I know everyone is getting excited about the up coming election, but let’s pause and look at some of the latest pre-filed brilliance from the Legislature.
Micro - management
First up Sen. Ed Worley wants to make the following change to Section 1. of KRS 278.280.
(2) The commission shall prescribe rules for the performance of any service or the furnishing of any commodity of the character furnished or supplied by the utility, and, on proper demand and tender of rates, the utility shall furnish the commodity or render the service within the time and upon the conditions provided in the rules. The commission shall require that an electric utility shall station at least one full-time service restoration employee in each county in which the utility has five hundred (500) or more customers.
Ed seems to be a little micro-managing to me. The Public Service Commission “shall prescribe rules”, so why does Ed need to write a rule and put in KRS?
Now generally I find the whine of government interference in business to be a little tiresome, but that’s exactly what this smells like.
Bonus for Needy Horse Farm Owners
You have to love legislators that use your tax dollars to take care of needy Horse Farm Owners while making look like they are supporting Higher Education.
Rep. Tom Burch has pre-filed this little gem.
Section 1. KRS 138.510 is amended to read as follows:
(5) (a) Three-tenths[Two-tenths] of one percent (0.3%)[(0.2%)] of the total amount wagered on live racing in Kentucky shall be deducted from the pari-mutuel tax levied in subsection (1) of this section, and twenty-six hundredths[one-twentieth] of one percent (0.26%)[ (0.05%)] of the total amount wagered on intertrack wagering and interstate wagering shall be deducted for the pari-mutuel tax levied in subsection (2) of this section, and allocated to the equine industry program trust and revolving fund to be used for funding the equine industry program at the University of Louisville.
(b) Effective July 1, 2007, if the amount of moneys generated for the equine industry program under paragraph (a) of this subsection fail to equal at least one million dollars ($1,000,000) for fiscal year ending June 30, 2008, and at least one million dollars ($1,000,000) for each fiscal year thereafter, additional funds needed to reach the one million dollars ($1,000,000) shall be paid from General Fund each fiscal year.
(3) State moneys allocated to the equine program under Section 1 of this Act shall be used for the following purposes only:
(a) The education of students, which shall be broadly defined as programs and services that improve the education afforded students and the quality of the equine program and shall include but not be limited to the recruitment and retention of students, the awarding of scholarships, and the quality of instruction provided by staff and faculty;
(b) The conduct of surveys on equine issues; and
(c) The conduct of symposiums and seminars on issues affecting the racing industry.
(4) An annual symposium that promotes Kentucky's preeminence in the horse industry shall be held in the Commonwealth. The University of Louisville shall work cooperatively with representatives of key racing and breeding organizations to determine the time, agenda, and content of the symposium.
So what does this mean?
Tom wants to raise the taxes on betting, but if the take doesn’t reach a million bucks, then the money comes from the General Fund.
General Fund money is the taxes you and I pay even if we never go near a track. This is sort of like co-signing a loan with you shady brother-in-law and hope he makes enough to cover the payments.
And what is the money going to go for, looks like a party, excuse me symposium, for the racing and breeding industry. God knows these guys don’t make enough to throw the party themselves.
They're Not Like Us Award
You have to appreciate a man with a mission. Rep. Stan Lee has come up with another piece of legislation aimed at bashing the Latino population of this state.
AN ACT relating to public contracts.
Create new sections of KRS Chapter 45A to define "Basic Pilot Program," "contract," "contractor," "governmental body," "local public agency," and "unauthorized alien"; require contractors to verify employment eligibility of all employees by registering and participating in the Basic Pilot Program operated by the United States Department of Homeland Security; require the cabinet to promulgate administrative regulations relating to certification and registration requirements with the Basic Pilot Program; provide that failure to comply results in cancellation of contract and disqualification of contract eligibility for five years.
If this one passes, I can’t wait for someone to cut off a highway contract with someone like Leonard Lawson because of who he employees.
