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SPONSORED LEGISLATION
HB275 - AN ACT relating to misconduct in schools and school-sponsored activities.
James A. Tipton, Jared A. Bauman, Danny R. Bentley
Last updated 8 months ago
7 Co-Sponsors
Create a new section of KRS Chapter 160 to prohibit a public school district or public charter school from entering a nondisclosure agreement relating to misconduct involving a minor or student; amend KRS 160.380 to define "abusive conduct"; require school district applicants to disclose being the subject of any allegations or investigations in the previous 12 months and consent to a reference check; require school districts to conduct reference checks; require nonpublic and public school districts to disclose any allegations or investigations related to abusive conduct of applicants; revise indemnification language to grant immunity for disclosures made about school employee conduct; require school districts to request all related information from public and nonpublic schools and the Education Professional Standards Board and require the schools and EPSB to provide the records; require requests for information to be satisfied in 10 working days instead of 10 days; require all public school personnel to submit to a state criminal background check every five years; require all school district applicants to list all schools of previous and current employment on the application; require a school district to internally report and investigate to completion all allegations of abusive conduct; require all records relating to an allegation of abusive conduct to be retained in an employee's personnel file unless the allegation is proven false; amend KRS 156.160 to direct the Kentucky Board of Education to include employment standards in the voluntary certification standards for private schools; make technical corrections; amend KRS 160.151 to define "certified nonpublic school"; require employees of certified nonpublic schools to submit to a national and state criminal background check and a CA/N check; require certified nonpublic school personnel to have a state criminal background check every five years; prohibit a certified nonpublic school from hiring a violent or felony sex crime offender; require a certified nonpublic school to conduct reference checks on all applicants; prohibit a certified nonpublic school from entering into a nondisclosure agreement related to misconduct involving a minor or student; amend KRS 156.095 to require the Kentucky Department of Education to develop a training related to sexual misconduct for employees to undergo every five years; make technical corrections; amend KRS 161.151 to conform.
STATUS
Engrossed
HB86 - AN ACT relating to interment in state veterans' cemeteries.
Billy Wesley, Chad Aull, Steve Bratcher
Last updated 7 months ago
12 Co-Sponsors
Amend KRS 40.315 to expand interment eligibility in Kentucky state veterans' cemeteries to include eligible National Guard and Reserve service members and their families.
STATUS
Engrossed
HB378 - AN ACT relating to state symbols.
Alan Gentry, Cherlynn Stevenson, Tina Bojanowski
Last updated 6 months ago
30 Co-Sponsors
Amends KRS 2.091 to designate coal as the official rock of Kentucky; amends KRS 2.092 to designate Kentucky agate as the official gemstone of Kentucky; and amends KRS 2.094 to designate calcite as the official mineral of Kentucky.
STATUS
Passed
HB315 - AN ACT relating to vegetation around railroad crossings and declaring an emergency.
Nancy J. Tate, Kimberly Banta, Danny R. Bentley
Last updated 8 months ago
18 Co-Sponsors
Create a new section of KRS Chapter 277 to require railroad companies to destroy or remove obstructive vegetation upon and within the geographical bounds of its right-of-way at each intersection with a public road or highway; require the Transportation Cabinet to destroy or remove obstructive vegetation when a railroad company fails to do so; require the railroad company to reimburse the Transportation Cabinet for costs of the removal; EMERGENCY.
STATUS
Introduced
HB784 - AN ACT relating to independent school districts.
James A. Tipton, John F. Hodgson
Last updated 7 months ago
2 Co-Sponsors
Create new sections of KRS Chapter 160 to establish definitions; establish a petition process for citizens of a qualifying city to place the question of creating a new independent district and local board of education within the boundaries of the city; establish the requirements for the question and the board of education provisional election; establish the initial terms of office for the interim board of education and subsequent terms; establish the transition of authorities from the originating school district board of education to the boards of both the altered originating school district and the new independent school district; require the Kentucky Department of Education to calculate assets and liabilities of the originating school district for division to the altered originating school district and the new independent school district; authorize the altered originating district to maintain control and use of assets until the scheduled transfer to the new independent district and authorize the continued payments of debts; establish a negotiation process between the altered originating district and the new independent district to resolve the division of the originating district's assets and liabilities; establish a deadline for the negotiation to conclude with an agreement; provide a process for resolution of disagreements; establish a penalty to the districts for unresolved disputes that continue past the deadline; establish a deadline for the transfer of all assets and debts; authorize the altered originating district to continue to assess and collect taxes for both districts until the close of the tax year in which the new independent district is fully operational; provide for the distribution of collected taxes during the transition period; require the mayor of the city to call the newly elected interim board of new independent district to meet; establish the agenda for the first meeting of the new interim board; allow the interim board to request assistance from the Kentucky Department of Education and require the commissioner of education to provide assistance; establish the transition process for the new independent district to become fully functional, including budgets and financial transfers during the transition; allow for the new independent district to request a waiver of the transition timeline from the commissioner of education; allow the interim board to submit a waiver request for a statute or administrative regulation to the Kentucky Board of Education, and establish the limits of any waiver; authorize the interim board to enter into service contracts with another school district during the transition; establish a process for the interim board to vote to terminate the establishment of the new independent district due to financial unviability during the transition; establish the transition from an interim board to a fully functional board of the new independent district; require the continued collection of taxes tied to the payment of debt or interest until the debt or interest is retired; waive the requirement for school based decision making for the first year of operations of the new independent district; require the interim board of the new independent district to develop, adopt, and maintain a transition plan and establish the requirements of the plan; create a new section of KRS Chapter 157 to establish a projection model for the first year of full operations of the new independent district and the altered originating district.
