Hello. My name is Brandon Smith and I am your new state senator. It is our Constitutional duty every ten years to realign our voting districts according to population after each census. This act fulfills the requirement of one man, one vote. Because of population shifts, the 20th State Senatorial District now includes Johnson County in addition to Bell, Breathitt, Leslie, Magoffin, and Perry counties. (The final congressional district lines are still being discussed between the chambers.) I look forward to sharing updates from Frankfort discussing the important issues being debated and voted on.
Before I dive into issues, however, I wanted to tell you a little bit about me. I was elected to the Kentucky Senate in a special election in February 2008, after serving seven years as a state representative for the 84th district. I am currently the chair of the Senate Natural Resources and Energy Committee and the Senate Budget Review Subcommittee on Economic Development and Tourism, Natural Resources and Environmental Protection. I also serve as the vice chair of the Transportation Committee. In addition, I was appointed to the important Appropriations and Revenue Committee, the Banking and Insurance Committee, Judiciary Committee, and the Program Review and Investigations Committee. I reside in Hazard with my children, Forrest, Houston, and Creston.
On Tuesday (Jan. 17), the Governor gave the Budget Address outlining his priorities for Kentucky’s budget. As I have been warning, we have close to a billion dollar shortfall; $742 million to be exact over the biennium. I was glad to see that the Governor took a more realistic approach to the budget this time and didn’t use phantom gambling proceeds to fund programs. He also proposed cutting certain agencies by 8.4%. However, the Governor then proposed about $800 million of additional spending. He is funding new programs and initiatives while applying severe cuts to other parts of government. This does not make sense to many of us in the Senate. It concerns me greatly that the Governor announced he intentionally held back a portion of our multi-county severance fund unallocated to fund the Pikeville College to University project. This unauthorized withholding will have serious ramifications to the water, sewer, and federally matched grant dollars in communities that rightfully earned those coal severance dollars.
The House of Representatives has assigned the budget proposal to their budget subcommittees. When they have finished putting their mark on the document and the House passes the bill, the Senate will then have our turn at reviewing and revising the proposal. As a member of the Appropriations and Revenue Committee, I will work hard to keep the interest of our district in mind and keep you updated on that process.
As a 32nd Degree Mason and a member of the Shriners, I cordially extend an invitation to all of my fellow brothers and members to the upcoming All Masons Day Masonic event to be held at the Capitol on February 28, 2012. For more information please see the following contact information below.
We are in a 60-day legislative session so there is still plenty of time to let me know what topics interest you. The heavy workload of social workers and how to curb meth abuse were just two of the topics that committees focused on this week. These and other discussions and debates will continue in the weeks ahead.
The Kentucky Legislature Home Page, www.lrc.ky.gov, provides information on each of the Commonwealth’s senators and representatives, including our phone numbers, addressees, and committee assignments. The site also provides a bill tracking service, and committee meeting schedules.
By going to our eNews page, www.lrc.ky.gov/pubinfo/listserv, you can subscribe to frequent e-mail updates on what’s happening at the Capitol. In addition, the General Assembly has its own blog, Capitol Notes, www.lrc.ky.gov/pubinfo/capitol_notes.htm, that will allow you to receive legislative updates at your leisure.
You can also stay in touch with General Assembly action in the following ways:
A taped message containing information on legislative committee meetings is updated daily at 1-800-633-9650.
To check the status of a bill, you may call the toll-free Bill Status Line at 1-866-840-2835.
To leave a message for me or any legislator, call the General Assembly’s toll-free Message Line at 1-800-372-7181. People with hearing difficulties may leave messages for lawmakers by calling the TTY Message Line at 1-800-896-0305.
You may write any legislator by sending a letter with the lawmaker’s name to: Capitol Annex, 702 Capitol Avenue, Frankfort, Kentucky 40601. Darts and Laurels
A laurel to ‘Zero Tolerance’ of pill mills in our city!
A dart to armed robbers that make us all feel unsafe.
A laurel to those filing for public office -- a little competition is good for all.
A dart to “eating” razor blades just to get out of jail -- so not smart!
A laurel to Porter Elementary and its Blue Ribbon state nomination -- good luck!
Darts and Laurels
A laurel to Paintsville Schools -- sending kids to college and making brighter futures!
A dart to binge drinking and the many deaths it leads to.
A laurel to honoring fallen first responders and acknowledging their sacrifices.
A dart to gas station robbers -- they make us all uneasy!
A laurel to a little levity, now and then.
Darts and Laurels
A laurel to ‘Bethany’s Buddies’ and to bringing cheer to others!
A dart to unwanted “buddies” in the form of bats and birds at the highway garage!
A laurel to the JCHS Wrestling Team and its win in the W.Va. National Guard Tourney! Go, Eagles!
A dart to the precarious status of the new school of pharmacy and the disappointment brought to students.
A laurel to the University of Charleston’s agreement to consider a partnership to bring the school to fruition -- fingers crossed!
