Government

Whistleblowers in Kentucky could get financial incentives for reporting misuse of state tax dollars under a measure that passed the state House Monday.  Speaker Greg Stumbo sponsored the bill now heading to the Senate for consideration. Stumbo says the bill, dubbed the "False Claims Act," could root out fraud and reduce the state's budget deficit by millions of dollars.  Kentucky already has a whistle-blower law in place that applies to Medicaid programs.

Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development Commissioner Karla Davis has warned the state's 56,000 unemployment claimants they’ll soon be required to prove they’re looking for work.  Davis says beginning in April, claimants also will be required to meet face-to-face with state job service employees.  She says the new requirements will make sure claimants are on track to find employment and not get caught off-guard when their benefits expire.  The U.S. Department of Labor issued the new guidelines.

A proposal to keep illegal immigrants from getting welfare benefits in Kentucky has passed the state Senate.  The legislation sponsored by Republican Senator Mike Wilson cleared the Senate Monday.   The bill requires welfare applicants to present documentation of U.S. citizenship or legal residency in order to be eligible. If they're not able to produce a document such as a birth certificate or driver's license within 30 days, they could sign an affidavit swearing that they are eligible for the benefits.  The measure now goes to the House for consideration.

Kentucky Attorney General Jack Conway says a recent report puts the commonwealth as the fourth most medicated state in the country.  Conway appeared with three other guests on KET’s Kentucky Tonight.  The discussion centered on what’s been called a pain pill epidemic across the state.

“We are losing more people to prescription pill overdoses than car accidents and you know what, we think that’s under reported because only about half of overdoses make it to the coroner, state medical examiner’s office where we get these statistics."

After a week of negotiations, the House Judiciary Committee has passed an amended version of a bill that would regulate pseudoephedrine.