Latest news with #HouseBill495
Yahoo
28-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
‘We think it can only get better' – Kehoe defends state takeover of St. Louis police
ST. LOUIS – Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe paid a visit to St. Louis on Thursday morning for a ceremonial signing of a sweeping crime bill that shifts control of the city's police force from local oversight to the state. While Kehoe formally signed House Bill 495 on Wednesday in Jefferson City, he wanted to do a signing with the St. Louis Police Officers Association present. Many in the association are supportive of the bill. Now signed into law, the bill allows for a five-person board to take control of the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department in August. The board would consist of the St. Louis mayor and four commissioners. DeWitts and Mozeliak booed during Cardinals' 2025 Opening Day intros Kehoe, who spoke to St. Louis media members Thursday for the first time since approving the bill, emphasized the historical precedent of the move and claimed it was effective in the past. 'We don't have to imagine what this would look like,' said Kehoe. 'It was under this control for 120 years. Kansas City is still under the same model. This is not some new thing that somebody just thought of. This is a proven process that has worked in the past and we want to give it a shot again. We think it can only get better.' For more than a century, control of the St. Louis Police operated under a similar oversight structure with a Board of Police Commissioners that consisted of the mayor and gubernatorial appointees. That Civil War-era arrangement remained in place until voters overturned it during the 2012 election, and the City of St. Louis has retained exclusive authority over the department since 2013. The move to state takeover will return the department to a previous model. To qualify, commissioners must have lived in the City of St. Louis for at least three years and cannot hold any other public office. The governor would have sole discretion over one appointment, while the remaining three would be selected based on recommendations from the mayor's office, St. Louis Police Officers Association and Ethical Society of Police. Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now A recent comprehensive poll from Saint Louis University and YouGov PLC found that around 47% of respondents would favor local control of the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department (the current system set to change in August), while 39% favor state control and 14% are unsure. While speaking to media Thursday, Kehoe was asked why he strongly pushed for a measure that has received mixed reactions from the public. 'Because it's needed,' said Kehoe. 'Sometimes you got to make decisions in leadership to do what you think is best for the people that you serve.' The new crime bill signed into law also increases penalties for burglary, retail theft and sex trafficking of minors, while requiring Missouri law enforcement agencies to report immigration status of suspects. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
27-03-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Gov. Beshear's conversion therapy, transgender Medicaid coverage veto overturned
FRANKFORT, Ky. (FOX 56) — The General Assembly has overturned the governor's veto on House Bill 495. 'The Republican-led legislature just overrode my veto on House Bill 495, which will allow conversion therapy in Kentucky,' Gov. Andy Beshear announced on X, formerly known as Twitter, on the afternoon of March 27. Gov. Beshear vetoes bill aimed at overturning conversion therapy ban and Medicaid coverage for gender-affirming care Beshear banned conversion therapy in the Commonwealth with a September 2024 executive order. House Bill 495 saw a last-minute addition before the veto recess, moving forward with not only repealing a conversion therapy ban but also impacting transgender people on Medicaid. Medicaid coverage for cross-sex hormones or gender reassignment surgery will now be banned. The Family Foundation policy director, Nick Spencer, supports the bill. He told FOX 56 he believes the governor's executive order banning conversion therapy in the Commonwealth limits free speech, and people should be able to choose the counseling that fits them. Gov. Beshear veto against tolls on new I-69 bridge overriden Here's how to watch the Wildcats play against Tennessee on a giant screen for free Lexington Legends announce partnership with Kentucky bourbon, exclusive giveaway 'Win for free speech, religious liberty, and for fiscal and moral sanity! Gov. Beshear's veto on HB 495 has been overridden by both chambers. KY counselors and pastors can once again share the truth about God's design for gender and sexuality. And our tax dollars will no longer pay for gender mutilation via Medicaid,' The Family Foundation wrote on X Thursday afternoon. The Fairness Campaign called the override devastating. 'It's a sad day in Kentucky. Two anti-LGBTQ bills will become law with devastating consequences for our community. HB495 opens the door to 'conversion torture' and denies Medicaid coverage for transgender healthcare. Likewise, SB2 denies healthcare to transgender inmates. Both are cruel and have no place in our Commonwealth,' Fairness Campaign Executive Director Chris Hartman said. Gov. Beshear vetoes 9 bills on education, healthcare, and more on Wednesday Senate Bill 2 was passed into law without the governor's signature. Beshear said that he doesn't believe that the state should pay for gender reassignment surgeries for convicted felons 'as this would mean those in prison would receive better access to medical care than a law-abiding citizen.' Beshear shared a video explaining the reported dangers the bill poses. 'Listen to the experts and survivors who know how dangerous this torture is. These are the voices they didn't want you to hear. I hope you'll listen,' he said. Click here to view the governor's response. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
24-03-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Gov. Beshear vetoes bill aimed at overturning conversion therapy ban and Medicaid coverage for gender-affirming care
