with it, I mean, not every time.”

The keynote speaker at the dinner, state Treasurer Mark Metcalf, did not pronounce Harris’s first name correctly any of the five times he said it.

But Metcalf’s largely partisan address did include a compliment for the Obama administration, in particular Leon Panetta, who was its CIA director and then defense secretary. Metcalf, who served in a National Guard logistics unit that worked in removing the last U.S. troops from Iraq, said “Panetta let the Iranians know there would be hell to pay if they shot at our transports.”

The dinner drew about 40 people. Officials said the turnout was low because this year’s picnic is not expected to make much news, and the county’s fall athletic rollout, “Meet the Marshals,” was going on.

This column is republished from the Northern Kentucky Tribune, a nonprofit publication of the Kentucky Center for Public Service Journalism.

Signs hoisted by members of the Fancy Farm audience express conflicting views on the school funding amendment that Kentucky voters will decide in November, Aug. 3 2024, during St. Jerome Catholic Church Picnic in Fancy Farm. (Kentucky Lantern photo by Austin Anthony)

FANCY FARM — The stage at this year’s Fancy Farm picnic in West Kentucky was dominated by Republicans who used their speaking time to tee off on an absent Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear and Lt. Gov. Jacqueline Coleman, sprinkling in attacks on Vice President Kamala Harris, who has locked up the Democratic nomination for president.

Only two Democrats, 1st Congressional District candidate Erin Marshall and Rep. Cherlynn Stevenson of Lexington, were among the 16 speakers Saturday at the St. Jerome Church parish picnic, famous for barbeque, rowdy political speeches and even rowdier crowds.?

Republican speakers, ranging from U.S. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell to local elected officials, honed in on the upcoming presidential election in a county that former President Donald Trump, this year’s Republican nominee, won by nearly 57 percentage points in 2020.?

“Politics is a lot like cooking,” McConnell said. “A bad recipe and you get a bad meal. Kamala’s recipe is simple. There are three things involved with her campaign: chaos, prices and incompetence.”?

Republican Attorney General Russell Coleman noted Beshear’s absence amid speculation that the governor is being considered by Harris as a potential running mate. Coleman chided Beshear for? “traveling all over the country auditioning to be vice president.”?

“But he won’t come to Fancy Farm,” Coleman said. “Friends, I really don’t know who she’ll pick, but I know it ain’t Andy.”?

A back-and-forth over Diet Mountain Dew between Beshear and Republican vice presidential candidate J.D. Vance also made its way into Republican speeches. Daniel Cameron, the former Republican attorney general who lost last year’s governor’s race to Beshear, took the stage as a surrogate for Trump.

“The Democratic Party has gotten so weird that they want to tell you what soda to drink. They’ve gone from a ‘war on coal’ to a ‘war on Diet Mountain Dew,’” said Cameron. “But I got some good news for you: you don’t have to be burdened by what has been. The GOP is a big tent party. Whether you drink Ale 8, Mountain Dew, Ski or just plain water, there is room in the GOP for you.”?

McConnell and U.S. Rep. James Comer, the two federal elected officials who spoke on the Fancy Farm stage, took turns attacking Harris over inflation, border policy and her past call to ban fracking, a stance she recently reversed.?

“I’m always honored to share this day with my colleague in Washington, who will go down in history as one of the truly great U.S. senators ever,” Comer said, gesturing to McConnell. The senior U.S. senator said earlier on Saturday it was his 29th time attending the picnic.

McConnell echoed past attacks against Harris, saying she was the Biden administration’s “border czar” but “she played hooky on the border crisis.” Democrats have pushed back on the notion that Harris was given such a title or role by the administration.??

Republican Secretary of State Michael Adams also referenced Beshear’s ambitions to join Harris’ campaign, saying the Democratic governor “would be a good pick for national Democrats.”?

“Kamala Harris needs help with fundraising. And Andy Beshear can raise $200,000 off just one dude’s credit card,” Adams said, referencing a civil investigation by state campaign finance regulators into London Mayor Randall Weddle’s contributions to Beshear’s reelection campaign.

Beyond the Republican zingers, much of the energy from the crowd of onlookers was generated by opponents and supporters of a constitutional amendment on the ballot this fall that, if approved, would for the first time in Kentucky allow public funds to flow freely into nonpublic schools.

A few dozen people wearing red shirts bearing the logo of the Kentucky Education Association, the state’s largest union representing teachers, waved signs saying “Protect Our Schools in KY” and “No To Vouchers,” a reference to the possibility that the amendment would lead to taxpayer-funded vouchers to pay for private school tuition. Proponents of the amendment on the other side of the crowd waved large apple-shaped signs urging a “yes” vote.?

“To paraphrase Gov. Beshear, vouchers ain’t from here and we don’t need them,” said Rep. Cherlynn Stevenson, D-Lexington, speaking on stage. “This amendment is nothing more than a Hail Mary attempt to revive … voucher policies that Kentuckians don’t want, our students don’t need and the courts have faithfully blocked.”?

The Kentucky Supreme Court previously struck down a Republican-backed initiative to award tax credits for donations supporting private schools because the scheme violated the Kentucky Constitution, leading Republican lawmakers to put a proposal to change the Constitution on this fall’s ballot.

Rep. Suzanne Miles, R-Owensboro, who followed Stevenson on stage to speak for the amendment, told Stevenson that the emcee of the picnic, Father Jim Sichko, a priest from? Lexington, would have to have “confessional” after the speeches “for all the lies you just told up here.”?

“We no longer have a one-room school anymore,” Miles said. “They want to say it’ll harm public education. It may harm the systems, but it will not harm the teachers and the public education for every single child out there.”?

Randall Weddle, then a candidate for London mayor, listens as Gov. Andy Beshear helps celebrate the opening of WB Transport's new warehouse in April 2022. (Screenshot with permission of WYMT)

London Mayor Randall Weddle, currently under the scrutiny of Kentucky campaign finance regulators for excess contributions to Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear’s 2023 reelection efforts, is continuing to make hefty political contributions.

Weddle donated $75,000 on May 1 to the Democratic Governors Association, according to a disclosure that the DGA filed recently with the Internal Revenue Service.

Weddle and his family, employees and business associates generated the largest bundles of political contributions for Beshear’s reelection. An analysis by Kentucky Lantern last year showed Weddle’s group gave at least $305,000 — and probably more — to Beshear’s reelection campaign and the Kentucky Democratic Party in 2022-23.

Beshear campaign, Kentucky Democratic Party return $202,000 linked to London mayor

After Kentucky Lantern’s report, the Beshear campaign and Democratic Party refunded $202,000 to Weddle because — according to Beshear’s campaign manager — that amount of contributions previously reported as being donated by various Weddle relatives and employees had actually been drawn on a credit card belonging to Weddle and his wife Victoria.

It is illegal for any individual to give more than $2,100 to any state campaign committee per election, and illegal for anyone to give more than $15,000 to a state political party. The Kentucky Registry of Election Finance is investigating Weddle’s excess donations.

The controversy over the Weddle contributions for Beshear did not slow down Weddle’s donation pattern last year. He continued to make large political contributions including — with wife Victoria — $75,000 to the Democratic Governors Association (DGA)? in May of 2023.

Many Democratic donors from Kentucky gave to the DGA last year. The DGA’s purpose is to help elect Democrats as state governors, and getting Beshear reelected was the DGA’s priority last year. (The DGA spent more than $19 million on an independent advertising campaign in Kentucky in 2023 aimed at reelecting Beshear.)

Weddle’s contribution of $75,000 this May can’t help Beshear, who is now term-limited, get elected governor again.

And Weddle was not the only big Beshear donor to give to the DGA in the spring.

• Case Coal Sales, of Louisa, a company headed by Todd Case, a massive donor to Beshear’s political committees who was appointed to the University of Kentucky Board of Trustees by Beshear, gave $35,000 on May 8. (Todd Case gave $15,000 to the DGA in the spring of 2023.)
• Jack Dulworth, a Beshear insider who heads the nonprofit company that manages Beshear’s Kentucky Derby tickets and party, gave $15,000 on April 15. (Dulworth also gave $15,000 to DGA in the spring of 2023.)
• Bernie Mason, of Ashland and a principal in MBM Management, gave $15,000 on May 8. (MBM Management also gave $15,000 to the DGA in the spring of 2023.)

There were no similar contributions to the DGA from Beshear’s major Kentucky donors in the six months following his election in 2019, IRS records show.

Weddle did not return a phone message left at the London mayor’s office. The DGA did not return a phone message and emails. The Democratic Party of Kentucky did not return a phone message.

Andy Westberry, communications director for the Republican Party of Kentucky, said, “With all the controversy surrounding the previous illegal campaign contributions, I find it very interesting that Randall Weddle continues to cut these large checks.”

John Steffen, executive director of the Kentucky Registry of Election Finance, said he could not comment on the agency’s investigation beyond saying that it is continuing. He said he did not know when it will conclude.

Earlier this year attorneys for Weddle filed papers with the election registry saying that Weddle put excess contributions on his credit card only because he was assured by a fundraiser for the Beshear campaign that advancing contributions of others in such a way would be fine.

But Eric Hyers, who managed Beshear’s campaign for governor, disputed Weddle’s account of what happened saying that the first the Beshear campaign learned of possible excess contributions by Weddle came in April of 2023 and that the campaign quickly took steps to refund the money to Weddle.

If the election registry ultimately concludes a violation of campaign finance laws occurred it has the authority to impose a $5,000 fine per violation. It also can refer the matter to the state attorney general or local prosecutor for possible criminal violations.

