The Chatter: Governor appoints Lewis Co. judge-exec; McConnell fights filibuster reform and more

Gov. Steve Beshear on Thursday named Lewis County’s deputy judge-executive to serve as judge-executive for the next four months, replacing Thomas Massie, who resigned after winning the Republican nomination for Congress in the 4th District.

John Patrick Collins of Vanceburg will serve through the November election, when a new judge will be elected to serve the remaining two years of Massie’s term. Collins is not running in that race.

McConnell gets fired up over filibuster reform

U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., argued against filibuster reform by warning Senate Democratic Senate Leader Harry Reid on Wednesday of the damage he could do in the majority by only needing a simple majority.

Politico reported that if Democrats keep the majority in the Senate, Reid is signaling he’d use arcane procedures to change the rules by 51 votes so senators can no longer filibuster to prevent bills from coming up to the floor for debate.

The Senate minority leader from Kentucky engaged in a 45-minute debate with Senator Harry Reid over how potential changes to the filibuster rules could eventually lead to a slippery slope for the Senate Democrats if he becomes Majority Leader and the country elects a Republican president.

Gov. Beshear creates task force on state’s alcohol control laws
Beshear, this week, announced the creation of the Governor’s Task Force on the Study of Kentucky’s Alcoholic Beverage Control Laws citing concerns that the state’s laws are outdated.

“Many groups, including licensees, state regulators, law enforcement and private citizens have called for statutory reform of our alcoholic beverage laws. They agree that Kentucky’s current laws do not adequately account for a 21st-century economy and standard of law,” said Governor Beshear in a press release. “A task force that includes members from a broad spectrum of backgrounds and professions is best suited to identify the problems, debate policy and make recommendations for improvements.”

The 20-member task force will conduct a focused study and review of the laws with an emphasis on the number and types of alcohol licenses issued by the state and what activities each license should authorize, the effectiveness of local option election laws in achieving their goals and representing the interests of the various voting localities and the enhancement of public safety and compliance with regulatory requirements.

A report with recommendations is due to the governor in January.