We had some great economic news from Wash-ington as the president unveiled his stimulus plan this week. Kentucky will receive more than $3 billion for education, infrastructure, healthcare, road construction, energy initiatives, job training, public safety and community development projects.

The stimulus bill will help stabilize – but not solve - Kentucky’s budget concerns. However, we do believe that prudent investment of these funds will help avoid devastating cuts to essential state services in the next two years.

After a one week legislative break, the Kentucky General Assembly resumed our regular schedule.

The Kentucky House of Representatives passed several bills this week and one bill addressed a problem left by the unusually de-structive weather we have experienced over the past school year.

Because of the windstorm produced by the remnants of Tropical Storm Ike and the snow and ice storm last month, public schools are facing a large number of missed schools days to make up. House Bill 322 would permit the state education commissioner to excuse up to 10 disaster days from school district calendars in counties that missed 10 or more days. The school districts would also have to have used up their allotted makeup days in their calendar before requesting any disaster days be waived. The bill passed by a vote of 92-6 and heads to the Senate for consideration.

Protecting breast-feeding mothers from harassment is the impetus behind House Bill 214 which passed the House with a vote of 94-0. Reports of mothers being verbally humiliated and even removed from public and private places prompted legislators to create penalties for such actions. House Bill 214 assesses fines for the first offense and fines increase with subsequent offenses. This legislation now heads to the Senate.

We also passed House Bill 327, another school-related bill, by a unanimous vote of 97-0. This legislation would address a growing concern about the shortage of assistant coaches for high schools and middle schools. In the past, teachers have been hired with the agreement that they would coach a sport, but as more teachers have retired those positions have been filled by good teachers who do not want to coach. Current Kentucky law requires that coaches have a college degree, but House Bill 327 would allow the Kentucky Board of Education to hire a non-certified person as a coach as long as that person completes a professional development course offered by the state board. This bill supports our schools’ athletic programs and provides employment opportunities to qualified individuals.

A bill allowing state resort parks and recreational parks with golf courses to sell distilled spirits, wine and malt beverages by the drink was passed by the House by a vote of 54-35. House Bill 308 would allow a local option election for those parks in dry areas of Kentucky. This legislation could provide a tremendous economic boost to our parks’ system, increasing occupancy especially during off periods while promoting Kentucky’s tourism industry.

Consumers will no longer have to pay an unfair tax on vehicles they sold in the month of December, thanks to House Bill 340. In the past, when a vehicle was sold in December, sometimes the new owner would not register it until January of the next year, and the previous owner would be responsible for paying the tax bill. Under House Bill 340, the new owner would be responsible for paying the taxes. The bill also relieves the previous owner from paying a fine for late registration or late payment of property taxes. The bill passed by a unanimous vote of 99-0.

Under House Bill 228, the sale of a popular and powerful hallucinogenic herb called Salvia would be outlawed. Salvia, which can be smoked or chewed, is outlawed in 13 states, but is legal in Kentucky and available on line and at various shops across the Commonwealth. House Bill 228 would make possession and trafficking in Slavia a misdemeanor. The bill passed by a vote of 99-0 and now resides in the Senate for deliberation.

A bill that would help cancer patients with medical bills cleared the House this week. Many times oncology patients undergoing chemotherapy and cancer trials are excluded coverage for routine patient healthcare. House Bill 30 would clarify what is covered by clinical trials and what is covered by a patient’s health insurance. House Bill 30 passed by a vote of 99-0.

The House also voted this week to allow sheriffs, county clerks and PVAs to maintain an official office in a place other than the county seat if authorized by resolution of the fiscal court. House Bill 35 passed by a vote 69-25.

There are 12 legislative days left, and there is still much work to be done. I will keep you informed of our progress through these weekly Legislative Up-dates, but if you have any thoughts on the budget or other issues, please leave a message for me in Frankfort by calling the legislative toll-free Message Line at 800-372-7181, or through the Legislative Research Commission’s website at www.lrc.state.ky.us. It is an honor to serve as your representative and I look forward to hearing from you.