Gov. Andy Beshear and Kentucky First Lady Britainy Beshear acknowledged the crowd after his speech during last year's Fancy Farm Picnic, Aug. 3, 2023. (Kentucky Lantern photo by Austin Anthony)

An annual West Kentucky church fundraiser famous for barbeque, political speeches and cheers and jeers from onlookers is set to be a Republican-dominated affair this weekend as the only two statewide elected Democrats will be elsewhere.

Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear’s absence from this year’s Fancy Farm festivities may produce more buzz than his presence would have — thanks to speculation that Beshear is still under consideration as running mate to presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris.

Beshear’s cancellation of a Friday appearance at a West Kentucky ribbon-cutting caught the attention of the New York Post which also reports that Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro canceled a weekend fundraising trip to the Hamptons. Politico reports that Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg cut short his visit to Kokomo, Indiana, as Vice President Harris plans to meet with the finalists in her VP search in the next few days.

Harris, who quickly sewed up the Democratic nomination after President Joe Biden ended his campaign, is expected to announce her running mate on Tuesday in Philadelphia as the two of them begin a tour of battleground states.

Beshear notified organizers two weeks ago that he would not be part of the Fancy Farm Picnic’s Saturday speechmaking. However, Behsear was planning to attend a Democratic event Friday evening after appearing at a West Kentucky distillery earlier in the day. But on Thursday Beshear bowed out of the Friday night Mike Miller Memorial Marshall County Bean Dinner, sending a video instead.

NBC News reported Thursday that the Harris campaign’s vetting team has met with six potential running mates, including Beshear, Shapiro and Buttigieg. The others named by NBC are Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, ?Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker and Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly.

In Ketucky, Lt. Gov. Jacqueline Coleman will replace Beshear at a Friday ribbon cutting for an expansion of the Jackson Purchase Distillery in Fulton County. Coleman also will? attend the annual Democratic bean dinner and rally Friday night before the Saturday picnic, according to a local Democratic party chair. Marshall County Democratic Party Chair Drew Williams told the Lantern that he was given no reason for Beshear canceling his appearance at the bean dinner.

Coleman is also not attending the Saturday event, instead attending another event to support cancer survivors.?

Who will take the stage for the Saturday speaking at Fancy Farm? Local GOP state lawmakers with nearly all the Republican statewide constitutional officers, including Attorney General Russell Coleman, Secretary of State Michael Adams, Treasurer Mark Metcalf and Agriculture Commissioner Jonathan Shell.

Former Attorney General and Republican gubernatorial nominee Daniel Cameron will also speak as a surrogate for Donald Trump’s presidential campaign. Republican State Auditor Allison Ball is not attending due to a conflict with a wedding.

The Marshall County dinner the night before Fancy Farm will also feature Rep. Cherlynn Stevenson, D-Lexington, who will be on the Fancy Farm stage urging defeat of constitutional amendment this November that, if approved by voters, would allow public funding to go to nonpublic schools. Kentucky House Majority Caucus Chair Suzanne Miles, R-Owensboro, will be advocating for the constitutional amendment on stage Saturday.

Other speakers at the picnic include nonpartisan Kentucky Court of Appeals judicial candidates Lisa Payne Jones and Jason Shea Fleming and the Libertarian Party presidential candidate Chase Oliver.?

A voter prepares a ballot at the Sugar Maple Square voting location in Bowling Green, May 21, 2024. (Kentucky Lantern photo by Austin Anthony)

A judge has removed Democrat Richard Henderson as a candidate for the state House in Shelby County because of errors in his candidacy filing papers.?

The action July 30 by Shelby Circuit Judge Michelle Brummer at the request of Shelby County Judge-Executive Dan Ison leaves Republican incumbent Jennifer Decker unopposed in the Nov. 5 election for the state’s 58th House District. The district covers most of Shelby County.

Henderson, an IT employee who had no opposition in the May Democratic primary, was the first Black Democrat to seek the seat.

He said he will not appeal the judge’s order, “but we will come back in 2026.”

He said he plans to run again in two years for the House seat. “It will be a great opportunity then to flip this seat back to Democratic, especially with the success Democrats expect in keeping the White House this November.”

Decker, of Waddy, did not respond to calls for comment about Brummer’s order.?

Ison has said Decker did not ask him to file the lawsuit, which he did with Shelby County citizen Janrose Stillwell,?

Ison said he was involved in a similar case years ago and decided that it was his duty as Shelby County’s top Republican official to challenge Henderson’s papers.

Henderson’s attorney, Fielding Ballard of Shelbyville, questioned that, saying Ison filed the lawsuit after Henderson handed out “all his campaign cards” at Shelbyville’s annual Dogwood Festival in the spring.

In their lawsuit against Henderson, Ison and Stillwell claimed Henderson violated the state law that requires a candidate’s notification petition to be signed by the candidate and “by not less than two registered voters of the same party.”

Henderson’s candidacy papers were not signed by a single registered Democratic voter, said the legal challenge against him.

The lawsuit said Adam Muntzinger and Taunya Muntzinger were the two citizens who signed Henderson’s papers and both were registered Republicans in the district at the time They changed their party affiliation to Democrat in March of this year.

Henderson, in a response to the court, denied the allegations and said he believed the persons signing his candidacy papers were registered voters of his party “from all conversations and statements” he had with them over the years.?

Judge Brummer in her four-page order noted that recent guidance on the issue was provided by the Kentucky Court of Appeals in a similar Jefferson County case.

Ison’s attorney, state Rep. Jason Nemes of Louisville, did not return calls seeking comment.

Ballard, Henderson’s attorney, said Brummer’s ruling was expected, given the recent Kentucky Supreme Court decision involving the case in Jefferson County.

In early June, Kentucky Supreme Court Chief Justice Laurance B. VanMeter issued a one-page order that said incumbent state Rep. Nima Kulkarni of Louisville was disqualified as a candidate in this May’s Democratic election for the 40th District House seat.

The Supreme Court order in the Kulkarni case came one day after the state’s highest court held a hearing on her eligibility to run in the May primary election. She handily won the primary and had no opposition for the November general election.

Kentucky Supreme Court disqualifies Kulkarni in state House race

VanMeter’s order said a majority of the court upheld the decision by the Kentucky Court of Appeals that Kulkarni should be disqualified from the race because of errors in her candidacy filing papers.

He said the order was issued for the benefit of the parties involved and that the Supreme Court would issue an opinion “in due course.”?

It is not clear what will be done to make sure the Jefferson County district has a state representative for the next two years, beginning Jan. 1. Kulkarni was the only one on the ballot.

Kulkarni did not return phone calls about the situation.

Steve Megerle, a Covington attorney representing former state Democratic Rep. Dennis Horlander, who filed the suit against Kulkarni, said, “We are waiting for the Supreme Court to say something about what will happen.”

He said Horlander is prepared to seek legal action to make sure that Kulkarni’s name is not on the November ballot. He noted that ballots are to be prepared by mid-August.

Addiction Recovery Care and its owner Tim Robinson have rebuilt a block in downtown Louisa into a coffee shop, commercial kitchen, community theater and an event space. (Kentucky Lantern photo by Matthew Mueller)

FRANKFORT — The state’s largest provider of drug and alcohol treatment is warning that looming cuts in Medicaid reimbursement to some providers could damage efforts to curb addiction that has engulfed Kentucky — just as the state is showing improvements.

“Kentucky has made significant strides in access to treatment,” Matt Brown, chief administrative officer for Addiction Recovery Care, or ARC, told a legislative committee Tuesday. “With these cuts, it could completely set back addiction treatment in our state 20 years.”

A handful of companies that provide substance use disorder treatment, including ARC,? have been notified they face cuts of 15% to 20% from some private insurers that handle most Medicaid claims, Brown told the committee.

Brown noted that overdose deaths in Kentucky have declined for the past two years after years of rising. Kentucky also has the most treatment beds per resident, most of them through ARC, he said.

The state’s latest?annual overdose report, released in June,?shows a decrease in deaths to 1,984 from 2,200 the year before, a decline of 9.8%.

Brown was joined by Deron Bibb, chief financial officer for Stepworks, a recovery program based in Elizabethtown, and ARC executive John Wilson, also executive director of the Kentucky Association of Independent Recovery Organizations, speaking to the interim joint Health Services Committee about the cuts.

“This will likely result in higher overdose rates, higher recidivism, more crime and incarceration,” Bibb said. “We need to understand the full scope and impact of these cuts.”

The cuts have been announced by three of the six managed care organizations, or MCOs, private insurance companies that handle claims for most of the state’s $16 billion-a-year Medicaid program, Brown said.?

Kentucky lawyer climbed out of alcoholism, launched a recovery boom

Under their contracts with the state, the MCOs generally have authority to set rates they pay providers. The state pays MCOs a fixed amount per member to cover Medicaid costs.

One company also has begun notifying patients it will no longer cover addiction services at ARC effective Sept. 30, Brown said.

He did not identify the MCOs that have announced cuts and declined to do so after the hearing, saying ARC and other companies are still attempting to negotiate with them.

Sen. Stephen Meredith, R-Leitchfield and co-chairman of the health committee, said Tuesday the lawmakers likely would seek more testimony on the subject, including from the MCOs.

“I know there’s two sides to every story,” he said.

Wellcare, with 420,000 members, is the largest of the six MCOs followed by Passport by Molina, Aetna, Anthem, Humana and United HealthCare. Together they oversee payment of Medicaid claims for about 1.4 million Kentuckians.

Recovery CEO gives big to support Democrat Beshear and a host of Republicans

Wilson said the recovery organization he represents wants to make sure lawmakers are aware of the situation and already has asked them to voice concerns.

“There’s going to be real world consequences and I think it’s important to let legislators know what’s taking place,” he said.

Some defenders benefitted from owner’s largesse

Several lawmakers have signed letters urging that the MCOs suspend any cuts to substance use treatment until the General Assembly can further review the matter. They include some in key leadership positions and some who have benefited from campaign donations from ARC founder and owner Tim Robinson and his employees.

