Several Northern Kentucky legislators filed legislation Wednesday in both chambers of the Kentucky legislature to challenge St. Elizabeth’s perch as the leading healthcare provider in the region. House Bill 312 would allow any healthcare provider to operate in the three northernmost counties — Boone, Campbell, and Kenton — without first requiring a certificate of need. […]
Author Archives: Mark Payne
Mark Payne is the government and politics reporter for LINK nky. Email him at mpayne@linknky.com.
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Posted inFrankfort
Kentucky Supreme Court decision effectively keeps state’s near-total abortion ban intact
The Kentucky Supreme Court issued a decision Thursday that effectively upholds a near-total ban on abortion in Kentucky. The ruling will send part of the case back to the lower court. In August, the Kentucky Court of Appeals ruled in favor of Attorney General Daniel Cameron’s motion to reinstate the abortion rule that bans the […]
Posted inFrankfort
Legislature passes bill to make more juvenile justice changes
Brittany Harris will never forget the time she spent in the Kentucky juvenile justice system. Harris is now attending Spalding University and is in recovery after dealing with drug addiction, but she’ll never forget the shame she felt after spending time in a juvenile facility. “My heart breaks for any child who has to go […]
Posted inFrankfort
Kentucky lawmakers ponder firearm legislation in 2023 session
On Tuesday, a bill that would make Kentucky a Second Amendment sanctuary passed the House Veterans, Military, and Public Protection Committee. It isn’t the only pro-Second Amendment bill filed so far during the 2023 Kentucky General Assembly legislative session. Filed by Rep. Josh Bray (R-Mount Vernon), House Bill 153 is a duplicate bill filed last […]
Posted inFrankfort
Supreme Court dedicates portrait to late Justice Wil Schroder
On Friday, the Kentucky Supreme Court dedicated a portrait of the late Supreme Court Justice Wil Schroder that will be hanged on the second floor of the Kentucky state capitol. Justice Schroder served the Supreme Court Sixth District, which includes Northern Kentucky, from 2007 to 2013. Diagnosed with a brain tumor in January 2013, he […]
Posted inFrankfort
The Frankfort LINK: Senate passes income tax, anti-LBGTQ education legislation introduced
The Kentucky legislature reconvened for the second part of the 30-day legislative session, and they wasted no time tackling priority legislation for income tax reduction and education. The Senate passed legislation to further reduce the income tax from 4.5% to 4%, and the bill will now head to the governor’s desk.  House Bill […]
Posted inFrankfort
The top headlines from this week in Frankfort
This week, the Kentucky General Assembly reconvened for the second part of the 30-day session. After taking a one-month break after the first week of the session in early January, the Republican-dominated legislature wasted no time getting back to business in the state’s capital. While odd years are shorter sessions and don’t include setting the […]
Posted inFrankfort
Kentucky legislators tackle ‘wokeness’ and parental rights in schools
Giving an impassioned speech on the Senate floor on Wednesday, Sen. Max Wise (R-Campbellsville) said that “wokeness” is real and is happening in Kentucky schools. “The woke agenda that is not clickbait for cable TV is real,” Wise said. “It is happening in schools across the Commonwealth.” Wise railed against the Kentucky Department of Education […]
Posted inFrankfort
Senate passes income tax bill, heads to governor
Today, the Senate passed legislation to further reduce the income tax from 4.5 to 4%, and the bill will now head back to the House for concurrence before heading to the governor’s desk. House Bill 1 codifies the cut in House Bill 8 — a bill passed during the 2022 legislative session that seeks to […]
Posted inEducation
House committee hears testimony on teacher shortage as turnover reaches all-time high
Kentucky education leaders presented information Tuesday on the teacher shortage to the House Education Committee. The findings showed that fewer teachers are entering the workforce than those leaving the profession. The issue, though, is complex, according to Kentucky Department of Education Commissioner Jason Glass. “The pressures on the educator labor market are layered,” Glass said. […]
