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Photo: Secretary of State Grime’s Office
Secretary of State Alison Lundergan Grimes welcomed and congratulated new United States citizens at a naturalization ceremony on Thursday at the national headquarters of the Sons of the American Revolution.
Grimes recognized 97 new citizens from 39 different countries who took the oath of citizenship to become Americans officially. She spoke to the new citizens and their families about the importance of voter participation, civic engagement, and being committed to their communities.
“On this special occasion, we’re celebrating at the Sons of the American Revolution – a conflict which resulted in America’s independence and the building of a country which has become a melting pot of people like each of you,” Grimes said. “All of us are here because of the people who led the Revolution, and today we affirm the ideal that America is a place for everyone.”
Grimes encouraged the new citizens to use one of their newly attained rights as citizens by registering to vote via Kentucky’s online registration portal at GoVoteKY.com. The portal is easy to navigate and it takes just a few short minutes to complete the registration process, Grimes said.
Grimes imparted upon the new citizens the importance of participating in elections and asked them to go to the polls in every cycle.
“I’m counting on you to lead us on a course change when it comes to voting. Each of you must take part in the process. America’s future cannot be built on apathy,” said Grimes.
Photo: Kentucky State Parks
Experience the beauty of the Carter Caves Wildflower Pilgrimage April 21-22 at Carter Caves State Resort Park near Olive Hill.
Throughout the weekend guests will experience the beauty of the area during wildflower walks. This is the perfect weekend for experienced wildflower enthusiasts, beginner bloomers or those who just enjoy being in the woods to get outside and experience the natural beauty of spring.
The event is sponsored by the Friends of Carter Caves. All trips are free this year.
Participants will be able to sign up for the hikes at the park. Overnight lodging and camping is available. The park’s friends group will host a hot dog cook out on Saturday with proceeds benefiting the park.
Call the park at 606-286-4411 for more information or to make lodging reservations.
In addition to cave tours, Carter Caves offers hiking, mini-golf, fishing and a gem mine. Carter Caves also has a lodge, cottages and restaurant. For more information, call the park at 1-800-325-0059 or visit parks.ky.gov/
The Council on Postsecondary Education set 2017-18 tuition and mandatory fee ceilings for resident undergraduate students at its meeting Friday at Northern Kentucky University.
The ceilings limit tuition and mandatory fee increases to 3 to 5 percent and include:
- 3 percent for Western Kentucky University
- 4 percent for the University of Kentucky and Northern Kentucky University
- 5 percent for Eastern Kentucky University, Kentucky State University, Morehead State University and Murray State University.
The ceiling for the Kentucky Community and Technical College System was set at $6 per credit hour, a 3.9 percent increase.
A ceiling was not set for the University of Louisville since the university’s board of trustees has already voted not to increase tuition next year.
The new tuition dollars will partially offset inflationary fixed costs, manage growth in employer-paid retirement contributions, and support continuing progress to produce a more highly skilled and productive workforce, create new jobs and grow Kentucky’s economy through higher levels of educational attainment.
“Setting tuition ceilings is not something we take lightly,” said Council President Bob King. “After a very thorough process, we believe these rates strike the right balance between keeping costs affordable for students and their families, while providing adequate funding for our campuses to address fixed and unavoidable budget challenges.”
Even with the additional tuition revenue, campuses will face an $11.5 million shortfall for the 2017-18 year.
The different ceilings for campuses reflect in part the equity adjustments of $2.5 million for Western Kentucky University and $5.1 million for Northern Kentucky University. These funds were provided in the current biennial budget. A condition of the agreement was that both campuses would set lower tuition increases.
Another factor considered in setting the tuition ceilings was the expectation that employer-paid contributions in the Kentucky Employment Retirement System (KERS) will continue to increase at an accelerated rate. Between 2011-12 and 2016-17, the mandated increases in campus contributions grew from $30.2 million to $72 million, or 138 percent.
Only two campuses, the University of Kentucky and the University of Louisville, do not have employees who participate in KERS.
Council staff stressed the importance of considering the net price of going to college as opposed to the published “sticker price.” The net price is the total cost of attendance, including tuition and fees, textbooks, and room and board costs, minus student financial aid from federal, state or local and institutional sources.
In Kentucky, very few students pay the stated sticker price because of liberal amounts of grant and scholarship aid provided by the state and postsecondary institutions. For example, even though annual resident undergraduate tuition and fees at Kentucky comprehensive universities increased by $1,191 between academic years 2011-12 and 2015-16, the average net price that students paid actually decreased by $186 during this period.