ARC, a for-profit company based in Louisa, has emerged as the state’s largest and fastest growing provider of addiction services, financed largely by Medicaid, the government health plan with the majority of funds from the federal government. Growth took off after 2014 when substance use treatment was included in the Medicaid expansion authorized by the Affordable Care Act.

The Lantern reported the company took in about $130 million last year in Medicaid funds and was by far the largest recipient of the about $1.2 billion the state spent on substance use treatment.

The company and Robinson also have become among Kentucky’s major political donors with more than $500,000 in contributions over the last decade — with funds divided among Republican causes and those of Gov. Andy Beshear, a Democrat, the Lantern reported earlier this month, citing campaign finance and other public records.

Sen. Phillip Wheeler, R-Pikeville, who has received $19,900 in contributions from Robinson, his wife Lelia and ARC employees since 2016, on July 9 sent a letter to Kentucky Medicaid Commissioner Lisa Lee urging the cuts for addiction services be suspended “until the legislature fully understands the reasons behind them.”

“Kentucky has made great progress in tackling the addiction crisis that has touched so many of our constituents, neighbors, colleagues, friends and family members,” Wheeler said.?

Cutting reimbursement now “could negatively affect some of our most vulnerable citizens and prevent us from seeing these positive trends continue,” his letter said.

A similar letter addressed to “to whom it may concern” was signed by Rep. Patrick Flannery, R-Olive Hill, who has received about $17,000 in campaign contributions from Robinson and ARC employees.

Another letter was signed jointly by Senate President Robert Stivers, R-Manchester, House Speaker David Osborne, R- Prospect, Rep. Kimberly Moser, R-Taylor Mill and Meredith. Moser and Meredith are co-chairs of the joint Health Services Committee which heard from ARC and other treatment officials Tuesday.

Republican supermajorities control the Kentucky House and Senate.

Robinson has given $10,000 to the Kentucky House Republican Caucus, and $15,000 to the Kentucky Senate Republican Caucus in the last four years.

Robinson also has given other contributions to campaigns of Republican state legislators in the past decade including $4,100 to Moser and $2,000 to Osborne.

From 2021 through 2023, ARC companies and employees gave about $252,000 to a political committee supporting Beshear, whom Robinson, a Republican, has said he admires and would like to see run for president.

Bibb, Stepworks’ chief financial officer, gave $500 to Flannery in December 2023 and $2,500 to the Kentucky House Republican Caucus in October 2022, according to Kentucky Registry of Election Finance records.

Not asking for more money, just no cuts, says company official

Brown said that one concern of the MCOs is the cost of treatment, in particular long-term treatment for addiction.

ARC understands concerns about costs, but experience shows people with addiction benefit the most from long-term services, Brown told the committee.

“It is not just about surviving from their addiction but thriving in their communities,” he said. “Long-term treatment is vital.”

Without quality treatment, costs to the state will rise elsewhere, Bibb said.

“These costs will not go away,” Bibb said. “They simply will shift back to the emergency room, the judicial system, foster care, homelessness.”

ARC is willing to work with the MCOs and the state to ensure it is using money efficiently and effectively, Brown said after the hearing.

“Everybody’s got to be good stewards,” he said. “We’re committed to helping provide a solution.”

Brown and Wilson said representatives of treatment providers plan to meet with MCOs and state officials in coming weeks to try to resolve their differences.

“We’re not asking for more money,” Brown said. “We’re asking for no cuts.”

Wheeler, in an interview, said he appreciates the support of Robinson, a longtime friend since college together at the University of Kentucky, but that’s not why he sent the letter.

Rather he’s concerned about the impact of cuts of up to 20% on ARC’s services, which he said have helped many people in the region including a brother who benefited from its treatment program.

Also, he said, ARC is a major employer in the area where jobs have been scarce and also trains its clients for jobs.

This story has been updated with a statement from the Kentucky Association of Health Plans.

Senate Majority Caucus Chair Julie Raque Adams, R-Louisville, asks officials from the Cabinet for Health and Family Services about the implementation of Senate Bill 151, a measure on relative and fictive kin caregivers. The discussion was part of Tuesday’s Interim Joint Committee on Families and Children.(LRC Public Information)

FRANKFORT — Kentucky Republican lawmakers slammed the Beshear administration Tuesday for “picking and choosing” what laws to implement amid funding disputes that threaten 2024 laws to help kinship care families and create a statewide child abuse reporting system.?

Eric Friedlander, the secretary of the Cabinet for Health and Family Services, repeatedly told lawmakers during the Interim Joint Committee on Families and Children that the cabinet needs appropriations from the legislature to implement the new laws in question.?

“This is a specific program that has a cost,” he said. “It needs to be funded.”?

When pressed if his team had looked into federal grant money to help with implementation, Friedlander replied: “I think we can ask. And we’ll be happy to ask.”?

‘Flabbergasted:’ Help for kinship care families passed unanimously. $20M price tag could derail it.

Rep. Samara Heavrin, R-Leitchfield, the committee’s co-chair, said she finds it “very concerning” that the cabinet said there was no money when it had yet to inquire about federal funds.?

“I find it even more funny that currently in the administration that you all serve, there’s rumor that the governor will be running for vice president,” Heavrin said. “And what a fantastic opportunity to show his working relationship with the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the federal government, and how well they could work together.” ?Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear has received national attention as a potential running mate to Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democrats’ presumptive nominee for president.

The Lantern previously reported on the funding dispute, which includes a $20 million price tag on one bill and a $43 million one on another; the legislature didn’t allocate funding for the bills during the 2024 budget session. The Beshear administration says it’s not responsible for finding the money and cannot implement the laws without an allocation.?

The first bill discussed Tuesday, Senate Bill 151, allows relatives who take temporary custody of a child when abuse or neglect is suspected to later become eligible for foster care payments. The Cabinet for Health and Family Services has said it cannot implement the law without $20 million.?

Some new Kentucky laws are in limbo as governor says lawmakers failed to fund them

The second, House Bill 271, mandates creation of a statewide system for reporting child abuse 24/7 that the administration estimates would cost $43 million. Friedlander said this bill would require the cabinet to increase the load social workers carry in a time when the state has a shortage of social workers.

‘Picking and choosing’?

Beshear alerted lawmakers in an April 10 letter to what he called a funding omission — five days after he signed SB 151 into law. He asked them to use the final two days of the 2024 session to appropriate the $20 million.

Beshear cited a Kentucky Supreme Court decision from 2005 during? former Republican Gov. Ernie Fletcher’s administration, saying if the legislature doesn’t provide funding to implement a policy, then it “does not intend for the executive branch to perform those services over the biennium.”

House Speaker Pro Tempore Rep. David Meade, R-Stanford, criticized Beshear and said the case shouldn’t apply to this situation since it arose after the General Assembly failed to pass a budget for the 2004-2006 budget cycle.?

“This is just another example of the executive branch picking and choosing what they want to do,” said Meade. “This is funding that we’re talking about for kinship care, some of our most needy families in this state. These are political games that have been played for the last four years and it infuriates me that he continues to play them right now with these most needy families.”?

During the committee, Louisville Republican Sen. Julie Raque Adams, the Majority Caucus chair and primary sponsor of SB 151, asked Friedlander about any programs in the cabinet that are funded with general cabinet dollars.?

He said there are “many appropriations” within the cabinet budget, “particularly those that are ongoing across the biennium.”?

“I believe that the cabinet funds programs that are not codified in state law,” she said. “I believe that (the department for community based services) funds programs that are not codified in state law. This — 151 — is codified. So the thought is, how can you find things that are not line itemed in the state budget, and then claim you can’t do this because it’s not line itemed in the state budget?”?

“This is a specific program and a specific piece of legislation that has a cost associated with it,” Friedlander replied. “We communicated that on multiple occasions.”?

He also said: “We do not have a policy disagreement. What we have is a funding disagreement.”?

‘Floored’ and ‘disappointed’?

Norma Hatfield, the president of Kinship Families Coalition of Kentucky, told the Lantern after the meeting that she is “floored” and “disappointed” by the delay in a solution for families like herself who are raising relatives.?

“I just can’t believe this is happening,” Hatfield said. “This is wrong.”?

She testified during committee that there are parts of the law that wouldn’t require funding — like asking children being removed from their home which relative they’d like to live with.?

During the next committee meeting, on Aug. 28, the cabinet will return and give an update on inquiries into any available federal funds.?

In the meantime, Raque Adams told the Lantern, she’s worried the cabinet is susceptible to a lawsuit that would only drain funds further.?

“We need to focus on getting money into establishing this program for those vulnerable kids,” she said. “We don’t need to waste more cabinet resources on a lawsuit.”??

Then-gubernatorial candidate Daniel Cameron speaks during the 143rd Fancy Farm Picnic on Saturday, Aug. 5, 2023. (Kentucky Lantern photo by Austin Anthony)

The former Republican Kentucky attorney general who lost last year’s gubernatorial race to Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear will speak as a surrogate for Donald Trump’s presidential campaign at the upcoming annual Fancy Farm Picnic.?

Steven Elder, the political chairman for the Graves County picnic known for political speaking and barbeque, shared the update Monday about the addition of Daniel Cameron as a speaker. A Kentucky Democratic Party spokesperson referred the Lantern to Vice President Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign when asked if a surrogate for Harris would also speak at the picnic.?

Cameron, whose one term as attorney general ended in January, is now CEO of a group opposed to environmental, social and governance (ESG) practices among corporations.?

As speculation has swirled about Beshear being a potential running mate for Harris, Cameron recently commented on Beshear’s statement that Republican vice presidential candidate and Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance wasn’t a true Kentuckian.?

