Kentucky lawmakers preview legislative priorities in Henderson
HENDERSON, Ky. (WEHT) — The latest legislative bills were discussed at the Henderson County Library over breakfast. The Henderson Chamber of Commerce hosted the legislative preview with local lawmakers, Kentucky State Senator Robby Mills and State Representative J.T. Payne, The community to listened and asked questions of their own.
State Senator Robby Mills and State Representative J.T. Payne discussed a wide range of topics including artificial intelligence, the education system and the impacts of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion.
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'You're looking at somewhere around the year of 2040, or a couple years after [before] it's fully funded,' says Payne.
He says The Kentucky Teacher Retirement System was underfunded for about a decade, and millions of dollars are being budgeted to play catch up.
'When that does happen, that's going to free up probably a couple billion dollars each year for projects such as roads [and] bridges,' says Payne.
State Senator Mills says $150,000 is waiting to be used to further the I-69 Ohio River Crossing Project. 'We're trying to change the budget language on the bridge portion…to allow us to use that money to work on design and engineering,' says Mills.
A question from the crowd centered around the potential impact of defunding diversity, equity and inclusion programs.
State Representative Payne says data will play a huge part into how things move forward.
'Since 2014, underrepresented minority enrollment has increased. When you dive into that number, most of it is from wealthy people and other states. When we look at low income, underrepresented minorities… that enrollment in our institutions has dramatically decreased,' says Payne.
'We want folks to be held accountable by what they do and their actions…as far as being qualified for a job. In my opinion, I think they've, kind of swung one way too far,' says Mills.
Mills referred to the bill's veto last year as support for the level of detail they are putting into tackling the issue.
'There's a reason that nothing got passed,' says Mills.
'[D.E.I. is] to support underrepresented minorities, and that's a positive thing. Nobody can can argue with that,' says Payne.
Artificial Intelligence was also discussed. Payne emphasized a desire to find a balance between state regulation and allowing companies to evolve with the times.
'…incentivizing companies to make expansions and historical investments where they're going to bring new types of careers into those companies… to replace the ones that might be affected by artificial intelligence,' says Payne.
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