Kentucky

In 19 Kentucky school districts, when a student misbehaves, teachers or principals can still use a paddle to spank students on the behind. Last year, educators used paddling to discipline students at least 284 times — mostly in Eastern and South-Central Kentucky. The state keeps track of how often schools use it, and on who.

Kentucky is one of 19 states where corporal punishment is legal in public schools. That means it’s legal for educators in public schools to inflict pain as a form of discipline, usually through spanking. But state lawmakers are considering legislation that would ban the practice.

A top Kentucky election official says foreign hackers scan the state’s election systems looking for vulnerabilities “on a regular basis” and that lawmakers need to create a more stable funding source for election security.

Jared Dearing, executive director of the State Board of Elections, said election officials don’t know if the hacking attempts are coming from foreign governments, but that they “don’t have good intentions.”

“We are routinely scanned by Venezuela, by North Korea, by Russia on a regular basis,” Dearing said.

A bill that would legalize marijuana for medical use passed out of a Kentucky legislative committee on Wednesday.

Kentucky residents can now get a REAL ID at four offices in the state, but only if they pay with a credit or debit card. Cash and check are currently not accepted at the new offices, and it’s unclear if that’s legal.

The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet and the Attorney General’s office said they could not locate a statute requiring state government offices to accept specific types of payment, such as cash. 

But the United States Federal Code says cash is considered legal tender and must be accepted as payment for all debts, public charges, taxes, and dues.

A bill that would require Kentucky cities, agencies and public employees to comply with federal immigration officials has cleared the first step in the legislative process.

The anti-sanctuary cities bill passed out of the state Senate’s Judiciary Committee on Thursday with a 7-2 vote. Lexington Republican Sen. Alice Forgy Kerr and Louisville Democratic Sen. Gerald Neal voted against the measure.

Opponents have decried the measure as an expansion of law enforcement powers to untrained employees, saying it would sew mistrust in the immigrant community.

A bill that would require doctors to resuscitate infants born after failed abortion attempts has passed out of a committee in the Kentucky Senate.

The measure would make it a felony if doctors and other providers don’t “take all medically appropriate and reasonable steps to preserve the life and health of a born-alive infant.”

Incidents where abortions result in a live birth are extremely rare, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Kentucky is one of several states that restricts abortion during or after the 20th week of pregnancy — around the point at which a fetus could be viable outside the womb.

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear approved a new funding stream Tuesday to help establish a wildlife refuge in Western Kentucky.

A new Pew Charitable Trusts report shows Kentucky’s spending on Medicaid has increased since the recession, but remains below the national average. The study looked at how much Medicaid spending takes up of each state’s revenue.

Pew found Medicaid consumed a greater portion of state revenue across the country from 2000 to 2017. Justin Theal, with Pew, said the organization studies the issue for a couple of reasons.

A new study found that Kentucky is the worst state in the nation to retire. The study by the personal finance website WalletHub is based on factors including affordability, health care, and overall quality of life. 

The survey also ranked states on whether they have an elder-friendly labor market, because many older adults continue to work at least part-time to make ends meet.   

Kentucky’s rank of 48 in health care, and 46 in quality of life, helped drag it to the bottom of the list.

Off-duty police officers hired to do security at Kentucky public schools would be required to carry guns under a bill sponsored by a top Republican in the state Senate.

Kentuckians would no longer vote for governor during odd-numbered years under a bill that unanimously passed out of a legislative committee on Wednesday.

Kentucky is one of the few states in the nation that holds elections in odd-numbered years, which generally have low voter turnout because contests for president, U.S. Senate and Congress aren’t on the ballot.

Sen. Chris McDaniel, a Republican from Latonia, said that moving the elections would save county governments — which run much of the process — about $10.5 million per election cycle.

Gov. Andy Beshear announced Friday that he has reinstated the Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board, which former Governor Matt Bevin abolished in July 2018.

“This is just one step that we are going to take to make sure that when our Kentuckians leave their family in the morning and head to work, it’s in the safest environment possible and that they know that they’ve got a state government that is looking out for their safety,” Beshear told KyCIR.