Sunday, March 22, 2015

2015 Kentucky Laws Signed by Kaiser Steve Beshear (2)

House Bill 298

HB 298 (BR 1010)
R. Rand, J. Hoover, M. Denham, D. Keene, R. Palumbo, G. Stumbo, T. Thompson

“AN ACT authorizing bonds for a postsecondary education capital project, making an appropriation therefor, and declaring an emergency.

 Appropriate to the University of Kentucky from the General Fund $5,459,000 in fiscal year 2015-2016 for debt service to support General Fund Bonds; authorize and appropriate $132,500,000 in Bond Funds in fiscal year 2014-2015 and $132,500,000 in Restricted Funds in fiscal year 2014-2015 for construction of a Research Building at the University of Kentucky; establish that it is the intent of the 2015 General Assembly that the University of Kentucky not base any decision to proceed with the capital project on an expectation of receiving any General Fund moneys for the operation and maintenance of that facility in future biennia; stipulate that all authorizations and appropriations for the capital project shall expire on June 30, 2016, unless reauthorized, with the following exceptions: a construction or purchase contract for the project is awarded, or permanent financing or a short-term line of credit sufficient to cover the total authorized bonds is obtained if the appropriated project completes an initial draw on the line of credit within the fiscal biennium immediately subsequent to the original bond authorization; EMERGENCY.”

Steve Beshear signed this into law on March 9, 2015.

While the intent I agree with, I'm still left wondering... how does UK get $132.5 Million Dollars from Kentucky's taxpayers at the drop of a hat?

First of all, half of it is borrowed, so future Kentucky lawmakers will have to figure how to get that money back. It's a loan. We're borrowing this money. We can't seem to agree that borrowing $3 Billion Dollars for State Worker's Pensions is a good idea, but when UK needs some research money, then BAM!

Just like that, here's $132.5 Million Dollars.

Half of the money is going to be borrowed... from who? From which bank? Who knows? Bank of Kentucky? Some Swiss Bank? US Bank? A local regional bank? The Federal Reserve? A wealthy chiropractor?

But the other half is coming from “Restricted Funds”, whatever that means.

I sure wish these Treasurers would start their Financial Literacy programs... they should do them online, and educate the public about how the State of Kentucky actually operates fiscally.

It seems to me, everybody's been grandfathered in, and nobody really knows what's going on.

“Why do we keep on doing things this way?”

“Well, that's how things have always been done.”

Oooooo-k.

Gotcha

I'm fascinated by this process. First of all, UK officials would have had to have know about Frankfort able to get loans (bonds), and then they had to finagle Frankfort's 138 in order to get handed money to UK, whenever they asked for it... the $132.5 Million Dollars is for Cancer Research, which is noble cause, of course it is, but this large lump sum of money was declared an “Emergency”... not because they're on the verge of curing cancer, and we need to hurry up and find the cure... but as a parliamentary loophole in order slip this bill on through as swiftly as possible.

2015 is not a budget year. We passed a biennial budget last year. We'll pass another budget in January 2016. But not 2015.

Unless you're UK, and you need $ for a big science research building. THEN, it's an emergency.

If I was any other college in Kentucky, I'd wonder why I was omitted from their free Cancer Research $132.5 Million Dollar Giveaway. Murray State, WKU, EKU, NKU, and UofL couldn't use those funds for Cancer Research? Their Presidents and Officials clearly didn't know about this fastrack $132.5 Million Dollar pipeline that one can just get at the drop of a hat... or maybe they didn't invest enough in lobbyists...

Sidenote 1: The Anti-Transgender Community and AT&T telephone and cable monopoly get all they want.

Sidenote 2: Louisville (Greg Fischer) should buy 5 gas stations to regulate the Marathon Gas Station monopoly, who is price-gouging Louisvillians as we speak.

Y'all realize there's evidence of Cannabis curing Cancer in mice, right? Are we being serious about Curing Cancer here, or is it more likely that some political organizations need a fake “Cancer crisis” whipped up in order for them to solve by requesting an emergency $265 Million Dollar Bill in order to maintain their legitimacy, relevance, and preservation?

