State Government

Serving in his second four-year term, Quarles has been mentioned as a possible candidate for governor in 2023 and has been a vocal critic of Beshear throughout the coronavirus pandemic.

The dispute is over one of several measures passed by the GOP-led legislature this year shifting the governor’s powers to state offices currently controlled by Republicans.

The governor said the public officers named in the bill deserve protection, but that a different measure passed by the legislature this year already does that — Senate Bill 267, the anti-doxxing bill he signed into law Thursday.

U.S. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell called COVID-19 vaccines a “modern medical miracle” and urged Kentuckians to continue to get vaccinated.

The Hopkinsville office is one of 13 Kentucky Career Centers that will begin seeing clients by appointment.

It’s unclear if $200 million in tax breaks the General Assembly passed this year are in violation of the federal act’s ban on states using the funds to offset cuts. The plan requires states to pay back the federal government if that happens.

The General Assembly overrode a veto by Gov. Andy Beshear, who said the legislation would cost the state $200,000 to identify noncustodial parents. The federal government pays for the food benefits.

The legislature dedicated $300 million to expand broadband internet in underserved parts of the state, $250 million for water and wastewater projects, $575 million to start repaying the state’s unemployment insurance loans, and $127 million for school construction and renovation.

Kentucky lawmakers revived a bill limiting no-knock warrants on the last day of the legislative session.

One override, of the governor's veto of HB 312, will allow the legislative branch to judge for itself which records to produce in an open records request. A Democratic lawmaker said it was like "the fox watching the hen house."

Most Kentucky districts already have full-day kindergarten but a key swing vote on the controversial school choice bill appeared to hinge on the kindergarten funding.

The Republican-led legislature will likely override Beshear’s vetoes when lawmakers return for the final two days of this year’s session on Monday and Tuesday.