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A public forum focused on the effects of the Affordable Care Act on Monday at times shifted from being a discussion about the intent and potential effects of requiring Americans to have health insurance to being a tea party rally against the measure. Many of the comments and questions posed to a panel of state regulators, health and insurance officials, focused on the effect of the individual mandate that requires Americans to have health insurance, as well as insurance... Read more 

State legislators accomplished their two goals in the five-day special session on Friday, passing a road budget bill for more than $4 billion and a measure aimed at better regulating prescription pills. House and Senate leaders agreed on some changes to the prescription pill abuse bill, such as not moving the KASPER prescription monitoring system to the attorney general’s office — for the moment. The session wasn’t without its fireworks, mostly between Republican Senate President David Williams and Democratic Gov. Steve Beshear.... Read more 

The game of legislative chicken between the governor and leader of the state Senate that led to a special legislative session has continued into the first days of the special legislative session. Gov. Steve Beshear’s transportation cabinet issued a press release Monday saying the selection of contractors for the proposed downtown bridge in Louisville was delayed because the transportation funding bill was stalled in the Senate. Senate President David Williams wants Beshear to sign into law a list of road... Read more 

Costs seem to have stymied a bill aimed at creating oversight for child abuse and death cases. “The problem seems to be the funding for it,” Republican state Senator Julie Denton told Pure Politics Tuesday. The bill, which would create a review panel to evaluate circumstances surrounding child abuse and death cases, also would require $500,000 a year to create a new division within the Health and Family Services Cabinet, said Denton of Louisville. Denton said she and the bill’s sponsor,... Read more 

WEST LIBERTY — The crushing storm Friday leveled much of downtown West Liberty, smashing businesses and homes and shearing off the top of the old Morgan County courthouse while severely damaging its soon-to-be open judicial center. Four people were killed by the storm in Morgan County and 18 in Kentucky, according to the Kentucky Department of Public Health. cn|2 videographer Greg Pursifull captured this footage of what the tornado left behind in West Liberty: This is what the old Morgan... Read more 

The powerful storm that ripped through southeastern Indiana and into Kentucky on Friday pummeled the community of Henryville, just 15 miles up I-65 from Louisville. At least 14 people were killed by the storm in Indiana as of Saturday, according to the Courier-Journal. cn|2 videographer Kyle Lizenby on Friday evening captured this video of Henryville: Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels surveyed the damage late Friday night and declared a state of emergency. Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear did the same in the... Read more 

Top-ranking Republican senators were left Thursday still trying to rustle up enough votes to pass a bill that would limit access to a key ingredient in the destructive drug methamphetamine. Earlier in the day, the Senate Judiciary Committee passed the latest approach to tighten regulations on cold and allergy medicines containing pseudoephedrine by a 7-4 vote. It would cap the amount Kentuckians could buy over the counter to 3.6 grams per month — about the equivalent of one box of... Read more 

The proposed constitutional amendment to allow casino gambling in Kentucky has three sentences. And the horse racing industry gets a shout-out in each of the three. And that has some opponents arguing that it is “an abuse of the constitution” to specifically promise benefits to a private industry. That 131-word amendment that Democratic Gov. Steve Beshear and Republican state Sen. Damon Thayer introduced yesterday would guarantee up five casino licenses for race tracks. Another two could be freestanding but can’t... Read more 

(WITH VIDEO) MAYSVILLE — The trio of Republican candidates seeking the GOP nomination for Congress in Northern Kentucky each tried to stake out fiscally conservative positions in their first joint appearance Saturday. State Rep. Alecia Webb-Edgington of Fort Wright, Boone County Judge-Executive Gary Moore and Lewis County Judge-Executive Thomas Massie then tried to subtly distinguish themselves from one another with their personal experiences as they addressed the crowd at the Buffalo Trace Lincoln Day dinner at the Maysville convention center.... Read more 

The new state House district map approved by lawmakers Thursday sets the stage for six new open seats and pits potentially as many as 11 incumbents against each other in this year’s elections. Most of those incumbents affected are sitting Republican legislators, as previously reported. . But lawmakers approved the map 63-34 with five Republicans joining with the Democrats to vote for it. The redrawing of the 100 House districts also sparked one of the more passionate House floor debates.... Read more