Latest news with #Bill495
Yahoo
01-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
GOP threatens Beshear's power as governor pushes back against new laws
The 2025 legislative session just ended, but questions over funding for several bills passed by lawmakers in recent weeks is setting the table for the first conflict of the 2026 Kentucky General Assembly. On one side is Gov. Andy Beshear, a term-limited Democrat in office through 2027 who says his office will be unable to enforce 11 bills approved by the legislature because they did not have budget appropriations attached. On the other side is the Republican-dominated legislature, whose majority leaders say they plan to use the next legislative session — which will be centered around building the state's next two-year budget — to hit back at the governor if he won't carry out the new laws. "We're going to take all doubt out of what he doesn't have the ability to spend money on going forward," House Speaker David Osborne, R-Prospect, said Friday on the last day of the 2025 session. "It will be a different-looking budget next time." In a letter sent to state legislators Thursday, Beshear said some of the bills in question "represent good public policy and programs" and cited only financial implications as the barrier for implementation. But the 11 pieces of legislation in his letter include several of the more controversial bills passed this year, including some his office spoke out against. House Bill 495, which reverses Beshear's 2024 executive order banning conversion therapy while also banning Medicaid from covering some medical treatments for transgender residents, is among them. So is Senate Bill 89, which loosens pollution restrictions for many Kentucky waterways and had drawn "grave concerns" from the Kentucky Energy and Environment Cabinet, as well as House Bill 695, which adds work requirements for able-bodied adults who receive Medicaid coverage in the state. Beshear has estimated implementation costs of each bill would rise into the millions. "These holdings are simple: if the legislature creates a policy or program but does not provide funding, it does not intend for the executive branch to perform those services over the biennium," his letter stated. "... Thesebills are lacking the appropriations necessary to implement these legislative acts." The governor announced earlier this year his office would publish projected fiscal impacts of bills in the legislature through a state website, also prompting pushback from some GOP legislators. In a statement Monday evening, Beshear spokesperson Crystal Staley said the governor asked the General Assembly, "which claims it's fiscally conservative, to be fiscally responsible." "The General Assembly's response was anger over the publication of the fiscal notes and it now threatens to punish the Governor if he cannot run the new, expensive programs without any funding," Staley said. "Our families have to budget, and so should the General Assembly." Republican legislators who took issue with Beshear's claims argued the governor has at times implemented policies that support his own priorities without concern over their impact on state spending. House Speaker Pro Tempore David Meade, R-Stanford, said last year the governor "used $50 million to expand Medicaid, to increase Medicaid reimbursement rates in certain areas," evidence Beshear "doesn't even follow his own guidance." Meade, who's been in office for a dozen years, ended his comments on the House floor Thursday with a warning for Beshear about the next legislative session, when lawmakers will spend 60 days hammering out the next two-year state budget. "Don't worry, governor — because next year when we do the budget, we are going to make it abundantly clear what you can and cannot spend money on," Meade said, to applause from other GOP legislators. In comments to Louisville Public Media, Senate President Robert Stivers, R-Manchester, was more pointed. Beshear, the only official in a statewide elected office who is not a Republican, has been a popular speaker on the national circuit in recent months as a Democrat who won reelection in a solidly red state. He spoke last year during the election cycle at Democratic events in Iowa and Georgia, as he was vetted as a potential running mate for Kamala Harris, and touted Kentucky in a January speech at the World Economic Forum in Switzerland. Discretionary money used by the governor to fund trips, though, could be at risk if the legislature's bills aren't put in place, Stivers said. 'He won't hire anybody, he won't travel. He won't do anything unless he gets authority from the legislature,' he told LPM. 'Because everybody knows, by the Constitution the power of the purse is ours.' Other bills cited in Beshear's letter include: Senate Bill 4, which creates state standards for use of artificial intelligence. Senate Bill 27, which establishes committees and additional research concerning Parkinson's disease. Senate Bill 43, which changes regulations around drivers with physical or mental disabilities. Senate Bill 63, which allows "special purpose vehicles" on highways in some instances. House Bill 346, which alters payments on emissions fees from generators. House Bill 390, which changes state laws surrounding vehicle insurance and online insurance verification. House Bill 398, which loosens state workplace health and safety regulations. House Bill 775, which was expanded late in the session to alter taxes on several products and projects in Kentucky. When Osborne adjourned Friday's House session, he said the chamber would gavel back in to begin next year's 60-day General Assembly on Jan. 6, 2025 — "in the parking lot," he joked, a reference to temporary chambers currently under construction while the state Capitol begins a years-long renovation. If Beshear's office does not implement new laws passed this year, he said, that won't be forgotten when lawmakers return to Frankfort. "He continues to cite feeble legal salutations on why he doesn't have to follow the law. Even as governor, he still has to follow the law," Osborne said. "By and large, I think that you're going to see us move to remedy a lot of that." Reach Lucas Aulbach at laulbach@ This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Beshear, Kentucky Republicans clash over funding for new 2025 laws
