LEGISLATIVE UPDATE
Representative Marianne Proctor
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 3, 2025
The importance of reining in administrative overreach
Kentucky’s constitution is abundantly clear that the authority to make laws for the Commonwealth is vested in the state legislature. It was important to its writers that the duly-elected members of the Kentucky House and Senate make the state’s laws, determine the duties and services of the government, provide for their execution, and levy taxes and appropriate funds. The legislature is elected to set public policy for the state, and we are held accountable for our actions by voters at each and every election.
However, over the years and through the administrations of multiple governors, countless policies have been implemented by unelected individuals who work for state agencies and programs. These policies are referred to as administrative regulations and often hold the power of law but lack the democratic safeguards of transparency, debate, and public input that are built into the legislative process. Lawmakers elected by the people, not government employees, should be responsible for making laws because they are elected by the people and directly accountable to their constituents. When unelected agencies impose regulations with the force of law, they bypass the checks and balances that prevent overreach and unintended consequences.
Kentucky taxpayers bear the financial burden of costly administrative regulations that are implemented without sufficient legislative oversight. This session, House Bill 6 (HB 6) and Senate Bill 23 (SB 23) represent critical efforts to rein in the unchecked power of administrative agencies, ensuring that regulatory decisions are made with accountability and transparency. They are both aimed at protecting Kentuckians from excessive costs and unnecessary burdens, while promoting economic growth and restoring the constitutional balance of power between the legislative and executive branches. SB 23 passed into law earlier this session and HB 6, dubbed the Kentucky Regulations from the Executive in Need of Scrutiny (REINS) Act, cleared the House on February 28.
The problem with unchecked administrative regulations: Administrative regulations are necessary for implementing laws. However, they can often lead to unintended consequences when agencies are allowed to create rules without proper scrutiny. In many cases, these regulations impose overly burdensome requirements on individuals and heavy costs on taxpayers and businesses, while discouraging investment. Without clear checks and balances, administrative agencies have the power to establish costly mandates that do not undergo the same process as traditional legislation. Essentially, they are able to make laws without lawmaking.
HB 6 and SB 23 directly address this issue by requiring increased oversight of administrative regulations. These bills ensure that new regulations undergo thorough review to determine their economic impact, necessity, and alignment with legislative intent. By doing so, they prevent agencies from enacting rules that result in excessive costs without legislative accountability.
Protecting Kentucky taxpayers: One of the most pressing reasons to support HB 6 and SB 23 is the financial impact that unchecked regulations have on Kentuckians. Many regulations increase the cost of goods and services, drive up operational expenses for small businesses, and lead to higher prices for consumers. When agencies implement costly mandates without legislative approval, taxpayers ultimately foot the bill.
For example, regulatory overreach in areas such as energy, healthcare, and business licensing can lead to increased costs that burden working families. These unnecessary expenses place an additional strain on the economy, making it harder for businesses to thrive and for residents to afford essential services. By implementing stronger legislative oversight, HB 6 and SB 23 ensure that new regulations are justified, fiscally responsible, and truly serve the public interest.
Restoring legislative authority: Administrative agencies have expanded their authority beyond their original purpose, enacting regulations that function as laws. Elected officials understand the needs of their communities and can weigh the economic and social impact of new policies before enacting them. Government employees, on the other hand, may create rules based on narrow expertise or, in some instances, political agendas rather than broad public interest. HB 6 and SB 23 reaffirm the role of the Kentucky General Assembly in lawmaking by requiring agencies to seek legislative approval for regulations that impose significant economic burdens. This shift restores the constitutional principle of separation of powers, ensuring that the creation of laws remains within the purview of the elected legislative body rather than being delegated to administrative agencies.
All three branches of our government have clear and distinct duties and authority. The people of Kentucky expect us to work together, but also to hold each other accountable as we strive to serve them. Both HB 6 and SB 23 are important to ensuring that happens.
As always, I can be reached anytime through the toll-free message line in Frankfort at 1-800-372-7181. You can also contact me via email at [email protected] and keep track through the Kentucky legislature’s website at legislature.ky.gov.
LEGISLATIVE UPDATE
Representative Marianne Proctor
February 26, 2025
House passes HB 392
Frankfort, Kentucky – The Kentucky House of Representatives passed House Bill 392, sponsored by Rep. Marianne Proctor of Boone. HB 392 ensures that patients in state run mental health facilities can get necessary medical care if the facility can’t provide it.
“While the department is obligated by statute to provide certain medical services for individuals within its care, statute is vague about the department’s authorization to pay for such services, making vendors hesitant to commit to financial agreements due to delays in reimbursements,” said Proctor. “Unfortunately, this has reduced patients’ access to providers willing to provide services to patients of the department.”