There's no money in a cure... the Drug Companies have known that for years. Corporations need folks to stay sick for decades, so they'll keep on buying their pills and medicines...

If cancer was truly cured, which should be a major priority for Kentucky, since we're #1 in literally all forms of Cancer ever invented, that puts all of these crisis-peddling bureaucratic whores out of business.

At least the building will have 6 floors on it.




*So I read that the “Restricted Funds” are funds that UK will come up with from private donors, and, most likely, by raising tuition rates on UK students again, like the Council for Postsecondary Education allows all Kentucky Universities to do to Kentucky's students every year.

Because House Bill 298 (2015) was passed as an Emergency, UK received the whole $132.5 Million Dollars immediately upon Steve's signature on March 9, 2015. I wonder if that was check or cash... or electronic bitcoin?
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House Bill 312

HB 312/LM (BR 1022)
sponsored by
T. McKee, J. Short, R. Crimm, C. Harris, C. Howard, M. King, R. Palumbo, Dean Schamore of Breckinridge County, S. Westrom

“AN ACT relating to stray equines and cattle.

 Amend KRS 259.120 to establish posting requirements for stray equine and stray cattle; authorize county judges/executive to administer an oath to a taker-up of stray equine and stray cattle; eliminate the county clerk's service fee for stray certificate; allow a taker-up to have stray equine gelded after a ten day holding period has expired; amend KRS 259.130 to reduce the taker-up's hold time of stray equine to ten days for absolute ownership; amend KRS 259.140 to change the payment requirement to the owner; make county judges/executive be immune from criminal and civil liability for any act related to taking up and posting of stray equine or stray cattle.”

HB 312 - AMENDMENTS

 HFA (1, J. Short) - Amend KRS 259.130 to change hold time from 10 days to 15 days.

SCS/LM - Amend KRS 259.120 to require county judge/executives to contract with a licensed veterinarian, who will document the stray equine's breed, color, sex, marks, brands, scars, and other distinguishing features, perform a microchip scan, and identify the existence of lip tattoos, freeze brands, or microchips; require the county judge/executive to record the veterinarian's findings, the name and residence of the taker-up, and the location of the stray equine, maintain documentation in electronic and paper format, post notification on the county of jurisdiction's Web site and require the county judge/executive to post one photograph of the stray equine's front view and one photograph of the stray equine's side view; require the hold time for stray equines to begin after all documentation has been properly filed and posted by the county judge/executive and taker-up; require that, if ownership is found from identifiers of the stray equine, efforts be made by the county judge/executive or his designee to ascertain the owner by investigatory due diligence in locating the owner and providing notice before holding time expires; require the owner/claimant of the stray equine to reimburse the county judge/executive for the cost of the veterinarian assessment per the contracted agreement; allow parties of a dispute relating to ownership, adverse claimants, third-party claims or liens, value of the equine, or actual itemized expenses incurred, to file an action in a court of competent jurisdiction in which the stray equine was taken up; require the filing of an action to toll holding time as to vesting of ownership interests; allow taker-up of the stray equine to sterilize only after the 15 day holding period has expired, ownership vested, and any pending court cases pertaining to the stray equine have been resolved; amend KRS 259.130 to require that absolute ownership of a stray equine vest in the taker-up at the expiration of 15 days after the county judge/executive and taker-up have filed and posted the required documentation; amend KRS 259.140 to exempt the taker-up from paying the owner of the stray equine if the stray equine is sold for profit before absolute ownership of the stray equine has vested; require the owner not be entitled to any payment from the taker-up if demand for payment is made more than 15 days after the posting of stray equine and vesting of ownership.
SFA (1, R. Webb) - Amend KRS 259.120 to require the county judge/executive to send a copy of the documentation of stray equine to the Office of the State Veterinarian; require the Office of the State Veterinarian to post notification on the Office of the State Veterinarian's Web site and require the Office of the State Veterinarian to post one photograph of the stray equine's front view and one photograph of the stray equine's side view; amend KRS 259.140 to require that participating state agencies be immune from criminal and civil liability for any act related to taking up and posting of stray equine.