Yahoo
15-03-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
KY Republicans pass eleventh-hour bills blocking some adults access to trans health care
With the clock ticking, House Republicans gave final passage to a bill that would ban Kentucky's Medicaid program from funding gender-affirming care for transgender Kentuckians and protect the controversial practice of conversion therapy. House Bill 495 was called for a House vote in the waning hours of Friday evening and passed 67-19 at roughly 11 p.m. Immediately after, Republicans passed Senate Bill 2 to prohibit transgender people incarcerated in Kentucky from accessing gender-affirming health care. There were 67 trans inmates in Kentucky's jails and prisons an attorney for the Justice and Public Safety Cabinet told lawmakers in January — a population that accounted for less than 1% of the total incarcerated population in Kentucky. Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear has signaled disapproval of both bills. Even if he vetoes, because the legislature passed them before midnight, both chambers have time to override a veto when they reconvene later this month. Though few spoke in support of the measure as the clock neared midnight, Rep. Josh Calloway, R-Irvington, told the Herald-Leader that he thought the bill passed because Kentuckians don't want public funds to go towards gender-affirming care. 'I don't think the taxpayer should be on the hook for gender transition surgeries or treatment of any sort,' Calloway said. 'That's not the taxpayers role to have to play into that delusion.' Gender dysphoria, the clinical name for being transgender, is when a person experiences conflict between the sex they were assigned at birth and the gender they most emotionally and intellectually identify with. Major medical associations, including the American Medical Association and the American Psychological Association, say this type of care is 'medically necessary' and have warned that increasing barriers for trans people to access that type of care is harmful. Both bills were met with stark pushback from Democrats, who spoke at length against them on the House floor, less than an hour before the bill passage deadline ahead of the veto period. 'You run on small government (and) individual liberty,' Rep. Adam Moore, D-Lexington, said. 'Nothing's trampling on that more than saying you can't have your medication that was prescribed to you by your doctor.' 'We do not need to be spending time at 11 p.m. on the last day of concurrence debating a bill that only hurts Kentuckians,' said Louisville Democratic Rep. Nima Kulkarni. 'It doesn't do anything to save money. It does not do anything to help providers. It creates liability.' Kulkarni added that 'bad policy is made from uninformed opinions and feelings.' 'We're ignoring data, we're ignoring science, we're ignoring medical professionals, and that is going to hurt Kentuckians,' she said. The question of whether or not the state's Medicaid program even currently covers aspects of gender-affirming care like hormone therapy medication was a live one during the floor debate. When House Bill 495's initial sponsor, Rep. David Hale, R-Wellington, was asked whether Medicaid currently covered access to hormone therapy for trans individuals, Hale said, 'I do not think it does.' But Beshear, who is in charge of the state's Medicaid program, offered offered a different perspective the day before. 'In Medicaid, we allow medical experts to determine what is medically necessary. We don't determine someone's health care based on the politics of the day,' Beshear said in a press conference Thursday. Conversion therapy is a widely discredited form of counseling that attempts to change a person's sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression. Beshear's order being targeted in the bill, House Bill 495, banned the use of tax dollars to pay for the practice but was not outright ban the practice in the state. Fairness Campaign Executive Director Chris Hartman decried the passage of the bill to protect conversion therapy and outlaw the use of Medicaid for gender-affirming care as 'one of the most shameful bills in Kentucky history.' 'I must ask why, with a super majority in both chambers, the General Assembly felt they needed to sneak into HB 495 — a ban on transgender Medicaid coverage in one of the last committee meetings of the session — and wait until almost midnight on the final day of concurrence to call the bill and prematurely end debate,' Hartman said. 'They have opened the door to 'conversion torture' by licensed therapists and denied medically necessary healthcare to thousands of Kentuckians under the cloak of darkness.' In a plea for Republicans to re-think supporting the bill to protect conversion therapy and end Medicaid-funded gender-affirming care for adults in Kentucky, Louisville Democratic Rep Lisa Willner tried to appeal to their empathy. 'I understand that maybe some of you don't know any trans people, maybe you think it's wrong, maybe you think that it's against your beliefs,' she said. 'But please understand that these folks we're talking about, who we may be right now about to deliver a death sentence to, they're somebody's child, they're somebody's siblings, they're someone's parents, perhaps they're friends, they're part of communities, they're our neighbors. 'Please, folks, please, let's show some mercy.' Lexington Councilwoman Emma Curtis said late Friday night, 'as a trans Kentuckian whose life was saved by gender-affirming care that I could not have accessed without Medicaid, my heart breaks for the thousands of trans Kentuckians who won't be afforded that same basic right and whose lives and well-being are now at risk.' The Kentucky Family Foundation, a conservative Christian lobbying group that championed both bills, celebrated their passage calling it a 'positive development.' 'To use taxpayer funds for such purposes is not only poor stewardship but encourages individuals to undergo irreparable harm to their person,' Family Foundation Executive Director David Walls said. 'It's not possible to change a person's sex, and government has no place in promoting or subsidizing such madness.'
