State Government

Republican Sen. Whitney Westerfield, of Crofton, said Franklin Circuit shouldn’t have “outsized significance.”

The committee was formed in response to a petition from four men who reside in Grayson, Mercer, Bullitt and Fayette counties.

One bill would allow local control of tobacco policies that were taken away in 1996 when cigarette manufacturers lobbied to pre-empt local control as a way to overturn existing local laws and prevent future community measures to reduce tobacco use.

The legislature, which waived rules normally allowing the public to review and comment on bills, gave final passage to a bill that would limit Beshear’s emergency orders to 30 days unless the legislature votes to extend them.

The governor proposed paying for the new spending by using more than $600 million in one-time funds, largely from federal CARES Act money.

The Kentucky House has passed a bill that would allow businesses and schools to reopen during COVID as long as they follow federal guidelines.

The Fifth District congressman said his stance was the result of hundreds of calls from constituents questioning the election results.

The program will be shown during Monday's League of Women Voters meeting.

In a statement, Comer condemned the acts of pro-Trump extremists who breached the Capitol on Wednesday.

The Republican-led Kentucky legislature is moving quickly with bills to alter the governor’s emergency powers, restrict abortions and allow businesses to stay open during the coronavirus pandemic.

The requirement comes after several instances of lawmakers not wearing masks during interim committee hearings last year.

Beshear said reducing his emergency powers while the virus is surging and hospitals are filling up, and the state is deploying vaccines, "would not only be a shame, it would be a tragedy."