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SPONSORED LEGISLATION
SB8 - AN ACT relating to the Kentucky Board of Education.
Mike Wilson, Steve West, Gary M. Boswell
Last updated 7 months ago
14 Co-Sponsors
Amend KRS 156.029 to provide that all 14 voting members of the Kentucky Board of Education are to be elected; create a new section of KRS Chapter 156 to establish the process by which members of the Kentucky Board of Education are elected, including a partisan primary and partisan regular election; amend KRS 156.040 to add a requirement that members of the Kentucky Board of Education shall not have served on a local school board for at least four years preceding the year of their election; create a new section of KRS Chapter 156 to establish the process for removal of a member of the Kentucky Board of Education; amend various KRS sections to conform; repeal KRS 156.031, which relates to the State Board for Elementary and Secondary Education; establish a schedule for transitioning from appointed to elected members; allow appointees to continue to serve in accordance with their appointments until December 31, 2026; EFFECTIVE January 1, 2026.
STATUS
Engrossed
SR123 - A RESOLUTION calling upon Governor Andy Beshear to support Texas Governor Greg Abbott in securing the Texas border.
Johnnie L. Turner, Phillip Wheeler, Gary M. Boswell
Last updated 8 months ago
25 Co-Sponsors
Call upon Governor Andy Beshear to support Texas Governor Greg Abbott in securing the Texas border.
STATUS
Passed
SR122 - A RESOLUTION adjourning the Senate in honor and loving memory of Kara Renae Hanks.
Jay Williams, Christian McDaniel, Shelley Frommeyer
Last updated 8 months ago
5 Co-Sponsors
Adjourn in honor and loving memory of Kara Renae Hanks.
STATUS
Passed
SCR111 - A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION calling upon Governor Andy Beshear to support Texas Governor Greg Abbott in securing the Texas border.
Johnnie L. Turner, Lindsey Tichenor, Gary M. Boswell
Last updated 8 months ago
13 Co-Sponsors
Call upon Governor Andy Beshear to support Texas Governor Greg Abbott in securing the Texas border.
STATUS
Introduced
SB50 - AN ACT relating to alcoholic beverages.
Steve West, Matthew D. Deneen, Donald Douglas
Last updated 6 months ago
7 Co-Sponsors
Amends KRS 243.0305 to allow a craft distiller to self-distribute up to 5,000 gallons of distilled spirits per year directly to a licensed retailer, to direct the distiller to register, deliver, report, and pay all applicable taxes on self-distributed distilled spirits, to allow a distiller to extend credit to a retailer for up to 30 days from the invoice date, and to establish distiller reporting requirements to both wholesalers and the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control; and amends KRS 243.710 and 243.884 to require a distiller to pay wholesale taxes on any self-distributed distilled spirits.
STATUS
Passed
SR94 - A RESOLUTION honoring the 20th Black History Celebration and recognizing that Black history is American history.
Gerald A. Neal, Julie Adams, Casey Chambers Armstrong
Last updated 8 months ago
38 Co-Sponsors
Honor the 20th Black History Celebration and recognize that Black history is American history.
STATUS
Introduced
SB20 - AN ACT relating to crimes and punishments.
Matthew D. Deneen, Donald Douglas, Damon Thayer
Last updated 5 months ago
17 Co-Sponsors
Amends KRS 635.020 to provide that a child 15 years of age or older who is charged with a Class A, B, or C felony involving the use of a firearm shall be transferred to Circuit Court to be tried as an adult, to provide that the Commonwealth’s attorney may transfer the child back to District Court after consulting with the county attorney, to provides that the Circuit Court may transfer the child back to District Court if the Circuit Court finds that fewer than two of the factors listed in KRS 640.010 favor keeping the child in Circuit Court, and to provide that a child who has been convicted of a Class A, B, or C felony involving the use of a firearm shall not be eligible for probation or conditional discharge in a proceeding consistent with KRS 640.030.
STATUS
Passed
SB4 - AN ACT relating to sick leave for members of the Teachers' Retirement System and declaring an emergency.
Jimmy Higdon, Damon Thayer
Last updated 7 months ago
2 Co-Sponsors
Amend KRS 161.155 to specify that sick leave payments made to certified school employees who began participating in the Teachers' Retirement System (TRS) prior to January 1, 2022, and who retire from TRS on or after July 1, 2024, shall be limited to the sick leave accrued by the employee as of June 30, 2024, plus no more than 10 additional sick leave days accrued each fiscal year thereafter; provide that the 10 additional days eligible for payment shall not include personal leave, emergency leave, or other forms of non-sick leave balances; require each school district to annually report sick leave balances to TRS beginning with the fiscal year ending June 30, 2024 and specify contents of the report; amend KRS 161.152 and 161.154 to further clarify that emergency leave and personal leave shall not be converted to sick leave under KRS 161.155; amend KRS 161.400 to require TRS to annually report in the annual actuarial valuation the total liabilities and costs of the sick leave program created by KRS 161.155; amend KRS 161.623 to allow school districts to convert excess sick leave accrued annually in excess of 10 days specified by the bill to service credit in TRS the school district pays the cost of conversion; amend KRS 161.643 to include new sick leave reporting requirements in the annual statutory reporting requirements for TRS employers; provide that the Auditor of Public Accounts shall perform a special audit of the sick leave program to ensure sick leave balances are being reported correctly to TRS and specify that TRS shall pay the costs of the audit; EMERGENCY.