STATUS
Introduced
HB506 - AN ACT relating to geoengineering.
Steve Rawlings, Josh Calloway, Jim Gooch
Last updated 8 months ago
6 Co-Sponsors
Create new sections of Subchapter 1 of KRS Chapter 224 to make findings and declarations regarding the dangers of atmospheric polluting activities and the Commonwealth's authority to prohibit geoengineering; define terms; prohibit geoengineering; require the Department for Environmental Protection to issue a notice to any federal agency that has approved geoengineering activities that those activities cannot be lawfully carried out in the Commonwealth; require the department to prohibit foreign states or international bodies that engage in geoengineering from engaging in any atmospheric activities over the Commonwealth; require the department to publish quarterly notices in newspapers of general circulation and on its website to encourage the public to monitor and report geoengineering activities; allow individuals to submit evidence of geoengineering to the department; require any local or state official to report any information regarding suspected geoengineering activity to the department within 24 hours; require the department to investigate reports of excessive electromagnetic radiation or fields caused by humans; amend KRS 224.99-010 to make knowingly engaging in geoengineering a Class D felony and subject to a civil penalty of not less than $500,000.
STATUS
Introduced
HB509 - AN ACT relating to access to the records and meetings of public agencies.
John F. Hodgson, David W. Osborne, Jason Michael Nemes
Last updated 6 months ago
3 Co-Sponsors
Create a new section of KRS 61.870 to 61.884, the Open Records Act, to require a public agency to furnish an officer, employee, board member, or commission member an agency email account; define terms; allow the governing body of a public agency or its appointing authority to identify, in writing, the names of specific personnel that do not require the use of an agency-furnished email account; allow a public agency to issue an email address through a third-party provider if a public is incapable of issuing an agency-furnished email account; prohibit an employee or a member of a board, commission, or public agency from using an email account other than an agency-furnished or agency-designated email account; provide that an employee or member of a board, commission, or public agency who uses an email account other than an agency-furnished or agency-designated email account is subject to discipline or removal, as appropriate; amend KRS 61.870 to amend the definition of "public record"; amend KRS 61.848 to specify that any formal action taken by a public agency that does not comply with KRS 61.840, relating to conditions placed on public attendance at meetings, are voidable by a court of competent jurisdiction; make technical corrections; amend various other sections to conform.
STATUS
Engrossed
HCR81 - A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION directing the Legislative Research Commission to establish the Efficient and Effective School District Governance Task Force.
Ken Fleming, Jason Michael Nemes, Jared A. Bauman
Last updated 5 months ago
7 Co-Sponsors
Directs the Legislative Research Commission to establish the Efficient and Effective School District Governance Task Force; outlines task force duties; requires the task force to submit any recommendations and changes the task force may adopt by December 1, 2024; establishes membership; requires the task force to meet at least twice per month; and requires the Legislative Research Commission to provide needed staff and authorizes the commission to enter into contracts for consultants to assist the task force in its duties.
STATUS
Passed
HB392 - AN ACT relating to the Kentucky Public Employees Deferred Compensation Authority.
John F. Hodgson
Last updated 7 months ago
1 Co-Sponsor
Amend KRS 18A.230 to define "self-directed brokerage account" (SDBA); amend KRS 18A.235 to authorize the board of trustees of the Kentucky Public Employees Deferred Compensation Authority (KY Deferred Comp) to purchase fiduciary liability insurance and reimburse its trustees, officers, and employees for legal expenses relating to performance of their duties; amend KRS 18A.245 to authorize KY Deferred Comp to offer SDBAs to its participants, contract with SDBA vendors, and promulgate administrative regulations relating to SDBAs for its participants; require the plans offered by KY Deferred Comp to conform to federal laws and regulations; authorize KY Deferred Comp to promulgate administrative regulations; make technical changes; amend KRS 18A.255 to provide that KY Deferred Comp and its board of trustees are not liable for a participant's investment in a SDBA; codify the fiduciary duties of the board of trustees; exempt the trustees from legal action for monetary damages unless the person bringing the action proves by clear and convincing evidence that a trustee's breach or failure to perform the trustee's fiduciary duty is a willful, wanton, or reckless act; amend KRS 18A.260 to require assets held by KY Deferred Comp to be invested consistent with its statutory authority and to limit investments in a SDBA to securities registered with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission.
STATUS
Engrossed
HB384 - AN ACT relating to the control of vehicular traffic.
Jennifer Henson Decker, Savannah Maddox, Danny R. Bentley
Last updated 8 months ago
35 Co-Sponsors
Amend KRS 56.580 to prohibit closing portions of Capital Avenue in Frankfort; provide exceptions for emergency personnel.
STATUS
Introduced
BIOGRAPHY
INCUMBENT
Representative from Kentucky district HD-036
COMMITTEES
Kentucky House
BIRTH
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ABOUT
John F. Hodgson is a former Democratic member of the Maine State Senate, representing District 11. Hodgson earned his B.S. in Economics from Bates College in Lewiston in 1968. He served in the United States Army as a First Lieutenant from 1968 to 1970 during the Vietnam era. Hodgson was Chair of the Aroostook County Democratic Committee from 1974 to 2004. He then won election to the Maine State Senate in 2004. He served in that position until 2010, when he did not run for re-election.read less
OFFICES HELD
Kentucky House from Kentucky
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