Rep. Ryan Dotson

Propose to amend Section 181 of the Constitution of Kentucky to permit the General Assembly to authorize a county, city, town, or municipal corporation to assess and collect local taxes and fees that are not otherwise in conflict with the Constitution; provide ballot question with proposed amendment; submit to voters for ratification or rejection.

The State/Executive Branch Budget: Detail Part I, Operating Budget; appropriate to General Government: 2021-2022: $925,391,000, 2022-2023: $2,450,394,100, 2023-2024: $1,945,550,500; appropriate to the Economic Development Cabinet: 2021-2022: $631,100, 2022-2023: $42,311,100, 2023-2024: $43,841,800; appropriate to the Department of Education: 2021-2022: $4,038,300, 2022-2023: $6,272,487,700, 2023-2024: $6,338,219,700; appropriate to the Education and Workforce Development Cabinet: 2021-2022: $4,302,200, 2022-2023: $226,803,000, 2023-2024: $228,602,800; appropriate to the Energy and Environment Cabinet: 2021-2022: $7,288,800, 2022-2023: $286,829,000, 2023-2024: $293,691,700; appropriate to the Finance and Administration Cabinet: 2021-2022: $144,212,800, 2022-2023: $973,840,400, 2023-2024: $983,730,600; appropriate to the Health and Family Services Cabinet: 2021-2022: $829,642,400, 2022-2023: $19,075,453,600, 2023-2024: $19,366,023,400; appropriate to the Justice and Public Safety Cabinet: 2021-2022: $29,301,600, 2022-2023: $1,404,716,500, 2023-2024: $1,426,598,900; appropriate to the Labor Cabinet: 2021-2022: $4,206,200, 2022-2023: $566,497,600, 2023-2024: $546,164,200; appropriate to the Personnel Cabinet: 2021-2022: $857,800, 2022-2023: $160,656,600, 2023-2024: $156,161,800; appropriate to Postsecondary Education: 2021-2022: $1,067,800, 2022-2023: $11,925,169,400, 2023-2024: $16,130,308,100; appropriate to the Public Protection Cabinet: 2021-2022: $4,857,700, 2022-2023: $134,773,200, 2023-2024: $136,708,300; appropriate to the Tourism, Arts and Heritage Cabinet: 2021-2022: $25,708,200, 2022-2023: $306,414,300, 2023-2024: $322,190,100; not included in the appropriation amounts are capital project amounts as follows: 2021-2022: $4,739,000, 2022-2023: $12,585,526,731, 2023-2024: $905,877,600; detail Part II, Capital Projects Budget; detail Part III, General Provisions; detail Part IV, State Salary/Compensation, Benefit, and Employment Policy; detail Part V, Funds Transfer; detail Part VI, General Fund Budget Reduction Plan; detail Part VII, General Fund Surplus Expenditure Plan; detail Part VIII, Road Fund Budget Reduction Plan; detail Part IX, Road Fund Surplus Expenditure Plan; detail Part X, Phase I Tobacco Settlement; and detail Part XI, Executive Branch Budget Summary; APPROPRIATION.

Amend KRS 403.720 to include violence against an animal when used as coercive conduct in the definition of "domestic violence and abuse"; amend KRS 403.740 to allow a judge to award possession of a shared domestic animal to the petitioner; amend KRS 456.010 to include violence against an animal when used as coercive conduct in the definition of "dating violence and abuse"; amend KRS 456.060 to allow a judge to award possession of a shared domestic animal to the petitioner.