Cameron said on Fox Business that Trump would win Kentucky this November and that there were “a lot more people that grew up here in Kentucky like J.D. Vance than they did (like) Andy Beshear.”?

Former president Donald Trump won Kentucky’s eight electoral votes by a wide margin, 62% to 36%, in the 2020 presidential election. But Beshear was able to defy the state’s conservative leaning by beating Cameron in last year’s gubernatorial election, winning the state by about 5 percentage points.?

Neither Beshear nor Kentucky Lt. Gov. Jacqueline Coleman, the only state-wide elected Democrats, are speaking at this year’s picnic. Beshear has only attended the Fancy Farm Picnic twice in the past five years: in 2019 when he was challenging former Republican Gov. Matt Bevin, and in 2023 when he was running for reelection as governor.?

Those confirmed to be speaking at the picnic include Republicans Attorney General Russell Coleman, Agriculture Commissioner Jonathan Shell, Secretary of State Michael Adams and Treasurer Mark Metcalf.

The Fancy Farm Picnic is Saturday, Aug. 3. Speeches begin at 2 p.m local time. Father Jim Sichko, of Lexington, is this year’s emcee.

Medication abortion has been the most common way to terminate a pregnancy since 2020, when pills accounted for 53% of all pregnancy terminations, according to the Guttmacher Institute. (Getty Images)

Reproductive rights has taken center stage in the first post-Roe presidential election that presently features a longtime advocate for reproductive rights in possible Democratic nominee Vice President Kamala Harris, opposite former Republican President Donald Trump, whose three appointed U.S. Supreme Court justices helped overturn federal abortion rights.

Although Trump’s former health staffers have co-authored the Heritage Foundation’s conservative anti-abortion policy blueprint for a future Republican administration, called Project 2025, Trump, his outspoken anti-abortion running mate Ohio U.S. Sen. J.D. Vance, and many GOP candidates have attempted to soften their abortion stances while also adopting the longtime movement narrative that abortion is dangerous to women and equivalent to infanticide.

As the first presidential election season since the Supreme Court’s Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision heats up, here are the facts behind the most commonly touted myths about abortion.

1. Abortion is safe.

The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) concluded in a comprehensive review of the safety and quality of abortion care in the U.S. in 2018 that complications from abortion are rare, especially when compared to the complications of pregnancy and childbirth. The anti-abortion movement falsely claims abortions are more dangerous than childbirth, and tried unsuccessfully to legally force the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to revoke its approval of the abortion medication mifepristone. Meanwhile, a new Louisiana law will, starting this fall, classify mifepristone as “dangerous,” despite opposition from state doctors.

Medication abortion has been the most common way to terminate a pregnancy since 2020, when pills accounted for 53% of all pregnancy terminations, according to the Guttmacher Institute. When administered at 9 weeks gestation or less, the FDA-approved regimen has a more than 99% completion rate, a 0.4% risk of major complications, and a reported 32 associated deaths over 22 years. Common symptoms include heavy bleeding and cramping, diarrhea, and nausea.

2. Abortion can reduce health risks and infertility and save lives.

There are many conditions that can develop during pregnancy — such as ectopic and molar pregnancies, severe preeclampsia, and preterm premature rupture of membranes — that can put the pregnant person at risk of death, serious health complications, and future infertility, as well as make it unlikely the fetus would survive even if the pregnancy continued. Though anti-abortion activists do recognize this reality, they use the political term “separation of a mother and her unborn child” to obfuscate that abortion is sometimes necessary. And even in emergency cases, they advocate for riskier procedures like C-sections to avoid performing less invasive abortion procedures. Meanwhile, the future legality of emergency abortions in states like Idaho remains uncertain.

3. Abortion is not infanticide.?

Candidates have been campaigning on rhetoric that abortion is infanticide and happens “post birth,” “up until the moment of birth,” or “after birth,” as Trump alleged in the June debate with President Joe Biden. However, abortion does not happen “after birth.” That would be categorized as murder, as it was in the case of former Philadelphia abortion doctor and convicted murderer Kermit Gosnell.

4. “Late-term” and “partial-birth” abortions are political terms not grounded in science.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 93% of abortions occur within the first trimester, and less than 1% after 21 weeks’ gestation. Still, anti-abortion groups and candidates emphasize the idea of “late-term” abortions, which is not a medical term. Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, which helps elect anti-abortion candidates, has begun calling the vice president an “abortion czar,” with president Marjorie Dannenfelser claiming Harris wants to “impose on all 50 states all-trimester abortion without any limits, even painful late-term abortions in the 7th, 8th, and 9th month of pregnancy.” Though abortions do occur later in pregnancy, they are rare and typically involve nuanced and heartbreaking circumstances. The GOP’s national platform opposes “late term abortion.”

Sometimes anti-abortion activists also refer to “partial-birth” abortions, a non-medical term for a procedure known as dilation and extraction (D&X), which is already banned under federal law.

5. Abortion exceptions for rape, incest, fetal anomalies, and health risks do not exist in most states where abortion is totally banned.

Despite Republicans’ oft-touted support for rape and incest exceptions in abortion bans, many currently on the books don’t include them. Of the 14 states with near-total abortion bans, only Idaho, Indiana, and North Dakota’s maintain some exceptions for survivors of rape and incest. Indiana also allows for abortion if there is a fatal fetal anomaly. Reproductive health experts say abortion exceptions are rarely granted even when they exist.

6. The terms “heartbeat bill” and “six-week abortion bans” are misleading.?

Currently Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, and soon Iowa will ban abortion at the moment embryonic cardiac activity can be detected on an ultrasound, which typically occurs around six weeks’ gestation. This type of law is often referred to as a “heartbeat bill,” but reproductive health experts say the term is misleading because the heart is not fully developed at that stage. These laws are also referred to as six-week bans, which is also misleading, given how gestational age is calculated: by counting from the first day of one’s last menstrual cycle. This is an approximate estimate and varies depending on when conception officially occurs. For many, a six-week ban is closer to four weeks or less of pregnancy, before many people realize they’re pregnant.

7. The GOP platform contradicts promises to leave abortion to the states and to protect IVF.

The Republican Party’s recently unveiled “Make America Great Again!” policy platform does not explicitly call for a federal ban on abortion and expresses support for birth control and in vitro fertilization. But it simultaneously supports states establishing “fetal personhood” under the U.S. Constitution’s 14th Amendment, which legal experts warn could lead to the criminalization of pregnancy and implicate abortion, contraception, and IVF.

A nationwide concern about Americans’ access to IVF kicked off this winter after the Alabama Supreme Court ruled that embryos are “children,” leading IVF clinics in Alabama to shutter temporarily. In the aftermath, some states, including Alabama, have taken steps to ensure access to the fertility treatment, but future access remains largely uncertain, especially as congressional bills to protect IVF nationally have failed to advance.

8. Emergency contraceptives are not abortifacients but could be impacted by personhood laws.

Emergency contraceptives like Plan B and ella are designed to be taken shortly after sex, to delay or prevent ovulation. They are not abortifacients, according to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, and they don’t work on someone who is already pregnant. Anti-abortion activists largely oppose emergency birth control (and many other contraceptives), based on outdated drug labeling that Plan B might work by preventing the implantation of a fertilized egg, which many in the movement say should be treated in law as a person. The FDA revised the label in December 2022, following additional scientific evidence concluding Plan B works before fertilization.

Research on ella also indicates it likely does not prevent implantation, but Project 2025 includes a proposal to exclude ella from contraceptives currently covered under the Affordable Care Act, referring to it as “a potential abortifacient.”

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear spoke to a crowd of hundreds at the Iowa Democratic Party’s Liberty and Justice Celebration event. (Photo by Jack O’Connor/Iowa Capital Dispatch)

Democratic Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear drew standing ovations from the crowd Saturday at the Iowa Democratic Party’s Liberty and Justice Celebration event.

Beshear said the upcoming election would be vital to protecting Americans’ rights and keeping former President Donald Trump out of office.

“Women’s rights are on the line, our economic recovery is on the line, the Senate and the House are on the line and the future of our sacred democracy is on the line,” Beshear said.

Beshear, who is one of several?high-profile Democrats?being vetted to be Kamala Harris’s running mate, also took shots at GOP vice presidential nominee J.D. Vance for his lack of conviction and his comments about his “origin story.”

“He ain’t from Kentucky. He ain’t from Appalachia. And he ain’t gonna be your vice president,” Beshear said.

Vance’s book, “Hillbilly Elegy,” recounts his upbringing in Middletown, Ohio, largely by a grandmother who moved away from the Appalachian region of Kentucky.

Outside of the keynote speaker, Iowa Democratic leaders who took the stage bashed Iowa Republican policies. Officials criticized changes to the?Iowa Area Education Agencies?(AEA) and the?anti-abortion law?that will take effect Monday.

Iowa Democratic Chair Rita Hart vowed that the November election in Iowa would be different, and that Democrats would flip many seats both at the state Legislature and in Congress.

State House Minority Leader Jennifer Konfrst blasted Iowa Republicans over their leadership of the state and said the crowd would change Republicans’ attitude.

“Republicans feel like they’re going to be in charge forever. They vote like it and they act like it,” Konfrst said. “It’s our job to tell everyone that that’s not true. We’re going to flip the Iowa House.”

Iowa Auditor Rob Sand criticized efforts by state leaders to reduce the power of state auditors and repeated his colleagues’ assurances that Democrats would win big in the upcoming election.

“We’re going to move on and continue to build the power of the Democratic Party in the state of Iowa so that we can restore checks and balances and make sure that we have transparency and accountability and justice rising in the state of Iowa,” Sand said.

Iowa GOP spokesperson Luke Wolff said in a press release shortly after the event ended that a “radical speaker” like Beshear did not belong in Iowa.