House Bill 392 addresses an ongoing problem the Department for Behavioral Health, Developmental and Intellectual Disabilities (BHDID) faces when seeking outside medical care for individuals within its facilities’ care. This bill ensures that patients who are in state mental health facilities, who need non-elective medical care, can receive it in a community-based setting. HB 392 simply streamlines the payment system and creates efficiency in the Cabinet. This measure would centralize these expenses through the Cabinet’s discretionary funds.
“House Bill 392 simply streamlines the payment system and cuts through red tape in the Cabinet for Health and family Services, enforcing efficiency in an area that desperately needs it,” added Proctor. “The state already pays for these services, this measure simply centralizes the expense through the cabinet’s discretionary funds.”
House Bill 392 will now move to the Senate for consideration. To follow this bill, or other legislative measures filed by Rep. Proctor, please visit legislature.ky.gov.
LEGISLATIVE UPDATE
Representative Marianne Proctor
February 18, 2025
Keeping up with the state legislature: A how-to guide
When the General Assembly convenes each year for their regular legislative session, it often feels like we move at a break-neck pace. Dozens of bills are filed every day, committees are meeting and debating, and bills and resolutions come before the full House for consideration. To be honest, we work hard to keep focused and I am regularly reminded why we do so much work during the months between sessions.
It can be undeniably overwhelming from the outside looking in and I wanted to use my legislative update this week to help clear the fog, and present to you a “how-to guide” on keeping up with our day-to-day activities. At the heart of this is our website, legislature.ky.gov.
Operated by the Legislative Research Commission (LRC), our website contains an unmatched wealth of information that is updated daily to reflect all the moving parts of the legislative process. It also contains several important databases that contain current state law, regulations, our state constitution, and other records as well as contact information for each member of the General Assembly.
Getting started
When you go to legislature.ky.gov, you will be greeted with a welcome page. At the top is a bar with seven different tabs to choose from: legislators; committees, bills; Kentucky law; public service; Legislative Research Commission; and visitors and education. Each of these tabs leads to a subsection of the website concerning the subject in question, but the first three contain almost all the information that is commonly sought.
Legislators
Under the legislators tab you will find information on members from both chambers of the state legislature: the Kentucky Senate and Kentucky House of Representatives. On this page, you can go directly to the individual profiles of members of leadership such as the Speaker of the House. You can also use the tabs along the upper righthand side of the page to access the full pages of each chamber in order to see a list of all senators and all representatives.
Alternatively, the third tab in the upper righthand side of the page titled “Who’s My Legislator” will take you to a searchable map of Kentucky. Simply enter your street address, click on your home, and scroll back to the top of the page to identify your senator or representative. Click on their name, and you will be taken to their individual profile. This profile includes a short biography as well as their list of committees and caucuses. On the righthand side you can also find additional tabs to find bills we have sponsored, contact information, and any active legislative surveys.
Committees
Going back to the main welcome page and clicking on the “committees” tab on the top bar will take you to the committee welcome page. Here you can find a general explanation of each committee type, the daily legislative calendar, and the 2025 regular session calendar. The daily legislative calendar is the most used feature of this page as it gives the name, time, and location of any committees that are scheduled to meet that day.
You can find a list of committees organized by type through any of the tabs on the righthand side of the committee welcome page. For example, by clicking on the House Standing Committee page you can find links to each committee’s individual profile. These profiles give a brief overview of the committee’s scope, membership, and materials.
Bills
By clicking on “bills,” you can find the legislative record for each session of the General Assembly. For information concerning this year, click the link titled “2025 Regular Session.” From there, you should see a page full of links. It may seem intimidating, but do not fret; it looks more complicated than it actually is.
Let’s say you are looking for House Bill 1. There are many ways to find it from this page, but the most efficient is to click on “House Bills” under the “Bills and Amendments” section in the middle of the page. From here, you can see a full list of numbers that each link to their respective house bill. For House Bill 1, you simply click the number “1” on the page in order to be taken to the bill’s individual profile.
However, let’s say you do not remember the number of House Bill 1. Instead, all you know is that it somehow would affect the individual income tax rate. No need to worry, as back on the 2025 Regular Session page you can find all the bills organized in a subject index. Under the “Miscellaneous” heading on the righthand side of the page, click on the link titled “Bill and Amendment Index Headings.” From here, all the subject headings from “accountants” to “workforce” are arranged alphabetically. Simply scroll to the letter and find the subject heading in question to be taken to a list containing all the bills that concern that subject (in our case, we will look under “T” and click on “taxation”). This list is also arranged alphabetically, so be sure to read carefully in order to find the bill you are looking for. Again, with this example we must scroll nearly to the bottom to find House Bill 1, linked under the heading “Tax rate reduction, individual income tax.”
