Government

Kentucky lawmakers and Governor Steve Beshear are applauding the passage of a bill aimed at reducing prescription pill abuse.

Beshear signed the Pill Mill Bill today, inviting key legislators and law enforcement officers to take part in the ceremony.

The new law isn’t as tough as some had hoped. But House Speaker Greg Stumbo says changes can always be made later.

“And I would have obviously preferred something stronger, but it is a step in the right direction and if it doesn’t work we can always come back and do something to amend it later,” Stumbo says.

The next step in the repair project for the Eggners Ferry Bridge over Kentucky Lake is underway.

A proposal to drug test people as a condition for receiving welfare is advancing in the Tennessee House.  The measure sponsored by Republican Representative Julia Hurley was approved on a voice vote in the House Finance Subcommittee Monday. The companion bill is awaiting a Senate floor vote.  The proposal differs from original legislation the state attorney general said was constitutionally suspect.

A member of the Tennessee House Republican caucus says his colleagues have rejected a floor vote on a contentious proposal to guarantee workers the right to store firearms in vehicles parked on company lots regardless of employers' wishes.  The lawmaker spoke to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity Monday because members agreed to keep the caucus’ internal deliberations secret.  According to the legislator, the secret ballot was overwhelmingly against a vote on the gun bill.  The bill is backed by the National Rifle Association but opposed by business groups on property rights

A new state law will make it legal to re-enrich depleted uranium tails in Kentucky. But the legislation doesn’t go very far to help the facility that’s been waiting for federal approval to do just that. Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant spokesperson Georgann Lookofsky says without federal permission to re-enrich the spent tails, as well as a better utility contract, the plant could shut down by the end of next month. But Lookofsky says the legislation wasn’t passed with the current incarnation of the Paducah plant in mind.