GOP leader Stivers tables bill to remake Kentucky's utility regulator
Kentucky Senate President Robert Stivers, R-Manchester, asked his fellow lawmakers to table a bill to remake the Kentucky Public Service Commission. (Kentucky Lantern photo by Liam Niemeyer).
The leader of the GOP-controlled Kentucky Senate says his bill to remake and expand Kentucky's powerful commission that regulates utilities won't advance in the legislature this year, arguing more discussion on how to address the state's long-term energy policy is needed.
Senate Bill 8, sponsored by Kentucky Senate President Robert Stivers, R-Manchester, would have expanded the membership of the Kentucky Public Service Commission (PSC) — and potentially remove existing commission members — by giving the state auditor, Republican Allison Ball, the power to appoint two additional members to a board currently appointed by the governor. A spokesperson for Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear panned the bill as 'partisan politics.'
The PSC regulates the rates and services of more than 1,100 utilities from large investor-owned electricity providers to small water districts that provide drinking water to rural communities.
Stivers previously told the Lantern the bill would advance this legislative session. But in a Wednesday hearing of the Kentucky Senate Natural Resources and Energy Committee, Stivers asked lawmakers not to vote on the bill and only discuss the legislation.
'The state doesn't really have a long-term energy policy, and part of the long-term energy policy, it has to have a discussion of the Public Service Commission,' Stivers said.
Stivers has previously co-sponsored or supported bills that became law the past two years that create new barriers and bureaucracy before the PSC can approve requests from utilities to retire fossil fuel-fired power plants.
One of those laws created a new commission separate from the PSC that reviews the impacts of utility requests to retire fossil fuel-fired power plants before those requests reach the PSC, something investor-owned utilities strongly opposed. Executives with those utilities are now a part of that separate panel, called the Energy Planning and Inventory Commission (EPIC).
Stivers said the discussion over potential legislation dealing with the state's energy policy would continue into next year's legislative session, including how EPIC and another state research authority dealing with nuclear energy fit into long-term energy policy.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CBS News
12 minutes ago
- CBS News
Activists shut out of Sacramento immigration hearings following ICE detainment
There was pushback outside the federal building in Sacramento on Thursday as members of a local activist group say they were prohibited from attending a scheduled immigration hearing that is typically open to the public. The group, NorCal Resist, said some of their volunteers watched as ICE agents detained an immigrant who was there for an appointment. NorCal Resist volunteers say they often accompany immigrants to appointments to observe, document, and support them through their proceedings. But on Thursday, many activists were left outside as the federal building went on lockdown for several hours after the man was detained, and only those with appointments and employees were allowed in, according to CapRadio. "It's a public government building that we have every right to be in," said Giselle Garcia, a volunteer with NorCal Resist. "This is a gross violation of the law that they're doing here." Some activists stayed there through the afternoon, with one activist describing their interaction first-hand to CBS News Sacramento. "It was alarming. There was an armed man who stood in front of me, and I just have a little poster board sign, and there were agents having their faces covered," the protester, who asked not to be named, said. Shortly after 4 p.m., CBS Sacramento saw a caravan of vehicles leaving the federal building, led by a van and unmarked government vehicles. Around half a dozen ICE agents, mostly in masks, exited a gate at the federal building as the vehicles left. ICE has not confirmed the details of its activity in Sacramento. Democratic Congressman Ami Bera, who represents Sacramento County, said President Trump's immigration policies are "creating a culture of fear in our immigrant communities." "We'll support you if you want to go after criminals, but the folks that are not a threat to our community, let's figure out a better way to address that," Bera told CBS Sacramento. Bera told CBS Sacramento that Democrats and Republicans would need to find common ground "to ease tensions in this country." "We're going to have to listen to one another," Bera said. "I want us to come together as a country, so let's do it." Republican Congressman Kevin Kiley spoke to media members over Zoom on Thursday and said that California and the City of Los Angeles have each passed policies that "have encouraged lawlessness" and "a breakdown of order." "Unfortunately, we had political leaders as well who added fuel to that fire with irresponsible and inflammatory rhetoric," Kiley said.