Yahoo
13-03-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Late change to bill ending Kentucky conversion therapy ban will now disqualify Medicaid-covered transgender care
FRANKFORT, Ky. (FOX 56) — Late bill changes sparked an outcry from Kentucky's LGBTQ community on Wednesday. Lawmakers are moving ahead on a bill not only repealing a conversion therapy ban, but it could now impact transgender people on Medicaid. 'You will cost lives. This was not the original intent of this bill at all,' The Fairness Campaign executive director Chris Hartman told lawmakers in a meeting of the Senate Health Services Committee on Wednesday. Nicholasville man allegedly uploaded child porn onto social media, told police it was 'stupid' 'There are many medical procedures that the government does not cover, and the government has no business covering those services,' The Family Foundation policy director Nick Spencer told lawmakers later in that same Bill 495 has taken on many forms this session. The bill originally began as a proposal to protect counselors from government discrimination, countering an executive order last fall by Governor Andy Beshear to ban conversion therapy. In the House, lawmakers rewrote the bill with an amendment to simply repeal the executive order. It passed 77-18 last week. On Wednesday, the Senate Health Services Committee added language, taking the bill further. In addition to repealing the executive order, it would now also ban any Medicaid coverage for cross-sex hormones or gender reassignment surgery. Executive director of The Fairness Campaign Chris Hartman was almost removed from the room over the late change. 'How dare you?' Hartman exclaimed before being ordered to stand down by committee chairman Sen. Steve Meredith, who threatened to remove Hartman if he continued to raise his voice. 'These people were prepared to testify on House Bill 495 on conversion therapy. What you have allowed, Mr. Chairman, is a sneak attack on our transgender community without public input,' Hartman said. The Family Foundation policy director Nick Spencer supports the bill. He said he believes the governor's executive order limits free speech to only counsel one way on LGBTQ issues, and people should be able to choose the counseling that fits them. Democrats questioned how that logic fits with the bill's changes. 2 displaced after house catches fire on Montclair Drive Late change to bill ending Kentucky conversion therapy ban will now disqualify Medicaid-covered transgender care Spring break canceled for Clay County Public Schools; districts work to make up missed days 'You need to explain to me how you reconcile that with the addition to this bill banning Medicaid from covering transgender treatment for adults,' Sen. Karen Berg (D-Louisville) asked.'My justification is that the government has no business spending tax dollars on elective surgeries and elective procedures for people with transgender feelings,' Spencer responded. The bill could go before the full Senate as soon as Thursday. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
12-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Legislature passes bill for state control of SLMPD
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – The Missouri Legislature fully passed a public safety bill Wednesday, clearing the way for St. Louis' police department to be controlled by a governor-appointed board of police commissioners. House Bill 495, sponsored by St. Louis County Republican State Rep. Brad Christ, is the first piece of legislation to make it to desk of Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe. The vote on the final bill in the House was 113-39. GOP Representatives also forced an emergency clause vote, which also passed, meaning its implementation can begin as early as August. Christ's bill merged with a similar Senate proposal spearheaded by State Sen. Nick Schroer, R-St. Charles County. One by one, representatives from St. Louis to Kansas City stood to question Christ Wednesday morning. Both Democrats and Republicans spoke on the first bill to be completely passed and agreed on. The department had been under state control since beginning of the Civil War. That was until a statewide ballot initiative was approved by Missouri voters in 2012 with 64% approving the move the department under the direct prevue of the Mayor of St. Louis, who at the time was Francis Slay–a moderate Democrat who was known for working with Republicans. Even though she wasn't in the chamber, one name kept coming up: St. Louis Mayor Tishaura Jones. Two representatives said that her leadership forced the legislature's hands. 'I believe St. Louis knows what's best for St. Louis…I think this is a slap in the face to the people of St. Louis,' Rep. Tonya Rush, D-St. Louis County, said. 'This is absolutely disrespect.' Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now There was at least one Democrat who stood up in support for the massive bill. Rep. Steve Butz, D-St. Louis, cited safety as the main reason he believes in the bill and why he voted for it. Almost every member who rose to speak on the bill said there were provisions in the omnibus safety bill that they agreed with. Monday's final vote in the Senate was 27 to 5. The GOP governor from north St. Louis says signing this into law is one of his top priorities. 'The model in place, before the 2013 swapping of power, worked for the citizens and the police officers of St. Louis,' Kehoe told FOX 2 last week. 