“He is a privileged, out of touch Governor with an awful track record, and his policies have absolutely no place here. It makes sense the Iowa Democrats look to him as an inspiring figure who fits their radical agenda,” Wolff said.

Other speakers at the event included state Senate Minority Leader Pam Jochum, and congressional challengers Ryan Melton, Lanon Baccam and Sarah Corkery.

Beshear ended his speech with a call for unity and reiterated his endorsement of Harris.

“This November, we’re gonna win and get back to being each other’s neighbors. We’re gonna get back to being Americans before we’re Democrats or Republicans. We’re gonna get back to working together,” Beshear said. “What [Harris] will do as president is not move the country to the right or the left. She will move it forward.”

Beshear is expected to speak again at another rally near Atlanta, Georgia on Sunday.

Gov. Andy Beshear's PAC, In This Together, has raised almost a half-million dollars in its first six month. "Forward, Together" was the theme of his second inauguration on Dec. 12, 2024. Beshear was surrounded by family and friends viewing the inaugural parade. (Kentucky Lantern photo by Arden Barnes)

FRANKFORT — Gov. Andy Beshear’s political action committee raised $493,000 in its first six months, but so far it has made few contributions to fulfill its purpose of helping “good people” win closely-contested elections across the country.

Through June 30 the Beshear PAC, named In This Together, has donated only $24,800 to candidates it has endorsed, according to reports the PAC has filed with the Federal Election Commission.

Its largest contribution so far was also its most recent — $12,800 donated on June 20 to NC Democratic Leadership Committee of Raleigh, North Carolina. In the spring, In This Together endorsed North Carolina’s Democratic Attorney General Josh Stein’s campaign for governor, and this donation apparently is intended to help that campaign.

Previously, In This Together reported giving $6,600 to Democratic Sen. Jon Tester of Montana; $3,300 to an Ohio committee supporting Democratic U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown’s reelection campaign; and $2,100 to Kentucky Court of Appeals Judge Pamela Goodwine’s campaign for Kentucky Supreme Court.

In This Together has reported spending about $107,000 in operating expenses during its first six months — more than four times the amount of its donations. These expenses are for strategy consultants, fundraising consultants, a compliance consultant, legal fees, bank fees, credit card processing fees and costs for running a website.

Most of what the PAC has collected — about $361,000 — remains as cash on hand as of June 30.

Eric Hyers, the PAC’s political strategist who managed Beshear’s successful campaigns for governor in 2019 and 2023, said that from the start the PAC intended to wait until the fall to do most of its spending to help its endorsed candidates in Kentucky and across America. And Hyers said that the PAC will be supporting its endorsed candidates more in the form of independent expenditures than in direct donations to the candidates’ campaigns.

He also said future expenses of the PAC will show travel costs for Beshear to campaign in-person for his endorsed candidates. (So far the PAC has reported spending no money for Beshear travel expenses.)

Hyers said he’s satisfied with the fundraising amount so far. “Fundraising has gone well so far,” he said, adding that he expects to report larger fundraising numbers in the coming months.

Beshear, who cannot seek a third term as governor, created In This Together on Jan. 7. The PAC’s website says it “will support good people and good candidates running for local, statewide and federal office in red or purple states who demonstrate a commitment to leading with empathy and compassion and the backbone to always do what’s right, regardless of politics.”

It is only half of Beshear’s post reelection personal political operation. The other half is an organization called Heckbent Inc. Unlike In This Together which must report its donations and expenses to the FEC, Heckbent is a “dark money” group — a 501 (c)(4) committee which does not disclose names of donors. According to its website, Heckbent ‘s purpose is to advance Beshear’s policy agenda in Kentucky.

Beshear is widely reported as one of several Democratic leaders across the country being considered by Vice President Kamala Harris — the all-but-official Democratic presidential nominee in the wake of President Joe Biden’s sudden exit from the race — as her running mate. It’s unclear what happens with In This Together and Heckbent if Harris picks Beshear.

Here’s a look at who has provided the big dollars so far to In This Together

A Louisville company called Freedom Senior Share LLC made the single largest donation to In This Together — $25,000 on June 28. Freedom Senior Share LLC operates under an assumed name of Freedom Adult Day Healthcare and its website says its purpose is to provide “essential in-home care services as a great alternative to traditional nursing homes.”

Earlier this year, Nachiketa Bhatt, identified in a report filed by In This Together as the managing member of Freedom Adult Day Healthcare, donated $5,000 to In This Together. Bhatt was a major contributor to committees supporting Beshear’s reelection as governor and has been a donor to both Republican and Democratic candidates for the state legislature from Jefferson County.

In February a political action committee based in Louisville called BlueWaveAmerica made a $20,000 contribution to In This Together. The PAC, based in Louisville and headed by? Democratic former U.S. Rep. Mike Ward, has a goal of electing Democrats in rural America with a focus on red and purple states.

In June, a group of Nashville-area donors (12 people and one PAC) gave a combined $32,000. The Courier Journal recently reported that in June Beshear spoke in Nashville at a “Championing Reproductive Freedom” event.

Twenty-five attorneys with the law firm Frost Brown Todd – most of them from the firm’s Louisville office – combined to give $23,650 to In This Together between mid-May and early June.

And Edward Britt Brockman, a big political donor to Beshear’s committees and a Beshear appointee to the University of Kentucky Board of Trustees, is listed by In This Together as giving $10,000 in June.

Here are other big donors. Each is listed by In This Together as having given $5,000:

William Grover Arnett, Salyersville, attorney

Lawrence Benz, Louisville

Jane Beshear, Lexington

Steve Beshear, Lexington, attorney

Campbell Brown, Louisville, chairman, Brown-Forman

Sherman Brown, Louisville, government relations, McCarthy Strategic Solutions

Gregory Bubalo, Louisville, attorney

William Butler, Covington, CEO, Corporex

John Dant, Nashville, president, Log Still Distillery

Ruth Day, Jacksonville Beach, Florida, CIO for Kentucky state government

Christopher Dischinger, Louisville, developer, LDG Inc.

Lisa Dischinger, Louisville, real estate, LDG Inc.

John Dougherty, Louisville

Michael Dudgeon, Midway, owner, Milan Farm LLC

Joe Ellis, Benton, optometrist, Clarkson Eyecare

Frank Garrison, Nashville

Ben Gastel, Nashville, lawyer, HSG Law

Patrick Gaunce, Glasgow

Leslie Geoghegan, Louisville, civic volunteer

Ron Geoghegan, Louisville, McCarthy Strategic Solutions

Gloria for Tennessee, Nashville, TN, $5,000

Jonathan Goldberg, Louisville, attorney, Goldberg & Simpson

Jim Gray, Lexington

Scott Hagan, Louisville, developer, Hagan Properties

Walter Halbleib, Louisville, lawyer, Stites and Harbison

Judith Hanekamp, Masonic Home

Chauncey Hiestand, Louisville, attorney, Winton and Hiestand Law Group

Carrie Hieistand, Louisville

William Hodgkin, Winchester

Kentucky Bankers Assn. PAC, Louisville, $5,000

Jonathan Krebs, Hattiesburg, MS, partner, Horne

Franklin Lassiter, Midway, HealthTech Solutions

Adam Levin, Brentwood, Tennessee, entrepreneur

James R. Martin, Jacksonville Beach, Florida, retired

Michael McGhee, Elkton, president, McGhee Engineering

Jonathan Miller, Lexington, attorney, Frost Brown Todd

McKinnley Morgan, London, attorney, Morgan, Collins, Yeast & Salyer

Keith L. Murt Sr., Paducah, owner, Murtco Inc.

Charlie O’Connor, Versailles, sales, Ashford

Joseph Prather, Louisville, chief medical officer, Baptist Health

Jay Pritzker, Chicago, IL, governor of Illinois

Jonathan Rabinowitz, Versailles, attorney, Morgan and Morgan

Nathan Smith, Ft. Mitchell, CIO, Flagship Communities

Anna Stroble, Ridgeland, Mississippi, partner, Horne

Mark Swartz, Winchester, contractor, Swartz Enterprises

Mike Swartz, Olympia, owner, Mike Swartz Enterprises

Ron Winchell, Las Vegas, Nevada, hospitality, ECL

Jeremy Winton, Louisville

David Whitehouse, Lexington

Bill Wolfe, West Palm Beach, Florida, executive, First Washington Realty

Mark Workman, Paducah, engineer, Bacon Farmer Workman Engineering

Kelly Workman, Paducah

U.S. Capitol on March 14, 2024. (Photo by Jennifer Shutt/States Newsroom)

WASHINGTON ?— The U.S. House Thursday passed a Republican-led resolution condemning the president and Vice President Kamala Harris, the likely Democratic presidential nominee, for the administration’s immigration policies.

Republicans announced they would move forward with the resolution hours after President Joe Biden suspended his reelection campaign and threw his support to Harris to become the new Democratic nominee to face off with former President Donald Trump this November.

The resolution, H.R. 1371, was introduced Wednesday. It passed? 220-196 shortly before the House was due to leave for a six-week recess.

Six Democrats voted with Republicans: Reps. Yadira D. Caraveo of Colorado, Henry Cuellar of Texas, Don Davis of North Carolina, Jared Golden of Maine, Mary Peltola of Alaska and Marie Gluesenkamp Perez of Washington.

Immigration policy at the U.S.-Mexico border has remained a core campaign issue in the presidential elections and a top concern for voters.

Ahead of the vote, the White House Thursday put out a fact sheet pointing out that for the past seven weeks, encounters at the southern border have decreased by more than half, or 55%.

“While the President’s action has led to significant results, our nation’s immigration system requires Congressional action to provide needed resources and additional authorities,” the White House said.

