Tagged: Senate President Robert Stivers

The state Senate has passed a bill that allows Kentucky military personnel to register to vote and receive ballots electronically—but they'll have to use snail mail to send the ballots back.

The bill's authors wanted to let deployed Kentuckians vote electronically, but State Senate President Robert Stivers doesn't believe that would be safe.

"If somebody does something to my bank book by electronic means I'll know it," he said."If I  happen to get a lesser tax bill or greater tax bill I will know it. Once you cast your ballot, there's no way to know what happened to that ballot."

A bill  moving Medicaid late payment claims to the Department of Insurance appears to have some support in the state Senate.

House Bill 5 would take prompt pay issues with the Medicaid managed care system and put it through the Insurance Department's current claims process. Currently, the Cabinet for Health and Family Services deal with late claims.

Kentucky House leaders are considering legalizing Instant Racing across Kentucky to help plug the funding gap in the state's pensions.

Senate President Robert Stivers says he intends to file legislation to ensure that Kentucky soldiers deployed overseas can cast ballots back home. The designation "Senate Bill 1" has been reserved for the proposal, signifying it is the Senate's top priority, but the legislation wasn’t filed as of Thursday, and the deadline is today.

Kentucky's top two legislative leaders say the local option sales tax isn't likely to come up this year. The local option would allow cities and counties to put temporary sales tax increases to a public vote. It would typically be used to pay for infrastructure projects.

Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer and Lexington Mayor Jim Gray are the major forces behind the option, and a bill amending the state Constitution to allow it has been filed in the Senate. But Senate President Robert Stivers says his chamber doesn't want to put more tax burdens on individuals.