FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — The Kentucky Senate has passed its version of a new state budget. The plan approved Thursday reflects an expected downturn in tax collections as the new coronavirus inflicts damage on the economy. The Senate action was another phase in the budget-writing process. The next step will occur when House and Senate conferees resolve differences in their…
FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — Kentucky’s legislature will take a weeklong break because of the coronavirus outbreak. Senate President Robert Stivers and House Speaker David Osborne made the announcement Thursday. The main priority is to pass a new state budget. The adjusted schedule would have lawmakers adjourn until returning to the Capitol for a one-day session on March 26. They would…
FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — The Kentucky Board of Education has picked a search firm to help find the state’s next education commissioner. The board chose Florida-based Greenwood/Asher & Associates Inc., which led searches for former commissioners Terry Holliday and Stephen Pruitt. The board met virtually Wednesday to comply with Gov. Andy Beshear’s recommendations during the coronavirus outbreak. It also accepted…
FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — Wildlife conservation programming normally taught in Kentucky schools has moved online. A statement from the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources says conservation educators with the agency began hosting sessions Wednesday on Facebook. The sessions coincide with the closure of Kentucky K-12 schools due to the coronavirus. The sessions will stream live on the Salato…
PADUCAH, Ky. (The Paducah Sun) — A quilting convention in Kentucky that draws about 30,000 people annually to the western part of the state has been postponed until September. The Paducah Sun reports that The American Quilters Society announced Tuesday that it was postponing Paducah QuiltWeek due to concerns about the coronavirus. The convention had been scheduled in April. It…
FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — The Kentucky Board of Education has picked a search firm to help find the state’s next education commissioner. The board chose Florida-based Greenwood/Asher & Associates Inc., which led searches for former commissioners Terry Holliday and Stephen Pruitt. The board met virtually Wednesday to comply with Gov. Andy Beshear’s recommendations during the coronavirus outbreak. It also accepted…
FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — Kentucky lawmakers have given final passage to a bill to cut out the role of pharmacy benefit managers in handling Medicaid prescription drug claims. The Senate voted 30-1 Wednesday to send the measure to Gov. Andy Beshear. The bill would require the Medicaid program to pay pharmacies directly for prescription drugs, bypassing pharmacy benefit managers. In…
FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — Republican senators have unveiled their version of Kentucky’s next budget. The budget talk Wednesday turned to the impact the coronavirus will have on tax collections and spending needs. The Senate Appropriations and Revenue Committee advanced the revised spending plan, sending it to the full Senate. Passing the two-year state budget is the biggest job facing lawmakers…
FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — Kentucky’s governor is extending public assistance eligibility as a short-term cushion as the state copes with the economic fallout from the new coronavirus. The state’s count of coronavirus cases has risen to 35, Gov. Andy Beshear said Wednesday. Louisville’s mayor, Greg Fischer, announced that his wife has tested positive for the virus and he has put…
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Kentucky transportation officials say crews are scheduled to begin work this month to replace a bridge near the Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport. The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet said in a statement that the bridge on Grade Lane over Northern Ditch in Jefferson County will close for 90 days beginning on Monday, March 30. Signs are posted…
