Rep. John Blanton

Create new sections of KRS Chapter 136 to establish the Kentucky Rural Jobs Act of 2022, allowing the Department of Revenue to begin accepting applications from entities seeking approval as a growth fund and allowing no more than $15 million dollars of insurance premiums tax credit to be awarded; amend KRS 131.190 to allow reporting of the tax credit to the Interim Joint Committee on Appropriations and Revenue; provide that Sections 1 to 10 of this Act may be cited as the Kentucky Rural Jobs Act of 2022.

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 90.330 to remove the requirement that a candidate for employment shall not have passed his or her 46th birthday; amend KRS 95.010 to amend the definition of "member" as used in KRS 95.440 to 95.629; amend KRS 95.022 to provide that the number of police officers a city may hire is based on the total number of officers employed by the city in the immediately preceding year; amend KRS 95.450 to provide that any person may file a complaint and a mayor, city manager, or legislative body may prefer charges; to provide that a hearing shall occur within 10 days after charges were filed; to provide that an accused member shall be served with a copy of the charges at least 5 days before a hearing; to provide that an accused member may waive service and demand a hearing within 10 days after charges were filed; amend KRS 95.460 to provide that review by a Circuit Court shall be based solely on the record created before the legislative body and any new evidence regarding arbitrariness of the legislative body; amend KRS 95.495 to provide an exception to the work day limitations for police departments; amend KRS 95.762 to remove the age requirements for a candidate for employment as a police officer; amend KRS 95.765 to provide that any person may file a complaint and a mayor, city manager, or legislative body may prefer charges; to provide that a hearing shall occur within 10 days after charges were filed; to provide that an accused member shall be served with a copy of the charges at least 5 days before a hearing; to provide that an accused member may waive service and demand a hearing within 10 days after charges were filed; amend KRS 337.285 to provide an exception to the work day limitations for police departments with officers who are represented by collective bargaining units.

Amend KRS 16.052 to increase state trooper salaries.

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.

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.

Amend KRS 310.050 to require the Board of Licensure and Certification for Dietitians and Nutritionists to set its fees through administrative regulations.

Amend KRS 610.030 to require a court referral for truancy cases when there is no improvement within 30 days; require a court-designated worker to make a finding if diversion is failed due to lack of parental cooperation; allow a court to refer cases back to the court-designated worker and order parental cooperation; amend KRS 610.265 to require children charged with serious felony offenses to be detained pending a detention hearing; amend KRS 610.340 to provide that confidentiality does not apply to cases in which a child has admitted to or been adjudicated for a violent felony offense; amend KRS 635.060 to require a juvenile's probationary period to remain open until any violations are resolved, if a violation is pending at the time of completion.