Legislators advanced several KLC initiatives on Wednesday. House committees unanimously passed the bills, sending the measures to the full House of Representatives for consideration. KLC Executive Director/CEO J.D. Chaney appeared before two committees to urge passage of the bills.

The House Licensing, Occupations and Administrative Regulations Committee approved House Bill 179. Representative Phillip Pratt (R-Georgetown) filed the measure to amend language in 2019 legislation that allowed cities with a population of less than 20,000 to collect an alcohol regulatory licensing fee. House Bill 179 clarifies that cities that had a local-option election between July 15, 2014, and July 15, 2018, can collect the fee within two years of the effective date of the act.

Chaney and Representative Adam Bowling (R-Middlesboro) testified before the House Local Government Committee. Bowling sponsored House Bill 7, a KLC initiative that establishes a recovery ready communities advisory council and certification program. Chaney noted that the council will give local elected officials an opportunity to work with substance abuse experts.

“If you think of the one thing that impacts the quality of life in our communities, it is the substance abuse problem,” Chaney stated. “This working group provides an opportunity to engage our local officials more substantively, ensuring these types of programs are available for the citizens of their community.”

The House Local Government Committee also passed House Bill 44, sponsored by Representative Kim Banta (R-Fort Mitchell). The KLC-supported bill would establish crisis intervention team training for firefighters. The House Judiciary Committee passed House Bill 273, known as the Bailey Holt-Preston Cope Victims Privacy Act. KLC supports the legislation, sponsored by Representative Chris Freeland (R-Benton), that would exclude from the Open Records Act photographs or videos that depict a person’s death, killing, rape or sexual assault.