‘Border czar’ label

Since Harris gained the necessary Democratic delegates to become the party’s likely nominee on Monday night, Republicans have criticized her for the Biden administration’s immigration policies and labeled her the “Border Czar,” inaccurately claiming it’s an official title given to her from the White House. It was also a title used in some media reports.

In March 2021, Biden tasked Harris with addressing the root causes of migration, in an effort to stem the flow of undocumented people at the southern border.

Harris was never given the title of “Border Czar,” but that title was officially given to Roberta Jacobson, the former U.S. ambassador to Mexico. Jacobson’s role was created for a short stint — Biden’s first 100 days in office — before ending in April 2021.

Additionally, U.S.-Mexico border security is tasked to the Department of Homeland Security. Republicans in February impeached DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas over policy disagreements. The Senate dismissed the articles of impeachment in April.

Republicans said Harris and the administration are one and the same. “She owns all of his failed border policies,” House Homeland Security Committee Chair Mark Green of Tennessee said during debate? Thursday.

Rep. Bennie Thompson of Mississippi, the top Democrat on the House Homeland Security Committee, said the resolution was “unserious,” and “nothing more than a campaign press release.”

“This resolution is only before this body because Vice President Kamala Harris will be the Democratic nominee for president,” Thompson said. “This resolution is incredibly petty.”

Republicans like Indiana Rep. Rudy Yakym and Florida Rep. Carlos Gimenez again referred to Harris as a “Border Czar” and blamed her for the high number of encounters at the southern border.

Gimenez also criticized Harris for not visiting the southern border frequently. She made one trip to El Paso, Texas, which is a border town, in June 2021, but that was due to her work addressing the root causes of migration leading to the border problems.

Task was narrower, Dems say

Democrats argued that Harris was given a diplomatic role rather than a border security role.

Chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, Democratic Rep. Pramila Jayapal of Washington, said that Harris was never a “Border Czar.”

“She was narrowly tasked with developing agreements that could help bring government and private sector investments to those countries that are sending migrants to the United States, so that those countries could help strengthen the conditions in those countries,” she said.

The White House in March said that Harris had secured about $5 billion in commitments from the private sector to promote economic opportunities in the region and reduce violence in Northern Central America.

The chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, Democratic Rep. Nanette Barragán of California, said that border security is the responsibility of Mayorkas and that Harris was never placed in charge of domestic immigration policy.

“Now they have a desperate resolution to blame Vice President Harris for the border,” she said of House Republicans.

According to 2017 data from the Guttmacher Institute, 88% of abortions took place before the end of the first trimester of pregnancy at 12 weeks. (Getty Images)

It’s an oft-repeated talking point of anti-abortion rights groups and Republican politicians, before and after the June 2022 Dobbs decision — that those who are supportive of abortion rights also must be in favor of abortions that happen during the last weeks of pregnancy, or even “after birth.”

Former President Donald Trump brought it up in the June debate against President Joe Biden, saying Biden’s position on restoring abortion access would lead to doctors being able to “take the life of the baby in the ninth month, and even after birth.”

Trump’s newly announced vice presidential running mate, Republican Sen. J.D. Vance of Ohio, told Fox News this week that Biden “wants taxpayer-funded abortions up until the moment of birth.”

And candidates in states such as North Dakota and Montana have campaigned on that rhetoric in recent months, saying some states allow “post-birth abortions” or abortion “the day before” a due date.

In reality, abortion “after birth” does not happen, because it would be categorized as murder under all state laws. And while abortions do occur later in pregnancy, they are exceptionally rare and happen for many diverse reasons, such as a fatal fetal diagnosis and financial or travel barriers that extend timelines.

Abortion-rights advocates say the rhetoric is used because public opinion polls show support becomes more mixed for abortion after 24 weeks, which is the second trimester of pregnancy and the medically recognized point of viability, when a fetus can reasonably be expected to survive outside of the womb with medical interventions. That argument was seemingly bolstered by an anti-abortion group’s campaign strategy meeting against Amendment 4 in Florida this week, a ballot question that would restore abortion access to 24 weeks in the state where a six-week ban is currently the law, before many people know they’re pregnant. During a presentation, the campaign organizers displayed a slide that said, “How we win: We win by talking about late-term abortion.”

Even before Roe v. Wade was overturned by the Dobbs decision, abortion was only protected as a federal right until viability, at which point it could be restricted by states. So if a Democratic presidential administration or Congress were to re-establish and codify Roe as the standard, third-trimester abortion would likely remain restricted in many states. In some states where abortion is legal and there is no restriction by gestational age, such as Alaska, it is still unavailable past the second trimester because there are no clinics that provide it.

According to 2017 data from the Guttmacher Institute, an abortion-rights organization that gathers provider-specific data from across the country, 88% of abortions took place before the end of the first trimester of pregnancy at 12 weeks. A little over 10% happened between 13 and 20 weeks, and 1.3% occurred after 21 weeks, about halfway through the second trimester. Out of 862,320 abortions tracked that year, that means 11,210 happened after 21 weeks. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows a slightly lower number of 1.1% after 21 weeks, but does not receive abortion data from Maryland, as it is voluntary reporting. Guttmacher reaches out to individual clinics to collect data, and several of the small number of clinics that take patients later in pregnancy are located in Maryland.

‘I don’t need people to feel comfortable with it’

The time between 21 and 40 weeks is a long span in a pregnancy, and in 20 states, abortion is generally banned after 22 or 24 weeks. Only nine states and the District of Columbia don’t ascribe gestational limits to their abortion laws, and of those, only four — Maryland, New Mexico, Oregon and Colorado — and the District of Columbia have clinics that openly say they will take patients past 28 weeks.

One of those is Partners in Abortion Care in Maryland, where Dr. Diane Horvath is chief medical officer. That clinic opened in October 2022, and saw about 500 patients in its first year of operation. Horvath told States Newsroom that because there are so few clinics that will take patients at an advanced stage of pregnancy, the people who come to them have generally had to make it through many barriers to access care. That includes their home state laws, travel barriers, time restrictions and costs. In 14 states, a near-total ban on abortion is the law, and five others have bans before 12 weeks.

“Nobody ever thinks they’re going to need a later abortion, but when you need it, you need it 100%,” Horvath said. “Just like you’d never imagine yourself needing a later abortion, this could happen to you or anybody that you love.”

The idea of an abortion happening in a person’s third trimester of pregnancy can be uncomfortable for the average person, Horvath said, and for some physicians. Some doctors? may have their own objections to it, or they may just choose not to make their feelings known about it at all for fear of being targeted by anti-abortion activists. Nobody should have to participate in that type of care, she said. But when a position is open at her clinic, she receives hundreds of applications.

Horvath said in all the time she’s been practicing abortion care, she’s never seen a patient who walked in during their third trimester of pregnancy who wanted to terminate simply because they were tired of being pregnant, as some anti-abortion groups might suggest. The idea that people are choosing that path “carelessly” is just wrong, she said.

“The circumstances in which people are seeking abortions later in pregnancy are really dire. This is not to say every abortion has horrible circumstances, but by the time you find yourself later in pregnancy, lots has gone wrong for you, and this may be due to something that was completely out of your control,” Horvath said. “It’s so easy to demonize when you don’t want to understand something.”

The most important point, she said, is that there isn’t a line in pregnancy where the government becomes more well-equipped to make decisions about a pregnancy than the person carrying it, and there is no possible way to fully understand what a person making that decision is going through.

“It’s possible to feel uncomfortable about this care and the circumstances under which it occurs and still support someone’s ability to get that care when they need it,” Horvath said. “I don’t need people to feel comfortable with it.”

Women interviewed about abortions had fetal anomalies, financial difficulties

As States Newsroom has reported through a series called “When and Where: Abortion Access in America,” there are many situations when a clinical diagnosis of severe fetal anomalies happens at a routine anatomy scan, which is typically scheduled at 20 weeks. That leaves only two weeks to get an appointment in a majority of states with legal access — and post-Dobbs, it can be a tall order to get an appointment that quickly, as clinics have been inundated with patients from other states where no access is available at any stage.

Katrina Kimport, a professor at the Advancing New Standards in Reproductive Health program at the University of California San Francisco, has published at least two studies about abortions that take place in the third trimester, including one that detailed interviews with 28 women of different races between the ages of 18 and 46. Their gestational ages ranged between 24 and 35 weeks.

One woman in Kimport’s study who had already had a complication with a previous pregnancy was assured at 20 weeks that everything was going well this time. But at 29 weeks, her doctors observed problems with the fetus’ brain and initially said she shouldn’t worry too much. But further testing showed pieces of the brain were missing or concave, and specialists eventually told her there was no possibility it was compatible with life.

“There’s a heartbreaking number of ways that pregnancy can go wrong,” Kimport said.

Two women didn’t know they were pregnant until their third trimesters — both of whom were still having regular menstrual cycles, indicating they were not pregnant.

Others reported significant financial difficulties affording the procedure, which can cost at least $500 during the first trimester and increase to tens of thousands of dollars in late stages of pregnancy, on top of the costs of? out-of-state travel for some of the women. One of the women reported that she and her boyfriend were living on the street. To the extent any of them received financial assistance to obtain the abortion, according to Kimport’s research, it was through local or regional abortion funds. Many insurance providers do not cover out-of-state abortion care.

Anti-abortion physician says there is ‘never’ a reason for abortion late in pregnancy

The Charlotte Lozier Institute, a research arm of anti-abortion rights organization Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, did not grant an interview for this story, but sent along its own prepared papers on the subject. In one of those papers, the Institute points out there is some research that indicates fetal anomalies or maternal health conditions make up a minority of abortions that happen late in pregnancy, and more often it is because of unplanned pregnancy, economic considerations and relationship issues.

Horvath said it is true that the circumstances include people who are dealing with complex situations in their own lives, like one patient she could remember whose house burned down. That patient was already in a shelter with her children, Horvath said, and could barely provide for them.