I hope that this guide was helpful in navigating our website. I sincerely thank you for your civic engagement, and I hope that you will continue to keep up with the activities of myself and my colleagues throughout the remainder of this regular session.
As always, I hope you will feel free to contact me with any questions or issues. I can be reached through the toll-free message line in Frankfort at 1-800-372-7181. Please feel free to email me at [email protected]. If you would like more information about the legislature, you can visit the Legislative Research Commission website at legislature.ky.gov.
LEGISLATIVE UPDATE
Representative Marianne Proctor
February 5, 2025
Statement following appointment of three city commissioners in Union
Frankfort, Kentucky (February 5, 2025) – State Representative Marianne Proctor of Union issued the following statement regarding the Union mayor’s appointment of three new city commissioners following months of challenges:
“As a strong advocate for election integrity, I share the concerns of many of my constituents regarding the mayor’s appointment of three new city commissioners. Mistakes at the polling center allowed both residents of incorporated and unincorporated areas to vote for city commission in the 2024 General Election.
“When Boone County Clerk Justin Crigler was notified that poll workers accidentally handed out the wrong ballots, he followed the law (KRS 120.017) and the guidance of the State Board of Elections and let the courts know of the issue. Judge Richard Brueggemann correctly followed statute (KRS 83A.040) and called for the election to be voided. Voiding the election was a measure of last resort, emphasizing the critical importance of meticulous planning and stringent adherence to established procedures to ensure that every valid vote is accurately counted and the voters will be faithfully represented.
“While I respect the court’s decision to follow the legal remedy outlined in statute, which allows appointment rather than a new election, I believe that this may not be the best way to serve the will of the voters. Moving forward, I am committed to working with my colleagues to address this statute that gives the mayor the power to appoint with no oversight.”
LEGISLATIVE UPDATE
Representative Marianne Proctor
February 3, 2025
Lawmakers committed to providing education funding, troubled by ongoing issues with estimates from KDE
Education is the foundation of a successful life and the great equalizer. If someone cannot read or write, they will never reach their potential. Equally important is that all Kentucky children should receive access to an education that provides them with these basic skills and foundational knowledge – regardless of where they live, what district they attend school in, and how financially well off they are.
The Kentucky General Assembly’s commitment to this goal is evident in the historic levels of funding (even after adjusting for inflation) lawmakers have provided over the past eight years to educating students in preschool through 12th grade and postsecondary education. It is also clear in the policies passed by the legislature to address the learning of math and reading, classroom behavior, and recruiting and retaining quality educators.
Approximately 50% percent of the state’s $15.5 billion annual general fund budget is allocated to preschool, kindergarten, elementary and secondary, career and technical education, and postsecondary students. To make these investments and to craft meaningful legislation, we rely on data and estimates provided by the Department of Education (KDE) and Office of the State Budget Director (OSBD), including Support Education Excellence in Kentucky (SEEK) funding forecasts and operating estimates for a litany of state-funded programs in place to support our local districts.
Over the last 15 years, KDE and OSBD have provided inaccurate data numerous times, resulting in both shortfalls and spending over the amount actually needed. For example, the Department of Education saw a SEEK surplus of over $156 million last year. This year, the Department is projecting a $43 million shortfall in SEEK funds. Lawmakers will deal with the shortfall, but a deeper concern is the continued inaccuracies in the estimates provided by KDE and OSBD.
The General Assembly appropriates funding based on data provided by the department and the state budget director. During the budget process in the 2024 Regular Session, the General Assembly raised questions about the data provided by these entities, to the extent of requesting data from each of the school districts through the Kentucky Superintendents Association to identify inaccuracies during the construction of the budget. Relying on the only official data provided by the KDE and OSBD, the General Assembly funded K-12 education, including SEEK, at historic levels. Nearly a year later, KDE has determined that its own data was inaccurate, leading to the funding shortfall.
The General Assembly did not underfund the SEEK fund. The Department of Education has turned a $156 million surplus into a $43 million shortfall by providing imprecise projections and requests to the General Assembly. This government organization oversees the education of our state’s nearly 700,000 students and should be able to provide more accurate budget requests and funding projections to ensure our students’ needs are met.
To his credit, Commissioner Fletcher made us aware of the shortfall prior to announcing it this month and the situation predates his tenure. Nevertheless, KDE and OSBD were confident in their estimates, and the requests were reflected in the state budget.
We are assessing the potential impacts on school districts and will know more when we receive the final numbers for the current fiscal year from KDE on March 1. Regardless of the circumstances that have led to this unfortunate situation, we will respond to the data errors of KDE and OSBD to ensure that our children continue receiving the education they deserve.