Kentucky used to have a law that one could shoot a horse thief on sight. House Bill 312 (2015) is like that, only now, the County Government can steal your horses and cattle.

I'm sure there's a common sense reason behind this, but it seems a bit absurd.

If a County Judge-Executive comes across a stray cattle or horse, he then takes it to a veterinarian to make sure it's healthy, and to inspect it for a microchip, so the original owner can claim it...

The reason I'm skeptical of this is the same reason I'm skeptical of all governments. If governments were actually working hard to make sure the people of their jurisdictions were successful, they'd present each and every opportunity to each and every one of us.

But that's not how things actually work.

The ruling class do whatever they want to do, while giving a PR show to the public, in order to go through the “proper motions”, to make it look legitimate. I remember when Boone County used to change zoning laws for new development, and the government of Boone County basically laughed at the protesters, and changed the zoning laws anyways, no matter who came to the public meeting and complained. Notifying the public of an action the government had already made up their mind to act upon was just a perfunctory formality that had no function except to deceive the public into thinking they actually had a voice... or maybe, some statute required them to do it. Either way, it was an illusion, a smokescreen, a dog and pony show.

For example:

Let's say a piece of land is up for grabs... the old lady who lived there forgot to pay her yearly taxes on it, because she didn't get the tax notice in the mail on time, but it didn't matter to the corrupt ruling class, because corrupt politicians already bought the tax lien certificate to the property, or alerted their land speculator friends of the easy and cheap acquisition, and then, if the grandmother doesn't pay her yearly taxes, plus the interest the tax lien certificate holder charges, then she loses her house and land.

It's insider trading. The one thing the white collar mafia knows best is white collar crimes.

So her house and land are up for sale, and since it was taken by repossession, then due process... an auction is called in order to give the illusion that the general public knew about it... but usually, you've got a handful of consistent land speculators, who pick up these cheap lands as soon as they hear about them, because their government buddies tipped them off.

Or they gave them campaign funds, and therefore had legally bribed them. Sure sure... you can be impeached for bribery, unless it's a political donation to a candidate's campaign, then it's perfectly legit to bribe any public official out here. As long as you go through the proper channels.

One can learn so much more at a Kentucky County Courthouse building than at a County School building.

Now that House Bill 312 (2015) has passed, I wonder, will the Judge-Executive give an earnest effort to finding the original owner of the cow or horse? I sure hope so. I hope they don't use this law to take as many cows and horses as they can find.

Remember, you only have 15 days to recover your horse or cows... if they go missing, and the Judge-Executive has them for 16 days, he's allowed to keep them, and even if you came to claim them on the 16th day... I don't think a good person would care much about it being a day late, but that's assuming the local Judge-Executive of your county is a good, honest, decent, and fair person.

I will say this though: I liked how I was able to understand what this bill intended to do. House Bill 312 (2015) had clear language, and I didn't need any secondary reading sources in order to figure out what Frankfort was aiming at when passing it, unlike most of the bills Steve Beshear has signed so far. I guess Frankfort passes our laws for us, and then we're told about them later.

“There. Now deal with it.”

Steve Beshear signed House Bill 312 (2015) on March 19, 2015.

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House Bill 329 (BR 291)
sponsored by
J. Richards, M. King, J. Bell, R. Bunch, J. DeCesare, M. Meredith, W. Stone

“AN ACT relating to pain management facilities.

 Amend KRS 218A.175 to modify the regulatory, operational, and ownership requirements for pain management facilities that are owned solely by physicians and other practitioners.

HB 329 - AMENDMENT

 HCA (1, J. Richards) - Restore existing statutory language regarding the licensure of pain management facilities operating under a exemption to the statutory prohibition of non-physicians owning interests in pain management facilities.” http://www.lrc.ky.gov/record/15RS/HB329.htm

So House Bill 329 (2015) changes KRS in some mysterious way... does it help consumers? Does it help physicians? Does it help the drug companies? Insurance companies?

