Day 6: Doctors treating patients instead of fighting paperwork (HB 176)

Day 6: Doctors treating patients instead of fighting paperwork (HB 176)

Doctors should spend their time treating patients, not fighting insurance company paperwork. Not every bill we pass makes headlines, but some of the ones that don’t are the ones that matter most in people’s actual lives. HB 176 is one of them.

For years, insurers have been able to slow-walk or deny care through prior authorization requirements, even for doctors who have proven, time and again, that their requests get approved. HB 176 fixes that. It creates a “gold card” style exemption: a doctor with a strong track record of approvals for a given service no longer has to get prior authorization for it. The insurance company can’t hold that doctor, or that patient’s care, hostage to a delay they’ve already earned their way out of.

This isn’t just about doctors getting relief from paperwork. It’s about you getting your care faster. Every day a prior authorization request sits on someone’s desk is a day a patient waits for treatment they and their doctor already agreed they need, a scan, a medication, a procedure. Cutting out that delay for trusted doctors means Kentuckians get treated sooner, with less red tape standing between them and the care they need.

Sponsored by Rep. Kim Moser, HB 176 passed the House 89-1 and the Senate 38-0, about as close to unanimous as it gets at the Capitol.

This is the kind of work the legislature does that doesn’t always get attention, but it changes real people’s lives. If your doctor’s judgment has proven reliable, they should be free to act on it, and you should get your care faster because of it.

One note: this one isn’t in effect yet. The exemption program requirements phase in starting January 1, 2027, and apply fully to contracts starting January 1, 2028, so you won’t see the change immediately, but it’s on its way.

Day 5: Keeping families together where it's safe to do so (SB 122)

Day 5: Keeping families together where it’s safe to do so (SB 122)

The family is the core building block of civilization. Everything else, our schools, our churches, our communities, works better when families stay intact. So when the law can protect that bond without compromising safety, it should.

SB 122 has judges consider whether a defendant is the primary caretaker of a dependent child at sentencing. It doesn’t excuse the crime or guarantee leniency. It gives the court a real option: an alternative sentence that keeps a parent connected to their child, with required programs and services, and the judge can revoke that arrangement and send the defendant to prison if they don’t hold up their end.

Some will rightly ask: what if the parent isn’t a good influence on the child to begin with? That’s exactly why this isn’t automatic. The judge reviews each case individually, weighing the nature of the crime, the family circumstances, and whether keeping that parent-child relationship intact actually serves the child’s wellbeing. A judge who believes a parent is dangerous or destructive to a child’s welfare still has full discretion to reject the alternative sentence and impose prison time. This bill doesn’t tie a judge’s hands, it gives them another tool for cases where family preservation truly is in the child’s best interest.

Sponsored by Louisville’s Senator Julie Raque Adams. Passed the House 83-7 and the Senate, in final concurrence, 37-0.

(Note: There are two additional policy changes that were rolled into SB 122–one related to protecting children in domestic violence situations and one related to mental health laws—,and they will each be focused on later with a post of their own.)

Kentucky's Winning Streak: Seventh Straight Budget Surplus

Kentucky just posted its seventh straight budget surplus, and this one is big.

This week, the General Fund receipts for the fiscal year that just ended came in roughly $320 million more than what was originally forecasted and budgeted. Seven years running, Kentucky has taken in more than it planned to spend.

That’s not luck. That’s a trend. And at a time when our federal government is broken and there is debt as far as the eye can see, this shows our state legislature is working and that conservative, responsible budgeting matters.

What’s especially encouraging is where the growth came from. Sales tax collections rose 6.4%, and individual income tax receipts grew 4.6%, even after this year’s income tax rate cut took effect. Kentuckians are working, spending, and earning, and the Commonwealth’s finances are healthier for it.

This comes on the heels of a few other milestones. First, Kentucky just posted its best first quarter for economic investment in state history, with more than $7 billion in new projects announced, part of a run that has now topped $50 billion and 70,000 new jobs in recent years. Average wages on these projects have climbed to $31.50 an hour. Second, every county in Kentucky lowered its unemployment rate last year—all 120 of them. Third, there are now more than 2 million Kentuckians in the workforce for the first time ever.

Strong revenue, a growing economy, and record investment . . . all while reducing income taxes: That’s a good combination for Kentucky families, and it’s a trend worth celebrating.

The sun shines bright on our old Kentucky home.

Kicking Off a New Series: 30 Laws in 30 Days

Starting tomorrow, July 15, most new laws passed this session take effect across Kentucky. Over the next 30 days, I’m going to highlight one of them each day (I’ll try, anyway) so you know what your legislature actually did this year and why.

First up: House Bill 4, the “Grooming a Minor” law

HB 4, sponsored by Rep. Marianne Proctor, makes it a crime to groom a child for sexual abuse, even before any assault occurs.