As always, I can be reached anytime through the toll-free message line in Frankfort at 1-800-372-7181. You can also contact me via email at [email protected] and keep track through the Kentucky legislature’s website at legislature.ky.gov.
LEGISLATIVE UPDATE
Representative Marianne Proctor
January 27, 2025
Visit Now: Last session in historic capitol for several years as renovation closes campus
As we prepare for part two of the 2025 Regular Session to resume on February 4, it is worth noting that this will mark a significant moment in our legislature’s history. It will be the final session held in the Capitol building for at least three years, as extensive renovations are set to begin immediately following adjournment of the General Assembly.
This historic building, which has stood as the heart of the Commonwealth since 1910, will close its doors to the public, elected officials, and staff while the necessary upgrades and restorations that are part of the $300 million project take place. Those who have visited Frankfort recently have seen the scaffolding that covers the dome as exterior work began several years ago. Interior work will begin as we enter the next phase. While this project is expensive, it would be far more expensive to replace the facility or wait longer to make improvements. The fact is, while still an architecturally beautiful symbol of our state’s potential, it is old, out-of-date, and requires structural upgrades to ensure it remains a part of our state for generations to come.
This project also means that those who have yet to visit or wish to visit again need to do so now. For everyone’s safety, the Capitol building itself will be completely off limits until all renovations are complete.
During this time, the legislature will be meeting in the temporary chambers constructed in the parking lot on the east side of the Capitol Annex. These chambers have been designed to accommodate both the House and Senate. They will serve as our working home until the Capitol is ready to reopen.
The transition to the temporary structure was initially scheduled to occur this session. However, the Governor’s administration decided to delay the construction project a year.
While change is often bittersweet, the renovation project represents our investment to preserve our Capitol for future generations. We look forward to seeing our Capitol restored to its full glory, coupled with some modern enhancements while maintaining its history.
For now, I encourage you to take the opportunity to visit while we are in session. Use this time to make the most of our last session in the Capitol building as we prepare to turn the page on a new chapter in our Capitol’s history. For your convenience, I will include information on how to visit the Capitol and the Capitol Annex:
Capitol Building:
Hours of Operation:
Monday–Friday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. (Excluding specific holidays)
Saturday- 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. (Excluding specific holidays)
Sunday- Closed
Parking: On-site parking is available on Capital Avenue. Large groups and school tours are asked to call (502) 564- 3449 to make arrangements and get information about providing identification. Bus parking is available along Capitol Avenue in front of the Capitol building.
Tours: For tours or additional information, please contact my office at 1-800-372-7181 or 502-564-8100, or email me at [email protected].
Capitol Annex:
Legislative Committee Meetings: Legislative committee meetings are held throughout the year and are open to the public. No special passes are needed. Most committee meetings occur on the first floor of the Capitol Annex, although some are held in various spaces in the Capitol during a legislative session. Visitors should consult the Legislative Calendar on legislature.ky.gov for dates, times, and room numbers, and be prepared for last-minute changes.
Parking: A large parking garage is located on the east side of the Capitol Annex (the office building directly behind the Capitol). The surface lot of the garage provides public parking, and several ADA spaces are in the row closest to the Annex. Levels 4-6 also provide parking for the public, and Levels 4 and 5 offer ADA accessible parking near the elevators. Level 2 and half of Level 3 are reserved for vehicles with permits.
Resources for Teachers:
School Group Tours: The Legislative Research Commission (LRC) is great resource for teachers and students who are interested in learning about the legislative process! To schedule a school group tour, please contact my office at 502-564-8100 or email me at [email protected].
Alternatives to Capitol Visit: While the Capitol is closing for at least three years, Frankfort is still a place rich with history. Bring children to visit the Thomas D. Clark Kentucky History Center, the Old Capitol, or the Military History Museum. I also have some resources for groups that cannot make the trip – including a video tour and activity books.
Watching Online: If you are not able to visit in person, we use a variety of tools to keep the legislature’s work accessible and transparent. For decades, Kentucky Educational Television (KET) has televised committee meetings and the work we do on the House Floor. In addition, the legislature now offers a YouTube channel and broadcasts live from all committees, including those that KET is unable to cover. To access the KET and YouTube coverage, visit www.legislature.ky.gov and click on the Live Coverage box. You may also go directly to them via www.ket.org and KY LRC Committee Meetings on YouTube.
As always, I can be reached anytime through the toll-free message line in Frankfort at 1-800-372-7181. You can also contact me via email at [email protected] and keep track through the Kentucky legislature’s website at legislature.ky.gov.