The language presented here doesn't tell us anything about what this bill constitutes, what it's about, what it's changing the law FROM to what it's changing the law TO.

I also couldn't find any written articles or documentation about what House Bill 329 (2015) means. I'm about ready to just start calling representatives, and see if they know... this bill was sponsored by 7 folks, as well as being voted on by the majority of both the Senate and House of Representatives (138 total), and signed by the Governor, which means there should be 60 or so folks in Kentucky who knows the meaning of House Bill 329 (2015).

My guess is that Kentucky's media doesn't understand how government actually works, they don't have their own theory about how it works, so they just parrot whatever public official they happen to interview on any given day.

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House Bill 348

HB 348 (BR 1405)
sponsored by
M. Denham, L. Combs, L. Belcher, D. Horlander, M. Meredith, J. Short, R. Smart, W. Stone

“AN ACT relating to special purpose governmental entities.

Amend KRS 65A.010 to clarify that a private entity does not include an entity that is created wholly or in part by a local government or one whose membership includes appointees by a local government, or whose voting membership includes ex-officio local government officials, and clarify that excluded entities are those whose finances, as well as their budgets and financial information, are integrated with the local government in which it operates; amend KRS 65A.020 to allow one-time grant revenues to be excluded in the calculations of the level of the annual fees the special purpose governmental entities are to pay DLG for the registration fees; amend KRS 65A.030 to allow a board, commission, or agency established by statute that has regulatory or oversight responsibilities for a category of special purpose governmental entities to, with the auditor of public accounts' consent, provide alternative financial reviews to satisfy the attestation engagement requirement in the section, and allow the exclusion of one-time grant receipts in determining the requirements relating to audits and financial statements of the special purpose governmental entities.

HB 348 - AMENDMENTS

 HFA (1, M. Denham) - Exempt chambers of commerce from the definition of "special purpose governmental entity."

 SFA (1/Title, D. Thayer) - Make title amendment.

SFA (2, D. Thayer) - Amend Section 1 to exclude from the definition of "special purpose governmental entity" federally regulated public housing authorities that are established pursuant to KRS Chapter 80 that receive no more than 20 percent of their total funding for any fiscal year from non-federal fees, excluding rental income; amend KRS 65.003, relating to local ethics, to remove the provisions exempting non-paid members of jointly created agencies from filing financial disclosure statements and also remove the exemption for board members, officers, and employees of special purpose governmental entities from filing financial disclosure statements” http://www.lrc.ky.gov/record/15RS/HB348.htm

Steve Beshear signed House Bill 348 (2015) into law on March 19, 2015.

I already covered this law in the first blog about Kentucky's 2015 laws, located here: http://young4ky.blogspot.com/2015/03/2015-kentucky-laws-signed-by-kaiser.html, but Ky House Bill (HB) 348 (2015) was so unremarkable, I completely forgot it.

I also like how I organized it before realizing the redundancy, so I will keep it here.

In case you forgot what HB 348 was about too, here's a picture of the Kentucky Republicans tweet about it:
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House Bill 134

HB 134 (BR 262)
sponsored by
D. Keene, D. Osborne, K. Flood, J. Kay, R. Palumbo, S. Santoro, S. Westrom

AN ACT relating to pari-mutuel wagering and declaring an emergency.

Amend KRS 138.510 to exempt a two day international horse racing event that distributes more than $20,000,000 in purses and awards from the excise tax imposed on pari-mutuel wagering; make the exemption apply to money wagered at the track on live races conducted at the track during the international event; exclude money wagered at the track on live races conducted at the track during the international event from the calculation of the track's daily average live handle; extend the exemption to any other two day international horse racing event if it is held within four years of the most recent two day international horse racing event in the state; EMERGENCY

HB 134 - AMENDMENTS

 HCS/FN - Amend KRS 138.510 to exempt a two-day international horse racing event that distributes more than $20,000,000 in purses and awards from the excise tax imposed on pari-mutuel wagering; make the exemption apply to money wagered at the track on live races conducted at the track during the international event; exclude money wagered at the track on live races conducted at the track during the international event from the calculation of the track's daily average live handle; make the exemption effective from January 1, 2015, to December 31, 2017; EMERGENCY.

