Rep. Richard Heath's Legislative Update

One of the first bills to pass the House this week was House Bill 388. This bill is aimed at reforming some basic election procedures and was brought to the legislature by the county clerks, the men, and women responsible for elections in our communities. If it passes the Senate, registered independents will be able to serve as poll workers during elections. County clerks are hopeful that this will help them solve challenges in finding volunteers willing to work the polls. HB 388 also sets a three-year term for members of the State Board of Elections and a four-year term for county boards of election. In addition, the bill allows the county election officers to verify submitted mail-in absentee ballots the day before the election, in order to help them prepare to count them on an election day.

The House also passed HB 174, legislation that would close a loophole in current open records law to protect victims and their families. Currently, the law allows individuals to obtain and publish graphic and disturbing crime scene photos and videos. If passed by the Senate, HB 174 would prevent the use of the open records law to access images and videos used in court proceedings which show death, rape, physical or sexual assault or abuse. While I believe our government should be open and transparent, I think we can all agree that we can do better to help victims and their families heal and overcome. The bill is named the Bailey Holt/Preston Cope Victims’ Privacy Act in honor of the two high school students murdered in a mass shooting at Marshall County High School in January of 2018.

We are one step closer to closing another loophole in existing law, in this case, one that applies to sexual assault victims. Under the provisions of House Bill 256, a perpetrator will not have the right to custody, visitation, or inheritance of a child that is conceived and delivered as a result of sexual assault. This measure protects victims who have been assaulted in the state of Kentucky and those who have been assaulted in other states and move here. Once again, this is a common sense measure, and I was honored to support it.

Legislation that requires local law enforcement agencies to investigate all traffic accidents that result in a fatality. The bill, HB 253, would allow a local law enforcement agency to reach out to the Kentucky State Police for assistance if they do not have the staff or expertise in accident reconstruction necessary to fulfill the requirements of the bill.

In addition to these bills, the House approved legislation aimed at reducing the use of e-cigarettes and vaping devices among youth, as well as raising revenue to help pay for state programs and services. HB 32 adds vaping products to the list of tobacco products subject to a state tobacco excise tax and increases the excise tax rate per unit and weight on snuff and chewing tobacco. Traditional cigarettes would not be subject to a tax increase under the bill.

Before we adjourned Friday, we took an opportunity to honor our state’s rich agricultural history by passing a resolution that declared this week FFA Week across the commonwealth. While these resolutions are ceremonial, they do drive home how important organizations like the FFA are to our communities and way of life. Hundreds of Kentucky high school students participate in FFA, where they gain valuable experiences that prepare them for careers in agricultural science, business, and technology fields.