The tuition action also allows campuses to submit market competitive tuition and fee rates for graduate, professional and online courses.
Council action on campus tuition and fee proposals is set for the June 16 meeting at Spalding University.
In other action, the Council:
- Extended President Bob King’s contract two years.
- Approved a KCTCS request for six new capital projects funded with a combination of Kentucky Work Ready Skills Initiative funds ($30.5 million), private funds ($5.3 million) and agency restricted funds ($2.9 million).
- Approved three academic programs: Master of Science in Nursing, Family Nurse Practitioner, Morehead State University; Ph.D. in Radiation and Radiological Sciences, University of Kentucky; and Specialist in Gifted and Talented Education, Western Kentucky University.
- Awarded resolutions of appreciation for distinguished service for outgoing members Pam Miller, Glenn Denton and Dan Flanagan.
- Chair Sherrill Zimmerman appointed Donna Moore, Joe Ellis and Ron Beal to the Council’s Executive Committee. Zimmerman and Vice Chair Ben Brandstetter also serve on this committee.
- Zimmerman appointed Lizbetthe Rodriguez to the Committee on Equal Opportunities.
The Council heard the following reports: CPE President, Kentucky Commissioner of Education, Strategic Agenda Metrics Accountability System Overview, Stronger by Degrees: Update on Opportunity, 2017 Legislative Session Summary and Committee on Equal Opportunities. Reports from the campuses were also available.
Additionally, new member Shawn Reynolds of Almo was sworn in at Thursday’s work session. His term expires Dec. 31, 2022.
Meeting materials are available at https://v3.boardbook.org/Public/PublicMeetingMaterials.aspx?ak=1001061&mk=50220579.
Attorney General Andy Beshear will host a three-day sexual assault cold case training for law enforcement, prosecutors and victim advocates across the state related to Kentucky’s Sexual Assault Forensic Evidence kit or SAFE kit backlog.
The free training, hosted by the Prosecutors Advisory Council, the AG’s Office of Victims Advocacy, and the Department of Criminal Investigations, runs from April 11-13 at the Embassy Suites in Lexington.
It features local trainers and national experts from the National Sexual Assault Kit Initiative Training and Technical Assistance (SAKI TTA) and Aequitas: the Prosecutors’ Resource on Violence Against Women.
Beshear is offering the training in response to a request by prosecutors for skills to effectively prosecute cases from the backlog. Beshear’s office has been partnering with lawmakers, law enforcement and advocates to end the SAFE kit backlog since last spring when Senate Bill 63 was passed that directed the 3,000-plus untested kits to be tested.
“The ongoing trainings by the Attorney General’s office will ensure that everyone working to end this backlog has the resources and support they need to seek and get justice for the victims,” Beshear said. “While kits are returning to law enforcement statewide, a major focus for investigators and prosecutors is pre-planning of investigations and prosecutions with special attention to the challenges posed by cold cases.”
Beshear committed $4.5 million in settlement funds from a lawsuit his office settled to test SAFE kits, and provided an additional $1 million to support the investigation and prosecution of sexual assault cases.
The upcoming training will focus on investigating and prosecuting sexual assault cold cases, and is another step the Office of the Attorney General is taking to help sexual assault victims receive justice.
Beshear’s office is working with the Kentucky Association of Sexual Assault Programs and its 13 rape crisis centers, the Kentucky State Police and local law enforcement and prosecutors to ensure SAFE kit investigations and prosecutions are victim-centered.
“This training will be invaluable to prosecutors across the Commonwealth in seeking justice for victims who have waited far too long,” said Chris Cohron, Warren County Commonwealth’s Attorney.
In September, Beshear’s office hosted the SAFE Summit in partnership with the Sexual Assault Response Team Advisory Committee to train nearly 200 law enforcement officers, prosecutors and victim advocates on how to conduct a victim-centered investigation, examine cold cases, notify victims and prosecute sexual assault offenders.
In December, Beshear released a set of resources to support Kentucky’s law enforcement community in investigating and prosecuting the results of sexual assault forensic exam kits.
The Office of the Attorney General is also partnering with the University of Louisville to conduct research to determine the underlying causes of the backlog and prevent its reoccurrence.