Under the old law, prosecutors couldn’t act until a predator had already solicited or assaulted a child. HB 4 changes that. It criminalizes the manipulative buildup, the trust-building, the grooming behavior, that predators use to prepare a child for abuse. Depending on the age of the child and whether the offender holds a position of trust (like a coach or teacher), penalties range from a misdemeanor up to a Class C felony.

The bill includes clear exceptions for legitimate conversations, like a parent, doctor, or teacher discussing age-appropriate health topics with a child, so it targets predatory conduct, not ordinary parenting or education.

This bill passed with overwhelming bipartisan support because protecting kids shouldn’t be a partisan issue. Proud to have voted for it, and proud it becomes law tomorrow.

One more I want to mention: the House also passed my HB 320 this session, which would make promoting human trafficking, meaning recruiting, advertising, or arranging victims, carry the same penalty as trafficking itself. A group of students in my district brought me the idea, and their reasoning was simple and right: the trafficker is the one who makes the crime possible and turns it into a business. The House passed it unanimously, but the Senate didn’t take it up before the session ended. I hope they will next year.

Day 2: House Bill 134, Faster Access to Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners

For a lot of Kentucky sexual assault survivors, getting a proper medical exam has meant a long drive or a long wait. HB 134 aims to fix that.

Sponsored by Rep. Rebecca Raymer, HB 134 creates a statewide coordinator position at the Kentucky Board of Nursing dedicated to recruiting and training Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners (SANEs), the specially trained nurses who conduct forensic exams after an assault and collect the evidence that can support a prosecution.

The bill also directs the Board of Nursing to build a statewide strategic plan, using a regional model, so that every Kentucky hospital has a real path to SANE coverage instead of leaving rural hospitals to figure it out on their own. And it creates a public registry of credentialed SANEs so hospitals know exactly who to call.

This bill passed both chambers without a single no vote. When a survivor walks into an emergency room, the last thing they should have to worry about is whether that hospital has anyone trained to help them. HB 134 makes sure more of them will.

Day 3: Keeping Schools Safer By Expelling Violent Students (Senate Bill 101)

Too many Kentucky classrooms have had their learning environment hijacked by a small number of students who repeatedly turn to violence, and teachers, along with the students who are actually there to learn, have been the ones paying the price. SB 101 puts the focus back where it belongs, on the kids trying to get an education, instead of on managing the disruption of the few who won’t stop.

SB 101, sponsored by Sen. Matt Nunn, requires a 12-month expulsion for students in grades 6 through 12 who physically assault school personnel, requires school employees to report intentional assaults to law enforcement, and extends that protection to school bus stops.

I added a piece to this bill: Schools must now report anyone who threatens violence against a school, or who is known to have a firearm on school property, to law enforcement, whether that’s the district’s own police force or the Kentucky State Police, and that police force has to send a weekly report of what it received to a designated local agency. No more threats or gun reports sitting unaddressed inside a school building.

This bill passed the House 84-5 and cleared the Senate for concurrence 32-6. Proud to have contributed to it.

Day 4: House Bill 1, a New Option for Kentucky Families

HB 1 lets Kentucky participate in a new federal tax credit program that helps families access more education options for their kids. Here’s the important part: this doesn’t cost the state a dime, and it doesn’t cost taxpayers a dime either. It’s a dollar-for-dollar federal tax credit, up to $1,700, for donating to a scholarship organization. The donor gets that money back on their federal taxes. No state funds are involved, and no dollar is diverted from a public school budget. HB 1 simply designates Kentucky’s Secretary of State to administer the state’s participation.

These scholarships aren’t just for private school tuition. A student who stays enrolled in their public school can use this money too, for tutoring, school supplies, and other support. For a lot of struggling public school districts across Kentucky, this could mean real new dollars flowing in to help their students. And because these funds can cross state lines, I envision poor school districts not only getting their own residents to participate and give them $1,700 per taxpayer, but I see them marketing this to taxpayers from California to New York.

HB 1 was Sponsored by Rep. Kim Moser, with more than a dozen House co-sponsors, including me. The Governor vetoed the bill, and the General Assembly overrode that veto, passing it 77-14 in the House and 31-5 in the Senate.

Kentucky families deserve options, and this one doesn’t cost our public schools a cent, it might just bring some in.

ENSURING JCPS DOESN'T INCREASE OUR TAXES . . . AGAIN

Recently we have all heard that some members of the JCPS School Board are talking about raising taxes to address their $188 million budget deficit. Let me be clear: that deficit exists because of overspending, not a lack of revenue. And the legislature has been working to protect you from more tax increases.

Here's what you need to know.

