2010 Kentucky General Assembly
Bills filed for new MSU doctorate, change in regent elections
Posted: 2-8-10
FRANKFORT -- Two bills directing impacting Morehead State University were filed last week in the General Assembly and an MSU-managed bill made headway in the House.
Senate Bill 127, sponsored by Sen. Ken Winters, R-Murray, would allow MSU and the five other comprehensive (regional) public universities in Kentucky to offer doctoral degrees in advanced nursing practice (DNP), subject to approval of the Council on Postsecondary Education (CPE).
If the bill becomes law, it would open the door to what would be MSU's second doctoral degree. The first, a doctorate in education, is expected to be approved this week by the CPE. It was authorized in December by the Board of Regents.
House Bill 374, sponsored by Rep. Jody Richards, D-Bowling Green, would allow faculty members at the rank of instructor to vote in elections for faculty seats on the governing boards of the six comprehensive universities and also would make them eligible to hold such seats. Current law restricts voting and election rights to faculty at the rank of assistant professor and higher.
Senate Bill 101, sponsored by Sen. Jimmy Higdon, R-Lebanon, was reported favorably by the Senate Education Committee and added to the consent calendar, meaning it likely will not be opposed on the Senate floor where it has received two of the three required readings.
The bill would allow university staff members serving on student disciplinary committees to have voting rights. At present, staff may serve but only faculty and student members are permitted to vote. MSU is managing the bill on behalf of the six institutions.
No visible progress on new budget
Posted: 2-5-10
FRANKFORT -- With more than a third of the session gone, leaders of the General Assembly still have not outlined plans for developing the state's new biennial budget. Day 22 ended here Friday with pronouncements from Senate President David Williams and House Speaker Greg Stumbo that discussions are ongoing but no specifics are ready for public consideration.
Stumbo and Williams apparentlly are trying to forge agreements on issues such as forecasting the state’s potentially improved revenues during the second year of the biennium, the possibility for a federal extension on Kentucky’s temporarily increased Medicaid match, and the prospects for an additional round of federal stimulus dollars.
House Budget Chair Rick Rand had been expected to release a list of five possible budget scenarios at mid-week but that was delayed at the request of House leadership. It was reported that repealing a number of exemptions to the state sales tax while eliminating or reducing the state income tax cannot be achieved if lawmakers hope to balance the budget. They are facing a revenue shortfall estimated at $1.5 billion.
Four alumni legislators unopposed this year
Posted: 2-1-10
FRANKFORT -- Despite a record number of legislative candidates statewide in Kentucky, four of Morehead State University's alumni lawmakers will run unopposed in this year's elections.
Escaping an opponent in both the primary and general elections were Sen. Jimmy Higdon, R-Lebanon; Rep. Rocky Adkins, D-Sandy Hook; Rep. Mike Denham, D-Maysville; and Rep. John Will Stacy, D-West Liberty. Adkins and Stacy serve in the House leadership. Higdon, a former representative, was elected to the Senate last fall for an unexpired term.
All 100 members of the House and 19 of the 38 Senators are involved in this year's election cycle. Senators in odd-numbered districts are not on the ballot this time.
Andrews asks House budget panel to preserve funding
Posted: 1-28-10
FRANKFORT -- Morehead State University President Wayne D. Andrews warned of economic consequences across Kentucky here today when he asked the House Budget Review Subcommittee on Postsecondary Education to preserve the current state funding of the state’s public universities and colleges.
“A major reduction in our general fund appropriation would have much the same effect as layoffs by any other major employer,” he said. “A smaller workforce obviously earns less and spends less, whether you build cars or educate students.”
Andrews and two other institutional presidents, Dr. Doug Whitlock of EKU and Dr. James Votruba of NKU, spent two hours outlining reasons for maintaining the momentum of higher education through difficult financial times.
“We have made cuts in operating budgets and left vacant positions unfilled and postponed the replacement of worn out equipment,” Dr. Andrews said. “And we search each day for additional ways to reduce expenses without damaging quality.”
He continued: “Our academic community is concerned about the possibility of more cuts. It is obvious that continued reductions in state support will have a major impact on our ability to further our mission.” READ MORE
Legislators reject Beshear budget plan, to write their own
Posted: 1-22-10
FRANKFORT – It was a brief step forward then a giant leap back in the General Assembly this week, as Gov. Steve Beshear unveiled his proposed state budget to a joint session of a perplexed legislature that swiftly rejected it out of hand and made ready to write its own spending plan from scratch.
The Budget Address – which lawmakers hoped would clarify the state's current fiscal difficulty and serve as the basic framework for moving the budget process forward -- ran aground on the issue of racetrack slots, revenue from which Beshear included in his proposal. READ MORE
House passes tranfers bill, 97-0; Senate position unclear
Posted: 1-21-10
FRANKFORT – A bill to make it easier for community college students to earn a four-year degree at a public university in Kentucky flew out of the House here today on a vote of 97-0. However, the bill's future in the Senate is uncertain.
House Bill 160, sponsored by Rep. Carl Rollins, D-Midway, now moves to the Senate where it likely will be referred to the Education Committee chaired by Sen. Ken Winters, R-Murray. Meanwhile, officials of the Council on Postsecondary Education have been conferring with chief academic officers at the eight public universities to resolve technical issues with the bill's sweeping provisions. READ MORE
Beshear budget shields higher ed funding, builds projects
Posted: 1-19-10
FRANKFORT – Gov. Steve Beshear kept his promise to protect higher education in his 2010-12 budget message here Tuesday night, proposing no cuts in state funding in the first fiscal year and only two percent in the second year.
His proposal also included funding each institution’s highest priority capital project with $584 million in state bonds. For MSU, that is the $52 million renovation and expansion of the Adron Doran University Center, including construction of a student services wing. READ MORE