STATUS
Engrossed
SB200 - AN ACT relating to school calendars.
Damon Thayer, Adrienne E. Southworth
Last updated 7 months ago
2 Co-Sponsors
Amend KRS 158.070 to remove the variable student instructional year and require the student instructional year not begin prior to September 1; allow districts to extend the length of a student attendance day beyond seven hours with approval from the commissioner of education; establish proportional equivalence of district calendars with less than 170 student attendance days for the purposes of employment contracts, service credit, and funding.
STATUS
Introduced
SB127 - AN ACT relating to aerospace infrastructure, making an appropriation therefor, and declaring an emergency.
Brandon Jackson Storm, Danny Carroll, Amanda Mays Bledsoe
Last updated 6 months ago
15 Co-Sponsors
Creates a new section of KRS Chapter 164 to define terms; establishes the Kentucky Aerospace, Aviation, and Defense Investment Fund Advisory Committee; establishes the membership of the committee; establishes the Kentucky aerospace, aviation, and defense investment fund to be administered by the Council for Postsecondary Education for the purpose of funding public and private partnerships to provide aviation training scholarships and aviation and aerospace equipment grants; requires that the portion of the fund expended toward the council’s administrative costs shall not exceed 0.5 percent of all gross moneys in the fund or $75,000 annually, whichever is less; directs the council to promulgate administrative regulations to carry out this Act; requires those administrative regulations to be submitted to the Legislative Research Commission for comment prior to filing; requires advisory committee members to abstain from voting on a matter involving a conflict of interest; requires that the council shall reserve at least 65 percent of all net moneys in the fund for partnership proposals between aviation and aerospace programs and aviation and aerospace industry partners to provide aviation training scholarships to Kentucky residents enrolled in aviation and aerospace programs; directs the council to prioritize accepting partnerships to proposals targeted to reduce the workforce demand of a specific eligible aviation or aerospace credential the council determines to be among the highest in demand in the Commonwealth; directs that a partnership shall require a written partnership contract and establishes the minimum contract requirements; directs that disbursements of moneys from the fund to support aviation training scholarships be made directly to an aviation program pursuant to the terms of the partnership contract; requires that an aviation program that enters a partnership contract solicit, accept, and review aviation training scholarship applications submitted by students enrolled in the aviation program; directs that an aviation training scholarship issued by an aviation program pursuant to a partnership contract be made directly to a recipient pursuant to a written scholarship contract between the recipient and the aviation program, and sets minimum contract requirements; directs that a grantor may place restrictions upon a contribution to the fund requiring specific criteria for an aviation training scholarship or scholarships funded by the grantor’s dedicated funds; directs that the aviation training scholarship contract grant the aviation program, the Commonwealth, or the aviation industry partner the authority to initiate recoupment proceedings for the recovery of the total amount of all aviation training scholarships awarded to an individual who fails to complete the terms of a scholarship contract; directs that the council reserve up to 35 percent of all net moneys in the fund for aviation equipment partnership contracts between public aviation training programs and aviation industry partners to provide aviation and aviation equipment grants; requires that an aviation equipment partnership require a written partnership contract between a public aviation program, aviation industry partner, and the council, and establishes minimum contract requirements; directs the council to collaborate with the advisory committee to select proposals for partnership contracts; directs that the council may prioritize designated contracts; provides that the council shall require the public aviation program to submit proof that the entire amount of the aviation equipment grant is invested in the maintenance, acquisition, or lease of aviation or aviation training equipment used by students enrolled in a public aviation training program; requires the council to submit a report to the Legislative Research Commission, and establishes minimum report requirements; sunsets the bill on June 30, 2030; and provides that this Act may be cited as the Aerospace Education Reinvestment Opportunity (AERO) Act; APPROPRIATION; EMERGENCY.
STATUS
Passed
BIOGRAPHY
INCUMBENT
Senator from Kentucky district SD-017
COMMITTEES
Kentucky Senate
BIRTH
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ABOUT
Damon Thayer is a Republican member of the Kentucky State Senate, representing District 17. He was first elected to the chamber in 2004. Thayer currently serves as Majority Floor Leader. He has sponsored legislation on various topics including alcohol sales, elections, government contracts, and taxes. Prior to joining the state Senate, Thayer served as Georgetown City Administrator from 1998 to 2003. He has also worked as an advisor and district aide to Congressman Ernie Fletcher. Thayer studied at Georgetown College and Eastern Kentucky University. Outside the legislature, he has served on the board of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society and promoted tourism initiatives. Thayer resides in Georgetown with his wife Karen and their two children.read less
OFFICES HELD
Kentucky Senate from Kentucky
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