Kentucky Pre-filed Legislation - Part 4

Now for the final installment of the pre-filed legislative follies with the king of pushing the right wing-nut agenda in Kentucky.

Below are summaries and links to the legislation Stan Lee wants passed. There does seem to be a theme to the Lee pre-filed bills, limiting free speech and creating a then and us situation with the Latino community. I always wonder how many of the people that vote for Stan ever take a look at what he does in the General Assembly.

Here’s what Stan wants:

More police power so the local police can take over a job that is national in nature bill.

BR 17 - Representative Stan Lee (05/19/06)
AN ACT relating to crimes and punishments. Create a new section of KRS Chapter 431 to authorize certified peace officers to enforce U. S. immigration laws and prohibit city, county, urban-county, charter county, or consolidated local governments from prohibiting their peace officers from doing so.

A fear the Latino population, only English will be spoken here bill.

BR 34 - Representative Stan Lee (05/23/06)
AN ACT relating to the official language of the Commonwealth. Amend KRS 2.013 to provide that unless otherwise authorized or provided by law, all documents produced or utilized by the Commonwealth or its political subdivisions shall be in the English language only.

A triple attempt to limit that nasty habit of free speech.

A ban flag burning bill, a major problem in Kentucky, but a nice lead in to a curbing free speech bill. A resolution to keep the ACLU in line and attack First Amendment rights, goes well with the flag burning bill. A bill that would do the same thing in Kentucky as H. R. 2679 would do on the national level.

BR 153 - Representative Stan Lee (09/11/06)
AN ACT relating to crimes and punishments. Amend KRS 525.110 to prohibit the desecration of the national or state flag under circumstances likely to produce an imminent breach of the peace.

BR 83 - Representative Stan Lee (07/12/06)
A RESOLUTION urging the U.S. Congress to pass the Public Expression of Religion Act of 2005 (H.R. 2679), which proposes to amend sections of the U.S. Code to limit relief for Establishment Clause actions. Urge the Congress of the United States to enact the Public Expression of Religion Act of 2005 (H.R. 2679), which proposes to amend sections of the U.S. Code to limit relief for Establishment Clause actions.

BR 84 - Representative Stan Lee (07/12/06)
AN ACT relating to civil rights. Amend KRS 344.450 to preclude the award of actual damages and attorney's fees in civil rights cases involving the Establishment Clause.

I’ve already talked about this one in the first post on Pre-filed Legislation. I would still like to see Stan come up with a way to fund the legislation already on the books that addresses this problem.

BR 98 - Representative Stan Lee, Representative David Floyd (09/14/06)
AN ACT relating to the Students with Special Needs Scholarship Program. Create new sections of KRS Chapter 157 to establish the Students with Special Needs Scholarship Program to permit exceptional students as defined by KRS 157.200(a) to (m) to receive a scholarship to move from his or her resident public school to a participating school; define participating school as a public or nonpublic school that meets certain criteria and accepts the student for enrollment; the maximum amount of the scholarship shall be an amount equal to the per pupil funding based on the average daily attendance and add-on funds for exceptional children that are allotted under the Support Education Excellence in Kentucky program; the resident district shall provide or pay for transportation for the student to attend the nonpublic participating school; the Kentucky Board of Education shall promulgate necessary administrative regulations to implement and manage the scholarship program.

And did one of Stan’s neighbors complain about that 200 square foot flag he must want to fly in his front yard?

BR 39 - Representative Stan Lee (06/05/06)
AN ACT relating to the display of the flag of the United States of America. Amend KRS 2.042, relating to the display of the flag of the United States of America to include display from a flagpole located in the person's yard as a protected method of display.

You know if this one passes I may have to get one of those flags for my yard and when the home owners association comes after me, maybe Stan will defend me pro-bono.

Kentucky Pre-filed Legislation - Part 3

The question on this piece of legislation is whether Rep. W. Milward Dedman Jr. is as clueless as this makes him look or is he trying to do a favor for a friend or just curry favor with state employees.

BR 144 - Representative W Milward Dedman Jr (09/18/06)
AN ACT relating to state employee annual increments. Amend KRS 18A.355 to provide that state employees making less than $60,000 shall receive a five percent annual increment, state employees making $60,000 or more shall receive an annual increment equaling the federal Social Security cost-of-living adjustment, and state employee salary reductions under a budget reduction plan shall be calculated based on the proportions for the annual increment; amend KRS 48.130 to conform; Effective July 1, 2007.

First, all employees should already get a 5 percent annual increment:

18A.355 Formula for increasing base salary or wages of state employees --
Percentage of annual increment may be reduced.
(1) An annual increment of not less than five percent (5%) of the base salary or wages of each state employee shall be granted to each employee on his anniversary date.

But this doesn’t happen because the budget always takes precedence over KRS 18A. Ask a state employee how many times in the last 10 years they got a 5% raise.

Second, the changes he wants to make in KRS 48.130 do not mandate a raise for state employees it just removes the line that says the reduction of raises has to be fair. The same line he wants removed from KRS 18A.35.

Any such reduction of the annual increment shall be uniform for all employees.

Third, historically if you look at all of the Social Security cost-of-living adjustments compared to the actual raises given to state employees you will find the net result is state salaries loose by comparison.

So basically what Milward is doing is upping the salaries of the higher paid employees and excluding them from any budget cuts at the cost of the folks at the bottom of the scale.

So the question is:

Is Milward just ignorant of how the process works or is he trying to help a buddy or fool the state employees.

Regardless of the answer, Milward appears to be another Republican Bozo on the Legislative Bus.

Kentucky Pre-filed Legislation - Part 2

Now let's take a look at a good pre-filed bill. Although this bill doesn’t really go far enough, it is a step in the right direction. Try supporting a family on $7.25 per hour, let alone a paltry $5.85 per hour.

BR 148 - Senator Ernesto Scorsone, Senator Walter Blevins Jr, Senator David E Boswell, Senator Julian M Carroll, Senator Perry B Clark, Senator Denise Harper Angel, Senator Daniel Mongiardo, Senator Joey Pendleton, Senator Dorsey Ridley, Senator Tim Shaughnessy (08/31/06)
AN ACT relating to the minimum wage. Amend KRS 337.275 to increase the state minimum wage to $5.85 an hour on the effective date of this Act, to $6.55 an hour effective July 1, 2008, and to $7.25 an hour effective July 1, 2009; and increase to the federal minimum wage rate if that rate exceeds the state minimum wage rate.