Members of the media may attend any course of the training without registering. To follow the work of the Attorney General’s office and its partners on the SAFE Kit backlog, view www.kentuckybacklog.com and http://endthebacklog.org/Kentucky.
Co-hosted by the Kentucky Labor Cabinet and the Kentucky Health and Safety Network, Inc., the 33rd Annual Governor’s Safety and Health Conference will be held at the Northern Kentucky Convention Center from May 8 – 12, 2017. This year will mark the first time that the conference has been held in northern Kentucky.
The Conference brings together occupational safety and health professionals from the fields of business, labor, education and government. It is the largest gathering of occupational safety and health professionals in the Commonwealth. Its purpose is to raise awareness and promote safety and health in the workplace. These goals are accomplished by: (1) hosting workshops on numerous, timely workplace safety subjects, including courses necessary for occupational safety and health certification; (2) providing a forum for occupational safety and health professionals to gather and exchange ideas; and (3) provide vendors with a venue to showcase the latest in occupational safety and health products and equipment. Attendees can experience hands-on, interactive training opportunities, attend multiple certification courses, visit a state-of-the-art exhibition hall, take part in facility tours, and enjoy multiple networking opportunities.
The Conference also recognizes outstanding performance in the area of safety and health through the Governor’s Safety and Health Award. At last year’s conference, 48 companies were recognized for earning this Award. In order to become eligible for the Award, businesses must keep employees injury-and-illness-free for at least 250,000 consecutive hours depending on the number of employees.
Registration form can be found here. The 33rd Governor’s Safety and Health Conference will be held May 8 – 12, 2017 at the Northern Kentucky Convention Center. The convention center is located at 1 W Rivercenter Blvd in Covington, KY 41011.
Additional information is available at http://labor.kentucky.gov.
The Supreme Court of Kentucky will convene April 19-20 in Frankfort to hear oral arguments in civil cases that originated in Bell, Bracken, Fayette, Franklin and Jefferson counties. Proceedings are open to the public and will take place in the Supreme Court Courtroom on the second floor of the state Capitol at 700 Capitol Ave. in Frankfort.
The public may also observe oral arguments via the Supreme Court live stream on the Kentucky Court of Justice website. Oral arguments are available online as they occur in real time and are not available as archives.
The Supreme Court is the state court of last resort and the final interpreter of Kentucky law. Seven justices sit on the Supreme Court and all seven justices rule on appeals that come before the court. The justices are elected from seven appellate districts and serve eight-year terms. A chief justice, chosen for a four-year term by fellow justices, is the administrative head of the state’s court system and is responsible for its operation. The Supreme Court may order a ruling or opinion to be published, which means that the ruling becomes the case law governing all similar cases in the future in Kentucky.
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 19, 2017
9 AM ET
2016-SC-000008-DG
BIG SANDY REGIONAL JAIL AUTHORITY V. LEXINGTON FAYETTE URBAN COUNTY GOVERNMENT
“Sovereign Immunity. KRS 441.025. At issue in this matter is whether sovereign immunity bars an action by a regional jail against a county to recover the costs of housing that county’s prisoners, after they were arrested and held pursuant to a warrant from courts of that county. In addition, at issue is whether KRS 441.025 obligates a county to pay for the incarceration of prisoners arrested and held on warrants issued by the courts of that county which are served in the county where the prisoner is incarcerated.”
Discretionary Review granted 9/15/2016
Fayette Circuit Court, Judge Kim M. Wilkie and Judge Ernesto Scorsone
Attorney for Appellant: Nelson Theodore Sparks
Attorneys for Appellee: Michael Keith Horn and Charles Edwards, III
10 AM
2016-SC-000321-DG
KENTUCKYONE HEALTH, INC. V. BENJAMIN REID, JR., M.D.
“Health Care Quality Improvement Act. Rebuttable Presumption of Immunity. At issue in this case is whether the hospital’s actions against the physician constitute “professional review action” to which the rebuttable presumption of immunity provisions of the Health Care Quality Improvement Act apply. Additionally, if immunity did not apply to the physician’s claims against the hospital, was there sufficient evidence to support a summary judgment on the claims for breach of contract, tortious interference with a business relationship and slander.”