'We think it's a good model to have happen…we're taking politics out of that.' When asked about the future of St. Louis Police Chief Robert Tracy, Kehoe signaled support for the chief, saying Tracy is moving the department in the right direction. Earlier in the week after the Senate gave its final nod on the measure, Mayor Jones blasted lawmakers in a statement. She released a new statement shortly after the bill's passing Wednesday, that reads, in part: 'There is one thing that the bill sponsors and I agree on – that this bill is not a crime plan. My administration and I have spent the last four years addressing the realities of crime in our city. We continue to improve 911 response times, we've introduced call diversion programs, we've invested in community organizations that address the root causes of crime, and all this has resulted in a historic decrease in crime. All this bill does is halt and reverse our progress in service of allowing a small number of non-city-residents to pat themselves on the back because they succeeded in taking away the will of the voters once again. This bill is disrespectful, it's pathetic, and it's cowardly.' Returning control of the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department to the state is just one sliver of a much-broader proposal that includes numerous other provisions. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
12-03-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
'You will cost lives': Kentucky bill bans Medicaid funding for gender-affirming care
A bill that would overturn Gov. Andy Beshear's executive order restricting conversion therapy has been amended to prohibit transgender Kentuckians from receiving gender-affirming care through Medicaid. House Bill 495, sponsored by Republican Rep. David Hale, would invalidate Beshear's 2024 order banning the use of state and federal funds on conversion therapy for minors. It passed out of the House last week on a 77-18 vote. A committee substitute passed Wednesday in the Senate Committee on Health Services added a provision that bars the state Department of Medicaid Services and any entity expending Medicaid funds from covering medical services that align a person's physical traits with their gender identity. According to the bill's language, that includes: "Cross-sex hormones in amounts greater than would normally be produced endogenously in a healthy person of the same age and sex." "Gender reassignment surgery to alter or remove physical or anatomical characteristics or features that are typical for and characteristics of a person's biological sex." More: Where key bills stand as the 2025 legislative session nears end The last-minute addition drew strong criticism from opponents of the bill, including Fairness Campaign Executive Director Chris Hartman, who had a heated exchange with Republican Sen. Stephen Meredith, who chairs the Senate committee. Hartman began his testimony with a raised voice, saying "How dare you all?," before Meredith interrupted him. "This has been a great conversation so far," Meredith said. "I'm not going to allow you to berate the people in this committee." Meredith continued to tell Hartman if he continued to raise his voice, he would be asked to leave. "I've seen you come into this committee before and yell at people, berate people, trying to dissuade their opinion in a way that is totally unacceptable," Meredith said. "I will not accept this from you." Hartman continued his testimony, saying the committee substitute is a "disrespectful subversion of the legislative process and "a sneak attack on the transgender community." "What you are doing now is denying life-saving medical health care to an untold number of Kentuckians without debate this late in the game because folks don't want to have this debate," Hartman said. "You will cost lives. This was not the original intent of this bill at all. I'm disappointed, Mr. Chairman." "It wouldn't be the first time, thank you" Meredith responded. "It actually is," Hartman replied before leaving the table. Nick Spencer, the director of policy for the Family Foundation, was the lone testimony in support of the bill. Spencer said the government "has no business policing" what answers are presented by counselors during conversations between them and a patient. "We've heard this morning that conversion therapy tells somebody that there's something wrong with them and that they need to be fixed," Spencer said. "At its core, the purpose of counseling is to help somebody fix what is broken. And speaking as a pastor, I would say that everybody in this room, myself included, is broken and in need of fixing." The bill passed the committee on a 6-3 vote, with Democratic Sens. Keturah Herron and Karen Berg and Republican Sen. Danny Carroll voting against the measure. Carroll raised concerns over how conversion therapy could potentially harm children while explaining his "no" vote. "This type of therapy seems to go in with that sole purpose, to change someone, which if ... that child is not prepared for that, I could see that being very detrimental," Carroll said. Republican Sen. Robby Mills said Kentucky Medicaid does not cover transgender care services currently but voted in favor of advancing the legislation. The bill now heads to the Senate for a full floor vote. Reach reporter Hannah Pinski at hpinski@ or follow her on X, formerly known as Twitter, at @hannahpinski. This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Kentucky bill bans Medicaid funding for gender-affirming care