While some might suggest having the child anyway and putting it up for adoption at that point, Horvath said that isn’t something that should be forced on a person.

“The idea that somebody owes society or an infertile couple a baby is not just,” she said. “We have one of the worst maternal and infant mortality rates in the world, so to force someone to continue a pregnancy beyond the point they’ve decided is not the right time is putting them at risk to give a baby to someone else.”

The Institute also quotes an anti-abortion rights physician who says there is never an appropriate situation for an abortion at that stage of pregnancy to take place.

“The infant may need to be delivered prematurely and die as a result of that, but it is not necessary to take the infant’s life,” said Dr. Byron Calhoun, a known anti-abortion activist perinatologist. “Further, if a fetus has an adverse prenatal diagnosis, all patients should be offered perinatal hospice care since this is far better for maternal health than any elective abortion. Perinatal hospice allows the parents to be parents and provide all the love they can for their child.”

The Institute did not provide evidence that hospice care is better for maternal health, but perinatal hospice is an option for anyone who wants to do that rather than have an abortion, when the fetus is typically given an injection to stop the heart and then removed from the uterus. Kimport said she has also interviewed women who could not deliver a baby vaginally because of a health condition, and would be forced to have a Cesarean section surgery if abortion was not available.

Physicians who are affiliated with the Lozier Institute have also told news outlets such as the Washington Post that “up to the moment of birth” means any stage of pregnancy past 22 weeks, whereas others would think of it as the last two to three weeks of a 40-week pregnancy.

“Some of the failure to push back on these really outrageously false claims comes from the fact that there are so many things that are wrong about it and it’s hard to know where to start,” Kimport said.

Lt. Governor Jacqueline Coleman during the 143rd Fancy Farm Picnic on Saturday, Aug. 5, 2023. (Kentucky Lantern photo by Austin Anthony)

Democratic Lt. Gov. Jaqueline Coleman will not be attending the Fancy Farm Picnic because she will be attending an event to support cancer survivors — a cause she says is personal to her because of a recent medical diagnosis.?

The Graves County church picnic has become a Kentucky politics highlight over its decades-long history. Gov. Andy Beshear confirmed with organizers last week that he also will not attend this year.?

“Fancy Farm is a uniquely Kentucky event, and sadly, I will miss the barbs and bbq due to a commitment I made on the heels of my health diagnosis earlier this year,” Coleman said in a statement to the Kentucky Lantern.

Instead, Coleman will be at a Horses and Hope’s Race Day in Henderson with cancer survivors, a cause that “has become very personal to me,” she said. Horses and Hope was started in 2008 by former First Lady Jane Beshear, the current governor’s mother, along with the Kentucky Cancer Program and University of Louisville with additional support from the Pink Stable.?

Coleman underwent a double mastectomy in December after she and Beshear won reelection. She said in a previous interview with the Lantern that she did not have cancer but was unsure until after pathology results came in after the surgery.?

“While I’ll miss seeing friends and supporters, I was just in Graves County on Thursday dedicating a home to a family who lost theirs in the 2021 tornado,” Coleman said. “Every time I’m there it is a reminder of what a special place west Kentucky is, and how important the people are to Team Kentucky. I look forward to being back very soon.”

Coleman was among politicians who attended last year’s picnic. Among those confirmed to be attending are state-wide Republican officers Attorney General Russell Coleman, Agriculture Commissioner Jonathan Shell and Treasurer Mark Metcalf.

The Fancy Farm Picnic is set for Saturday, Aug. 3, and political speakers will begin at 2 p.m local time. Father Jim Sichko, of Lexington, will be this year’s emcee.

Lt. Gov. Jacqueline Coleman speaks to an attended at a Louisville event for a childcare center. (Kentucky Lantern photo by McKenna Horsley)

LOUISVILLE — Democratic Lt. Gov. Jacqueline Coleman told reporters Monday that her job is to be ready to lead Kentucky should Gov. Andy Beshear ascend to a higher office.?

Beshear is being floated as a possible running mate for Vice President Kamala Harris, who is now seeking the Democratic nomination after President Joe Biden ended his candidacy. Speaking in Louisville after a childcare center ground breaking, Coleman likened the possibility of her becoming governor to Harris moving up the ticket.?

“This happens all over the country all the time as governors are appointed or move on to different offices and the reason that they pick a lieutenant governor is to have that succession plan in place and they pick someone they believe is ready,” Coleman said. “And I wouldn’t have accepted if I didn’t think I was ready. And I don’t think the governor would have asked me if he didn’t think I was ready.”

Beshear deflected questions about joining Harris as a vice presidential pick on MSNBC earlier Monday morning but gave his full endorsement to Harris for president. Coleman said she is joining Beshear in supporting the vice president.?

“I’m really actually very excited to see a woman at the top and that’s something we need more of,” Coleman said. “And I’m really grateful that we have the opportunity to elevate that a little bit with her.”?

The lieutenant governor said she spoke with the governor Sunday night and he “didn’t mention” the possibility of being Harris’ running mate. Coleman also said she was unaware of communication between Harris’ office and the governor’s.?

Coleman also expressed gratitude for Biden’s leadership. She said she saw that he was “a good man” up close during the aftermath of floods and tornadoes in Kentucky.?

“So often we forget that these elected officials and these candidates are people and they’re humans, and he’s a good man and I got to see that firsthand,” she said of Biden. “And I’m grateful for his leadership.”?

In office, Coleman has repeatedly expressed support for public education issues; she is a former teacher and administrator. Her father is Jack Coleman Jr., a former state representative who represented Kentucky’s 55th House District.

Michon Lindstrom, a spokesperson for the secretary of state’s office, previously told the Kentucky Lantern that if a governor were to leave office, the lieutenant governor would become acting governor for the remainder of the term, according to the office’s interpretation. As acting governor, the lieutenant governor could not appoint a new lieutenant governor.

Podium with Kentucky Democratic Party's logo at June 14 Forward Together even in Louisville. (Kentucky Lantern photo by McKenna Horsley)

Democratic convention delegates from Kentucky have “overwhelmingly voted” to endorse Vice President Kamala Harris to be the Democratic Party’s presidential nominee following a request from Gov. Andy Beshear to do so.?

The endorsement, announced in a Monday morning press release, follows Beshear’s national TV appearance earlier the same morning in which he personally endorsed Harris to be the presidential nominee and fielded questions about his interest in joining the ticket.

Kentucky Democratic Party Chairman Colmon Elridge in a statement said Harris has been a “proven partner” to President Joe Biden and attacked the Republican presidential ticket as “relying on fear to drive a wedge between you and your neighbor.”?

“She has a remarkable record of public service, from tackling housing costs as a U.S. Senator to protecting consumers as California’s chief law enforcement office. Vice President Harris is ready to serve as president on Day 1 and finish the job that Joe Biden started,” Elridge said. “Now more than ever, we must work hand in hand to elect Kamala Harris. The stakes this November — for both our beloved Commonwealth and our country — are too high.”

Reuters reported Sunday all 50 state Democratic party chairs had endorsed Harris to be the nominee. Beshear is reportedly among a list of candidates Harris is considering to be her potential running mate along with fellow Democratic governors Roy Cooper of North Carolina and Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania, who have also endorsed her.

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear on MSNBC on Monday morning endorses U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris as the Democratic nominee for president. (Screenshot via YouTube)

Kentucky Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear offered his full endorsement of Vice President Kamala Harris in a national TV interview Monday morning and fielded questions about his interest in becoming her running mate.?

Throughout his comments on MSNBC’s Morning Joe, Beshear contrasted Harris with the GOP ticket —?former Republican President Donald Trump and newly minted running mate J.D. Vance, a U.S. senator from Ohio. Beshear, who has been rumored as a possible running mate choice for Harris, criticized Vance unprompted and called speculation on joining a Harris ticket “flattering.”?

Beshear was repeatedly pressed on if he would like to join Harris as her running mate pick. He did not answer directly but said he would consider any opportunity to help Kentuckians and Americans and would listen if she called. Some media reports say they did have a phone call on Sunday.?

“I love my job. I love serving the people of Kentucky. The only way I would consider something other than this current job is if I believed I could further help my people and to help this country,” Beshear said. “I also think whether I’m asked for that or not that it’s important to be out there contrasting the vice president and those that she is running against.”

The vice president, who is now seeking the Democratic nomination after President Joe Biden ended his candidacy Sunday afternoon, is “smart and strong” but also is “kind and has empathy,” Beshear said in the interview. Those are values he wants in a future president.?

“The contrast between her and those running on the other side couldn’t be clearer,” Beshear said. “As a prosecutor, as an attorney general — like I used to be — she prosecuted rapists, domestic abusers, stood for victims and put away those abusers. Now look at the other side, where J.D. Vance calls pregnancy arising from rape ‘inconvenient.’ No, it’s just plain wrong.”?

According to a recent fact-check from Poynter, Vance said in a 2021 interview that “society should not view a pregnancy or birth resulting from rape or incest as ‘inconvenient.’”

“(Vance) suggests that women should stay in abusive relationships,” Beshear continued. “Listen, a domestic abuser isn’t a man. He’s a monster, and no one should support anyone having to stay in those relationships.”

Beshear was apparently referring to comments highlighted during Vance’s 2022 run for Senate. The governor himself has called on the Republican-controlled General Assembly to add exceptions to Kentucky’s abortion ban in cases of rape and incest and supports the standard set by Roe v. Wade. The issue of abortion has been key for Democrats this presidential election cycle.?

Beshear also went after Vance’s depiction of Appalachians. Vance has some family ties to Kentucky, which he highlighted in his book, “Hillbilly Elegy.” He grew up in Middletown, Ohio, north of Cincinnati, where Vance’s grandparents had migrated. The family returned often to Breathitt County in southeastern Kentucky where Vance also spent time during summers and owns land.