On March 17, 2015, Steve Beshear signed House Bill 134 (2015), with the listed amendment, into law “(Acts, Ch. 04)”. http://www.lrc.ky.gov/record/15RS/HB134.htm

This law needed to be passed this year because saving Keeneland from having to pay it's fair share of sale taxes this year with the Breeder's Cup http://www.breederscup.com/ was an absolute critical God Save the Queen EMERGENCY.

Steve Beshear doesn't want state (excise) sale taxes on “pari-mutuel” betting to stop the Breeder's Cup from returning to Kentucky.

The Breeder's Cup World Championship is going to be in Lexington, Kentucky this year on October 30-31 at Keeneland.

Pari-Mutuel is defined by Merriam-Webster as:

“a betting pool in which those who bet on competitors finishing in the first three places share the total amount bet minus a percentage for the management http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pari-mutuel

Wikipedia defines Pari-Mutuel betting as:

“Parimutuel betting (from the French: Pari Mutuel or mutual betting) is a betting system in which all bets of a particular type are placed together in a pool; taxes and the "house-take" or "vig" are removed, and payoff odds are calculated by sharing the pool among all winning bets. In some countries it is known as the Tote after the totalisator which calculates and displays bets already made. The parimutuel system is used in gambling on horse racing, greyhound racing, jai alai, and all sporting events of relatively short duration in which participants finish in a ranked order. A modified parimutuel system is also used in some lottery games.” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parimutuel_betting

One sentence of the 5 page KRS 138.510 http://www.lrc.ky.gov/Statutes/statute.aspx?id=28762 law:

“An amount equal to one percent (1%) of all money wagered on live races at the track for quarter horse, Appaloosa, and Arabian horse racing shall be deposited in the Kentucky quarter horse, Appaloosa, and Arabian development fund established by KRS 230.445.” http://www.lrc.ky.gov/Statutes/statute.aspx?id=28762

This is the first time the Breeder's Cup has been to Keeneland in Lexington, Kentucky, but it's been to Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky 8 times before. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Breeders%27_Cup

Halloween of this year, October 30th and 31st, Keeneland will be hosting the Breeder's Cup... so Steve Beshear said that letting the Breeder's Cup people not have to pay sales taxes on pari-mutuel bets this year may entice it to come back in 2018 (since the next two locations for the next two years have already been chosen).

This may or may not work. If it works, then it's a good idea. If it does not, then Steve Beshear just screwed Kentucky out of a $1 Million bucks in tax revenue. All profits will go to the corporation that runs the Breeder's Cup, and none to Kentucky.

The man who runs the Breeder's Cup, however, does live in Kentucky, some of the time. Greg Avioli also has homes in Florida, California, Canada, and New York City. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greg_Avioli


Rep. David Osborne's remarks at House Bill 134 signing https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZhmBwcWLCns





Governor Beshear on HB 134: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Yb5StmMKfY

Governor Beshear on if HB 134 hadn't passed: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LD7IRSt-uMU

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SCR 97

SCR 97 (BR 922)
J. Bowen, S. Humphries, J. Carpenter, C. Embry Jr., C. McDaniel, D. Ridley, W. Westerfield, M. Wilson

 “Recognize Kentucky's aluminum industry.” http://www.lrc.ky.gov/record/15RS/SC97.htm

SCR 97 was signed March 20, 2015 by Steve Beshear.

I'm not sure why a law needed to be passed in order to recognize Kentucky's aluminum industry... of course it should be recognized... we weren't recognizing it as an industry before? I don't understand this law, at all.

That's literally the entire bill's language. Just:

“Recognize Kentucky's aluminum industry.”

Okay. There's aluminum foil. There's aluminum cans. I don't think Kentucky has any raw aluminum sitting in our ground, but there you go. I recognize that Kentucky has an aluminum industry. It has been recognized. I hope I avoid the $1,000 fine for those who absolutely refuse to recognize Kentucky's aluminum industry.
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