Discretionary Review granted 10/13/2016
Jefferson Circuit Court, Judge Audra Jean Eckerle
Attorneys for Appellant: Kathryn Ann Quesenberry and Michael P. Abate
Attorneys for Appellee: Larry B. Franklin, Kelly Jo Brownfield and Patrick John Smith
11 AM ET
2016-SC-000243-DG
ST. AUGSTINE SCHOOL, ET AL. V. JANET CROPPER
“Contracts. Ecclesiastical Abstention. Whether a breach of contract claim by a parochial school administrator involves a matter of internal church governance requiring judicial abstention.”
Discretionary Review granted 10/13/2016
Bracken Circuit Court, Judge Stockton B. Wood
Attorneys for Appellants: Richard G. Meyer and Nicholas Charles Birkenhauer
Attorney for Appellee: Gail Marie Langendorf
THURSDAY, APRIL 20, 2017
10 AM ET
2016-SC-000281-DG
COMMONWEALTH OF KENTUCKY, FINANCE AND ADMINISTRATION CABINET, DEPARTMENT OF REVENUE V. INTERSTATE GAS SUPPLY, INC., FOR THE USE AND BENEFIT OF TRI-STATE HEALTHCARE LAUNDRY, INC.
“Kentucky Constitution § 170. Tax Exemption. Institution of Purely Public Charity. The issue in this case is whether an institution of purely public charity should be exempt from payment of a use tax under § 170 of the Kentucky Constitution.”
Discretionary Review granted 10/13/2016
Franklin Circuit Court, Judge Thomas D. Wingate
Attorney for Appellant: Douglas M. Dowell
Attorneys for Appellee: Timothy Joseph Eifler and Stephen A. Sherman
11 AM ET
2015-SC-000489-DG
NAMI RESOURCES COMPANY, L.L.C., ET AL. V. ASHER LAND AND MINERAL, LTD, ET AL.
2016-SC-000235-DG
ASHER LAND AND MINERAL, LTD V. NAMI RESOURCES COMPANY, L.L.C.
“Oil and Gas. Contracts. Fraud. Punitive Damages. Issues involve alleged fraud and/or breach of contract in underpayment of oil and gas royalties pursuant to lease plus the propriety of imposing punitive damages.”
Discretionary Review granted 4/27/2016 and 8/17/2016
Bell Circuit Court, Judge Robert Costanzo
Attorneys for Appellants/Cross-Appellee: Michael D. Bowling, Virginia Hamilton Snell, Donald Joseph Kelly and Benjamin Todd Keller
Attorneys for Appellee/Cross-Appellant, Asher Land and Mineral, LTD: James C. Helton, Darrell L. Saunders and Michael J. Gartland
Attorney for Appellees, Vanguard Natural Resources, LLC and Vanguard Natural Gas, LLC: Mason L. Miller
For the second time in as many months, Attorney General Andy Beshear is releasing information to the public on the work of his office after a request for information by Gov. Matt Bevin.
Beshear is releasing information on his Office of Civil and Environmental Law’s Administrative Hearings Branch after a March 10 letter by the governor.
Last month, Bevin requested information on the AG’s Office of Civil and Environmental Law’s Open Records/Open Meetings Branch and information on the office’s civil attorneys and caseload.
Beshear released that information to the public Feb. 10.
“As I have repeatedly said, each time the governor requests information it gives me the chance to honor the hard work of the employees in my office,” Beshear said. “While many Kentuckians are unfamiliar with this branch in the Attorney General’s office, it plays a vital role to ensure government is operating properly and within the guidelines of the law.”
Hearing officers serve as impartial adjudicators of administrative matters in government. Lawmakers established the branch in 1994 to conduct administrative hearings for government boards and agencies and provide training in administrative hearing procedures for hearing officers, who propose or render decisions on claims regarding government programs.
Currently, the branch provides hearing officer services to more than 60 government agencies and boards across Kentucky.
“Use of the branch is advantageous, as the hearing officers are independent, unlike those employed by the same agency or cabinet who often bring action in a matter or has made a decision that initiated the matter,” Beshear said. “Using an independent hearing officer can defeat claims of having ‘kangaroo courts’ in administrative matters involving an agency or cabinet.”
The branch recently conducted a training March 15 at the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet, providing three hours of continuing legal education and educational requirements as required by Kentucky law.
“Our team has spent more than 175 hours responding to the eight different requests from the governor for information on my office,” Beshear said. “This is valuable time that should have been spent furthering our missions of seeking justice for victims of sexual assault, protecting seniors from scams, addressing our drug problem and protecting children from sexual abuse.”