Amend KRS 164.370 to define terms; require a governing board of a public postsecondary education institution to adopt a code for student conduct, establish minimum procedural requirements for a nonacademic violation when the violation is punishable by a suspension, expulsion, or termination of student housing, including a presumption of innocence, written notice, maintenance of an administrative file, the right to be present and participate meaningfully, the right to fair and impartial treatment, and the ability to bring a support person; establish enhanced minimum procedural requirements for a nonacademic violation when the violation is punishable by a suspension of 3 days or more, expulsion, or termination of student housing, including the right to be represented by counsel, to present relevant hearing evidence, and to cross-examine hearing testimony; provide a respondent that is suspended for 3 days or more, expelled, or has their campus housing terminated the right to appeal the results of a disciplinary hearing; provide that a participant has the right to appeal a Title IX allegation that does not result in a finding of a violation; provide a respondent or designated complainant shall have the right to appeal a final order of the governing board in Circuit Court; provide that nothing in the section shall be interpreted to impede or delay law enforcement, impair an institution's ability to take reasonable interim measures in a student discipline matter, impair an institution's ability to effectuate a valid judicial order, impair an institution's ability to terminate a student's residence in campus housing for any other reason than a student disciplinary matter, or limit any addition rights afforded under Federal law; create a new section of KRS 164 to require a public postsecondary education institution to publish a report on student discipline every three years; establish the required contents of the report; permit a postsecondary education institution to apply to the Attorney General for an exemption when the institution maintains that required data cannot be adequately deidentified to conform to Federal Law; provide that the Act may be cited as the Kentucky Campus Due Process Protection Act.

Create a new sections of KRS Chapter 199 to create the Employee Child-Care Assistance Partnership program; define terms; obligate the Cabinet for Health and Family Services to administer the program; establish reporting requirements; establish a fund for the program; authorize the cabinet to administer the fund; direct the cabinet to promulgate administrative regulations to effectuate the program; establish program requirements for employers and employees; establish requirements for both permissive and mandatory termination of the program contract; permit the Cabinet for Economic Development to condition program requirements on participation in this program; amend KRS 199.990 to include a penalty; cite as the Employee Child-Care Assistance Partnership; APPROPRIATION; EMERGENCY.

Amend KRS 218A.1410, 218A.1412, and 218A.142 to enhance the penalty for importing or trafficking carfentanil, fentanyl, or fentanyl derivatives from a minimum of 50 percent of the sentence served to a minimum of 85 percent of the sentence served and establish prohibition against the use of pretrial diversion for those criminal offenses.

Amend KRS 39A.100 to exclude houses of worship from emergency condemnation authority; prohibit a governmental entity from prohibiting religious services during an emergency to a greater extent than imposed on other organizations or businesses that provide essential services; require a compelling governmental interest to place a burden on a religious organization; prohibit a governmental entity from taking any discriminatory action against a religious organization on the basis that the organization is religious; define "discriminatory action," "governmental entity," "religious organization," and "religious services"; allow a religious organization to assert a violation of this section as a claim against a governmental entity or as a defense and waive sovereign, governmental, and qualified immunity to the extent of liability under the section; set out remedies available to a religious organization; require construciton in favor of protecting free exercise of religion; require a religious organization to bring an action no later than two years from the date the person should have known of the discriminatory action.

Recognize April 2, 2022, as World Autism Awareness Day and April 2022 as Autism Acceptance Month.

Amend KRS 67.083 to allow a fiscal court of any county to levy all taxes not in conflict with the Constitution, provided that the fee or tax is allowed by the statutes of this state; amend KRS 92.281 to allow cities of all classes to levy all taxes not in conflict with the Constitution, provided that the fee or tax is allowed by the statutes of this state; amend KRS 610.350 to allow certain local government bodies to levy taxes within constitutional limitations, provided that the tax is allowed by the statutes of this state; amend KRS 83.520 to allow the legislative body of a city of the first class to levy all taxes, provided that the taxes are allowed by the statutes of this state; amend KRS 65.760 to allow local governments to levy certain taxes, provided that the taxes are allowed by the statutes of this state; create a new section of KRS Chapter 92 to prohibit municipal corporations that are authorized to levy and collect taxes or fees from levying the tax or fee unless the tax or fee is allowed by the statutes of this state; EFFECTIVE only upon the ratification by voters of an amendment to Section 181 of the Kentucky Constitution.

Amend KRS 205.592 to extend Medicaid eligibility for certain new mothers for up to 12 months postpartum; require the Cabinet for Health and Family Services or the Department for Medicaid Services to seek a federal waiver or other approval if they determine that such waiver or approval is necessary.