FRANKFORT, Ky. (FOX 56) — Gov. Andy Beshear has announced the veto of House Bill 495. The bill would've overturned his September 2024 executive order banning conversion therapy in the state. An added amendment would've also banned any coverage of gender-affirming care for people on Medicaid. Late change to bill ending Kentucky conversion therapy ban will now disqualify Medicaid-covered transgender care Gov. Beshear called conversion therapy 'torture' and that he vetoed the bill to fight for what is right. He has only vetoed a handful of other bills passed by the legislature before the veto recess. The most notable being House Bill 4. House Bill 4 would've eliminated DEI funding in higher education. The governor has a few more days to veto any bills sent to his desk. Gov. Beshear vetoes bill aimed at overturning conversion therapy ban and Medicaid coverage for gender-affirming care Skeletal remains found in McCreary County identified as man last seen in 2018 Berea Independent Schools announces shift in leadership amid community concern In Kentucky, when the governor receives a bill, he only gets 10 days excluding Sundays to sign it or veto it. If he does nothing, the bills will automatically become law. The veto recess ends on Thursday, March 27, when lawmakers will return to Frankfort for the final two days of the legislative session. Lawmakers could vote to override any vetoes by the governor at that time. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
24-03-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Beshear vetoes conversion therapy bill
At the 2025 Fairness Rally, Gov. Andy Beshear promised to veto a bill that's meant to cancel his restrictions on conversion therapy. The rally is photographed from the vantage of the Abraham Lincoln statue's boot, March 11, 2025. (Kentucky Lantern photo by Sarah Ladd) Fulfilling a promise he made at this year's Fairness Rally, Gov. Andy Beshear has vetoed a bill that would cancel his administration's restrictions on conversion therapy and prohibit Medicaid from covering transgender-affirming medical care. The Republican-controlled legislature reconvenes on Thursday for the last two days of the 2025 legislative session, at which time lawmakers can easily override Beshear's veto. In his veto letter, Beshear called House Bill 495 an 'unconstitutional infringement' that 'promotes a dangerous and discriminatory practice that has led to the deaths of Kentucky children.' Conversion therapy is a discredited practice that attempts to alter gender expression and sexual attraction that diverges from heterosexual normativity 'with the specific aim to promote heterosexuality as a preferable outcome,' according to the The American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.' In 2024, Beshear signed an executive order aimed at ending the practice on Kentucky minors. 'Conversion therapy has no basis in medicine or science and causes significant long term damage to our kids, including increased rates of suicide, anxiety and depression,' he wrote in his veto message on HB 495. 'As leaders and policy makers, we should be in the business of protecting our citizens and kids from harm, not subjecting them to discredited methods that jeopardize their health, well being and safety.' Beshear's veto message did not mention the bill's ban on Medicaid covering gender-affirming medical care. veto
Yahoo
23-03-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Beshear vetoes KY bill protecting conversion therapy, blocking some adults trans health care
Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear has vetoed a bill that would have protected conversion therapy practices and denied Medicaid funds to pay for gender-affirming health care for transgender Kentucky adults. Beshear vetoed House Bill 495 Saturday night at the Kentucky Fairness Campaign Dinner in Louisville in front of an audience who cheered as he did. Before doing so, Beshear remembered his friend Thomas Elliott, who was killed during the mass shooting at the Old National Bank in 2023. The last text message Beshear received from Elliott was after the Fairness Campaign Dinner two years ago. 'The last text I ever sent him, on the way home, I said, 'Tommy, how'd I do?' And he texted back he was proud of me,' Beshear said. 'He was so proud of me because his daughter is happily married to another woman.' He said Elliott was watching down on the group Saturday night and he was ready to make him proud again. 'And I think I brought my veto pen,' Beshear teased. After signing the veto document, he gave the pen up for auction. The veto is unlikely to last, however. The Republican-dominated legislature returns to Frankfort on Thursday, where lawmakers will have two days to override the governor's vetoes. Introduced by Rep. David Hale, R-Wellington, HB 495 was amended during a committee meeting in early March to ban Kentucky Medicaid program funds from paying for gender-affirming hormones or surgery for transgender adults. The governor called the practice of conversation therapy 'equivalent of torture' in comments shared at a previous weekly press conference. Conversion therapy is a widely discredited form of counseling that attempts to change a person's sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression. Beshear previously signed into place an executive order that restricted the practice. Beshear's order being targeted in the bill banned the use of tax dollars to pay for the practice but was not outright ban the practice in the state. 'Conversion therapy has been discredited by every major medical organization that's looked at it,' Beshear said previously. 'It significantly increases the chances of suicide amongst our LGBTQ-plus youth. 'It is equivalent of torture, and we should not be allowing it to happen here in the Commonwealth.' This is not the first time Beshear has vetoed high-profile anti-LGBTQ legislation. In 2023, the governor vetoed — and was overridden by the legislature — a bill that banned the practice of gender-affirming health care, like puberty blockers and hormones, for transgender minors. And the year before that, Beshear vetoed a bill banning transgender girls from participating in girls' or women's sports from grades six through college. The legislature overrode his veto then, too. Beshear became the first sitting Kentucky governor to speak at the statewide Fairness Rally in 2020. Lt. Gov. Jacqueline Coleman has also attended pride events throughout her tenure in office and stood next to Beshear as he signed the HB 495 veto Saturday.