“I want the American people to know what a Kentuckian is and what they look like, because let me just tell you that J.D. Vance ain’t from here,” Beshear said. “The nerve that he has to call the people of Kentucky — of Eastern Kentucky — ‘lazy.’ Listen, these are the hardworking coal miners that powered the Industrial Revolution, that created the strongest middle class the world has ever seen, powered us through two world wars. We should be thanking them, not calling them lazy.”

When asked on CNN earlier this month about joining a Harris ticket, Beshear said he has a “good relationship” with Harris” and the two have worked on initiatives like decriminalizing marijuana.?

In the days following Biden’s poor debate performance against Trump, Beshear told reporters that he would support Biden “as long as he continues to be in the race.” Beshear was also among Democratic governors who joined a meeting at the White House to discuss the election.?

Since his reelection last November, Beshear was already taking steps to elevate his national profile, such as launching a political action committee, In This Together, aimed at supporting candidates across the country. He will be the keynote speaker for an Iowa Democratic Party dinner this weekend.

Randall Weddle, then a candidate for London mayor, listens as Gov. Andy Beshear helps celebrate the opening of WB Transport's new warehouse in April 2022. (Screenshot with permission of WYMT)

The Society of Professional Journalists has recognized Tom Loftus with a Green Eyeshade Award for his investigative reporting in the Kentucky Lantern.

The Green Eyeshades, begun in 1950 and the oldest regional journalism competition, recognize outstanding work by journalists in 11 southeastern states in print, television, radio and digital.

Loftus was awarded second place in Investigative Reporting/Online for the entry “Following the political money,” which included Loftus’ revelation that hundreds of thousands of dollars in campaign contributions to Gov. Andy Beshear’s campaign were linked to London Mayor Randall Weddle. Two months after Loftus broke the story, Beshear’s campaign refunded $202,000 that had been placed on Weddle’s credit card. The Kentucky Registry of Election Finance opened a civil investigation after last year’s election into the donations.

Loftus also reported about large corporate donations to the Republican Party of Kentucky Building Fund, including $1 million from pharmaceutical giant Pfizer. The Kentucky legislature in 2017 allowed political parties to establish building funds that can accept unlimited contributions, including from corporations.

Loftus has been a freelance reporter and writer for the Kentucky Lantern since its launch on Nov. 30, 2022. His long career in Kentucky journalism includes four years as Frankfort bureau chief for The Kentucky Post and 32 years as Frankfort bureau chief for The Courier Journal.?

The nonprofit Lantern is part of the nationwide States Newsroom network, supported by donations from foundations and individuals.

Gov. Andy Beshear greets Sen. Mitch McConnell on the stage of last year's 143rd Fancy Farm Picnic. Beshear will not be attending this year. No word yet from McConnell. (Kentucky Lantern photo by Austin Anthony)

Organizers of the annual church fundraiser held in Graves County said in a Friday afternoon email that the governor had said he is not attending the August event and “no reason was given.”?

Fancy Farm organizers added that Republican State Auditor Allison Ball will not attend due to a conflict with a wedding that weekend.?

Both Beshear and Ball attended the political speaking event last year. Over the course of 140 years, the Fancy Farm Picnic has become a Kentucky politics highlight, as candidates for office make a pitch to enthusiastic voters — Republicans on the right and Democrats on the left — who are ready to cheer for their favored politicians while loudly booing their opponents.?

Beshear’s decline to participate comes as he gains national attention. A two-term Democrat in red-state Kentucky, the governor is being eyed as a possible running mate for Vice President Kamala Harris should President Joe Biden drop out of the race, according to recent media reports.

Over the last couple of weeks, Beshear has still signaled support for the president, but was among Democratic governors who attended a White House meeting called after Biden’s poor debate performance against Republican former President Donald Trump.?

Ahead of the meeting, Beshear said in a televised CNN interview that the governors wanted to hear more about how the president is doing and seek clarification on his health.?

Before last year, Beshear had not participated in the picnic since 2019 when he was challenging Republican Gov. Matt Bevin. He did not attend in 2021 because of the coronavirus pandemic, nor in 2022, initially because of a trip to Israel which was later canceled after devastating floods hit Eastern Kentucky. Political speeches were canceled in 2020 because of the pandemic.?

As for other Kentucky politicos that could head to West Kentucky, responses from U.S. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell, Republican U.S. Sen. Rand Paul, Democratic Lt. Gov. Jacqueline Coleman and Republican Secretary of State Michael Adams are still “pending,” organizers say.?

Those attending include both candidates in the 1st Congressional District — incumbent Republican U.S. Rep. James Comer and Democratic challenger Erin Marshall —?as well as Chase Oliver, a Libertarian candidate for president. The picnic organizers are still in talks with surrogates from presidential campaigns about a possible appearance.?

Lisa Payne Jones and Jason Shea Fleming, candidates for the Kentucky Court of Appeals, will both attend.?

State-wide officers who will be in attendance are Attorney General Russell Coleman, Agriculture Commissioner Jonathan Shell and Treasurer Mark Metcalf. All are Republicans.?

A proposed constitutional amendment to allow the General Assembly to fund nonpublic schools will also be discussed. Republican Caucus Chair Rep. Suzanne Miles, of Owensboro, and Democratic Caucus Chair Rep. Cherlynn Stevenson, of Lexington, are set to speak on Amendment 2. Miles was the primary sponsor of the legislation for the amendment and Stevenson has been critical of it.?

Others set to speak include Mayfield Republican Rep. Richard Heath, Murray Republican Sen. Jason Howell and Kim Holloway, a GOP representative-elect who primaried Heath earlier this year.?

The Fancy Farm Picnic is set for Saturday, Aug. 3, and political speakers will begin at 2 p.m local time. Father Jim Sichko, of Lexington, will be this year’s emcee.?

Hadley Duvall speaks in a campaign ad for Democratic President Joe Biden called "They Don't Care." (Screenshot)

A Kentucky woman who talked about abortion in a pivotal campaign ad for Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear last year is now up on airwaves supporting President Joe Biden on the same issue.

Hadley Duvall, an Owensboro native who is now in her early 20s, told the Kentucky Lantern last year that she began sharing her story about the sexual abuse she experienced as a child after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022.?

Woman in Beshear’s abortion ad says she wants to give voice to victims

In the ad for the Biden reelection campaign, text appears between clips of Duvall applying makeup in a mirror to tell the viewer that she was was raped by her stepfather as a child. At the age of 12, she became pregnant by him. She later miscarried.?

“When Roe v. Wade was overturned, immediately I just thought about being 12, and first thing that was told to me when I saw that positive pregnancy test was, ‘you have options,’” Duvall tells the viewer. “And you know, if Roe v. Wade would have been overturned sooner, I wouldn’t have heard that. And then it had me thinking that there’s someone who doesn’t get to hear that now.”?

She then calls out Biden’s opponents, former Republican President Donald Trump and running mate Ohio U.S. Sen. J.D. Vance.?

“Trump and J.D. Vance don’t care about women. They don’t care about girls in this situation,” Duvall says. “They will continue to take our rights away. In this election, we have a choice.”?

The ad is similar to the one aired by Beshear’s reelection campaign last year about two months before the 2023 election. In it, Duvall pushed Beshear’s Republican opponent, then-Attorney General Daniel Cameron on his stance on abortion access.?

Cameron said in September as governor, he would support adding exceptions in cases of rape and incest to Kentucky’s abortion ban? —?if the General Assembly would approve them. He had previously signaled support for the current state law as it is, without exceptions.?

Beshear on the other hand has a history of supporting the standard set by Roe v. Wade. The governor has said the Republican-controlled General Assembly has “given rapists more rights than their victims.” Lawmakers approved a “trigger law” in 2019 that went into effect immediately after the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2022 ruling.?

Kentucky’s law has very narrow exceptions to save the life of the mother. It only allows abortions up to six weeks of pregnancy and does not include exceptions in cases of rape and incest.?

On election night, Beshear thanked Duvall in front of a crowd of supporters in Louisville after defeating Cameron. The following day, Beshear called on the legislature to add exceptions to Kentucky’s abortion ban in cases of rape and incest. While Republican and Democratic lawmakers did file bills to do so, they did not get a committee hearing during the 2024 legislative session.?

Recently, Duvall has appeared in an MSNBC interview alongside Biden’s running mate, Vice President Kamala Harris, and at a campaign event with First Lady Jill Biden.

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear and his vice presidential prospects had been the center of speculation in his home state for weeks. (Kentucky Lantern photo by McKenna Horsley)

In a Wednesday letter sent to the Drug Enforcement Administration, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear said he supports reclassifying marijuana from a Schedule I controlled substance to Schedule III.?

That would move marijuana from a DEA designation that says it has “no currently accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse” to having “a moderate to low potential for physical and psychological dependence.”?

Easing federal marijuana rules: There’s still a long way to go

Marijuana has been classified as a Schedule I drug since 1970, when Congress enacted the Controlled Substances Act, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.?

Beshear’s letter comes near the end of public comment on a Biden administration proposal to reclassify marijuana. The common period ends July 22. So far the proposal has generated almost 32,000 comments.?

Beshear’s letter also comes as Kentucky is accepting applications for cannabis business licenses ahead of a 2025 legalization for medical marijuana. Medical providers can also apply to Kentucky’s Board of Medical Licensure and Board of Nursing for permission to write cannabis prescriptions beginning next year.?

The bipartisan House Bill 829 that became law during this year’s legislative session moved up the medical cannabis timeline from January 2025 to July 1, 2024.?

Under this law, qualifying patients with a history of post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), cancer or other approved medical conditions will be able to use marijuana to treat their chronic illnesses.?