What JCPS Wanted to Do:

The School Board had their eye on new taxes, including adding a tax on your utility bills. I worked specifically to take that off the table, along with any other new taxes JCPS might have tried to levy. The legislature's actions this year made sure that option is no longer available to them.

Why These Protections Matter: A Recent Lesson

This isn't theoretical. In 2020, JCPS approved a 9.5 percent property tax increase and they have been talking about raising it again this year. Citizens who opposed that 9.5 percent increase collected over 40,000 signatures on a petition to force a ballot question so voters could decide the issue. But here's the problem: under the law at that time, they needed signatures equal to 10 percent of voters in the district. For Jefferson County, that meant roughly 35,500 signatures were required. The petition had enough valid signatures to qualify—but the court threw out the entire petition on a technicality involving how some signatures were collected electronically. The tax increase stood and we are paying that increase today. JCPS kept the money.

But our citizens were rightfully frustrated, so the legislature responded by making it dramatically easier for people to challenge large tax increases.

In particular, we reduced the signature requirement from 35,500 down to just 5,000 signatures. That is roughly 86 percent fewer people needed to demand a ballot vote. We also authorized electronic signatures, so you can sign a petition on your phone or computer instead of having to find paper copies. (Kevin D. Bratcher and Ken Fleming for Kentucky led that effort to protect our citizens.)

This wasn't about stopping necessary taxes. It was about making sure that when school boards want to take significantly more money from your paycheck and property, you have a real, practical way to demand a vote.

As I noted above, that high tax increase went into effect. Yet JCPS, in all their glorious incompetence, still got into a $188 million hole. So some of the JCPS Board members have been chirping about raising taxes again, both on your property and in finding new taxes, like taxing your utility bill. So this past session, in HB 757, we went further. The legislature specifically prohibited JCPS and other school boards from:

- Levying any new occupational or personal property taxes (the kinds of taxes on your vehicles, income, ,and utilities that JCPS was eyeing)

- Raising the rates of any occupational or personal property taxes that already exist

Why This Matters to You

You already pay more than enough taxes. Jefferson County residents support public services through state income tax, sales tax, property tax, and local taxes. When school boards face budget challenges, especially of their own making, the solution should not be unlimited new taxes. It should be managing the resources they have responsibly.

The legislature's job is to balance protecting essential services with protecting hardworking Kentuckians from endless tax increases. These protections do exactly that.

Note: I want to note that our new Superintendent has consistently said that he does not support raising taxes, as he thinks the school district needs to get its house in order before even thinking about coming to the voters for a tax increase. I agree with him and want to give him kudos for taking that position. I hope JCPS does get its financial house in order, so our new Superintendent can get to what he was hired to do, which is to improve academic achievement. The current budgetary deficit is the fault of previous school board members.

This information was compiled based on the taxes of a citizen who lives in Fisherville. The percentages may slightly change based on where you live, such as whether you live in a suburban city, an unincorporated area, or in Oldham or Shelby Counties.

Kentucky Medicaid Reform: Why House Bill 2 Was Necessary

The Kentucky General Assembly recently passed House Bill 2, a significant reform to Kentucky’s Medicaid program. Jason recently shared a chart that tells a big part of this story in a single glance — showing just how dramatically Kentucky’s Medicaid enrollment and costs have grown in recent years.

Kentucky’s Medicaid program has expanded significantly, and while Jason supports ensuring that the most vulnerable Kentuckians have access to healthcare, he also believes that programs must be sustainable and that benefits should go to those who truly qualify. House Bill 2 includes common-sense reforms to ensure the program’s long-term viability.

The reforms include work requirements for able-bodied adults, improved eligibility verification processes, and other measures designed to ensure Medicaid resources are focused on those with genuine needs. Jason believes these are responsible, compassionate reforms that will strengthen the program for the long term.

For more details on Jason’s position on Medicaid reform, visit the Medicaid Reform page under Issues on this website.

Property Tax Reform: Understanding Where Your Tax Dollars Go

There has been a lot of discussion about property tax reform in Kentucky. Jason recently shared an important breakdown of where property tax dollars actually go — and the answer might surprise you: it is almost all local.

Property taxes collected in Kentucky primarily go to local entities, not the state government. The largest recipient is JCPS (Jefferson County Public Schools) and the elected School Board, which controls the majority of local property tax funds. Other local entities like libraries, fire protection districts, and local governments also receive portions.

Understanding this breakdown is critical when having the property tax reform discussion. Any meaningful reform must address local government spending and the decisions made by locally elected boards. Jason is committed to ensuring that Kentuckians understand how their tax dollars are spent at every level of government.

Jason will continue to be a voice for transparency and accountability in how all levels of government collect and spend taxpayer money. Follow him on Facebook for regular updates on fiscal policy and tax issues affecting Kentucky families.