Yahoo
12 minutes ago
- Yahoo
US judge blocks Trump administration from overhauling federal elections
By Nate Raymond BOSTON (Reuters) -A federal judge on Friday blocked President Donald Trump's administration from implementing parts of his sweeping executive order overhauling federal elections, including by requiring voters to prove they are U.S. citizens and barring states from counting mail-in ballots received after Election Day. U.S. District Judge Denise Casper in Boston issued a preliminary injunction at the behest of 19 Democratic-led states who argued that the president lacked the authority to mandate changes to federal elections and the states' voting procedures. The lawsuit is one of several across the nation challenging Trump's March 25 executive order, which he signed after years of raising doubts about the integrity of the U.S. electoral system and falsely claiming that his 2020 loss to Democratic former President Joe Biden resulted from widespread voter fraud. Part of Trump's order has already been blocked by a federal judge in Washington who in April prevented the administration from enforcing provisions requiring changes to the voter registration form and for federal election officials to assess whether people who are registering to vote are citizens. But that ruling was narrower than the one issued by Casper, who not only faulted the citizenship-proof provisions of Trump's order but also the part barring states from counting mail-in ballots received after Election Day. The judge, an appointee of Democratic President Barack Obama, said, "The text of the Election Day statutes require only that all votes are cast by Election Day, not that they are received by that date."
Yahoo
12 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Republicans respond to Israel's strikes on Iran: ‘Game on'
Republican lawmakers welcomed Israel's overnight attack against Iran and asked the public to pray for the Jewish State, which waged strikes against Tehran's expanding nuclear program and military leadership. 'Game on. Pray for Israel,' Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), a defense hawk, wrote Thursday night on the social media platform X. Similar messages were posted by other GOP members of Congress since Israel unleashed an attack that, so far, has killed Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) Commander Hossein Salami, along with two other top Iranian generals. Speaker Mike Johnson echoed President Trump's consistent warning that Iran never obtains a nuclear weapon in his response, commending the administration for working 'tirelessly to ensure that outcome.' 'Unfortunately, Iran has refused to agree and even declared yesterday its intent to build a new enrichment facility,' Johnson posted to X on Friday. 'Israel decided it needed to take action to defend itself,' he added. 'They were clearly within their right to do so. Iran will face grave consequences if it responds by unjustifiably targeting U.S. interests.' Sen. Jim Risch, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, also showed his support for Israel late Thursday, following the strikes. 'We stand with Israel tonight and pray for the safety of its people and the success of this unilateral, defensive action. I am also praying for the brave U.S. service members in the Middle East who keep America safe — Iran would be foolish to attack the United States,' he posted on X. Israel performed at least five rounds of strikes against Iran, hitting dozens of targets, including the Natanz, one of Iran's main enrichment facilities. Israel said the attack was unleashed to help prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a video message that the operation, dubbed 'Rising Lion,' would last 'as many days as it takes.' 'We struck at the heart of Iran's nuclear enrichment program. We struck at the heart of Iran's nuclear weaponization program. We targeted Iran's main enrichment facility in Natanz,' the prime minster said in his address, shared to X. 'We targeted Iran's leading nuclear scientists working on the Iranian bomb. We also struck at the heart of Iran's ballistic missile program.' Sen. Jack Reed (D-R.I.), the ranking member on the Senate Armed Services Commitee, said that Israel's 'reckless escalation' threatens to ignite violence in the region and could jeopardize the safety of Americans stationed in the Middle East. 'While tensions between Israel and Iran are real and complex, military aggression of this scale is never the answer,' Reed said late Thursday in a statement. 'I urge both nations to show immediate restraint, and I call on President Trump and our international partners to press for diplomatic de-escalation before this crisis spirals further out of control,' the Democratic senator added. 'President Trump must be crystal clear with the American people and the international community in charting a way forward. The world cannot afford more devastating conflict born of short-sighted violence.' Iran retaliated, launching over 100 drones, some of whom are intercepted by the Israeli military, according to officials. Trump warned Iran Friday morning to accept a nuclear deal with the U.S. or it would face harsh consequences. 'I told them it would be much worse than anything they know, anticipated, or were told, that the United States makes the best and most lethal military equipment anywhere in the World, BY FAR, and that Israel has a lot of it, with much more to come – And they know how to use it,' the president wrote on Truth Social. He added in a subsequent post, 'Now they have, perhaps, a second chance!' Iran, amid the tension, announced Friday that they were pulling out of the next round of nuclear talks that were expected Sunday in Oman. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
