The 498th Legislative Research Commission met on Wednesday, September 6, 2000, at 1:30 p.m., in Room 111 of the Capitol Annex. Speaker Jody Richards, Chair, called the meeting to order, and the secretary called the roll.
Present were:
Members: Representative Jody Richards, Presiding Officer; Senator David Williams, Co-Chair; Senators David Boswell, Charlie Borders, Dan Kelly, David Karem, Marshall Long, Richard "Dick" Roeding, and Elizabeth Tori; Representatives Woody Allen, Joe Barrows, Jim Callahan, Larry Clark, Danny Ford, Jeff Hoover, and Greg Stumbo.
LRC Staff: Bobby Sherman, Director; and Diana Hill.
There being a quorum present, a motion was made by Senator Karem, seconded by Senator Boswell and duly passed without objection, to approve the minutes of the August 16, 2000, meeting.
Under Staff and Committee Reports, a motion was made by Senator Karem, seconded by Senator Boswell and duly passed without objection, to approve items A through D as follows:
A. Information requests.
B. Committee Activity Report for August, 2000.
C. Report of the Administrative Regulation Review Subcommittee meeting of August 1, 2000.
D. Report of administrative regulations from the Interim Joint Committee on Agriculture and Natural Resources' meeting of August 24, 2000.
Under New Business, a motion was made by Representative Stumbo, seconded by Senator Long, to allow the interim to commence as of September 6, 2000. Representative Stumbo said that as an integral part of the Kenton Amendment, the interim committee system had allowed new members the opportunity to engage in a full year of meaningful legislative work which helped them be better prepared for session. He continued by saying that the interim process has played a unique role in the development of an independent General Assembly as a co-equal branch of government, and that legislative independence should not suffer because of differences of opinion that had, to this point, delayed the start of interim committee activity. He felt that not only would further delays result in ill-prepared members, but could pose a threat to the institution of the General Assembly.
Senator Kelly said he agreed in principle that differences in opinion should not be allowed to thwart progress, but that the Senate should be a co-equal partner in the process. While acknowledging that changes such as the designation of committee co-chairs and alternating presiding chairs had accomplished that goal to some degree, he maintained that the issue of which chamber controls the statutory committees remains unresolved, and that of the four committees at issue, the Senate should have a majority on at least one.
President Williams said the statutory committees in dispute were the Administrative Regulations Review Subcommittee, Government Contract Review Subcommittee, Education Assessment and Accountability Review Subcommittee, and the Capital Projects and Bond Oversight Committee. He stated that they were important committees because each serves a checks and balances function with regard to expenditure of state funds. President Williams noted that this issue had been discussed during the 2000 Session, although it was ultimately left unresolved. He also pointed out that he was willing to allow any committee meeting to be held if there was a justified need for the meeting, but the argument that new members would be unprepared was invalid, since there would be no new members until January.
Representative Callahan said that the request to begin the interim related only to interim joint committees and not statutory committees. Therefore, he said that the request should be voted up or down on its merits.
A roll call vote was called for on the motion to begin the interim as of September 6. Several members explained their votes during the roll call.
Representative Stumbo said that he feared that because of politics, the annual sessions amendment could be in jeopardy. He emphasized that the House will not be mired down in a political feud that will cause damage to the legislative process, and that the House members will go forward.
Senator Tori said that if the purpose of legislative committee activity is to serve the people of the state, there should be an equal representation of each chamber for the people in order to receive good government. Senator Tori urged members to move forward and try to work out their differences.
The motion was defeated with eight ayes and eight nays as follows: Ayes were Reps. Barrows, Callahan, Clark, Stumbo, and Speaker Richards; Sens. Boswell, Karem, and Long. Nays: Reps. Allen, Ford, Hoover; Sens. Borders, Kelly, Roeding, Tori, and President Williams.
Representative Clark passed out a resolution recognizing the desire for Centre College to host this year's vice-presidential debate. A motion was made by Representative Clark, seconded by Senator Boswell and duly passed to adopt the resolution. A voice vote was taken with Senator Kelly voting no.
Senator Kelly distributed two memos to members from President Williams, relating to the establishment of task forces created by the 2000 General Assembly, and the establishment of a Special Subcommittee on Block Grant Applications. A motion was made by Senator Kelly to approve the memo requesting the formation of the task forces. Senator Roeding seconded the motion.
Stating that some members had not seen the memo until the meeting, Representative Barrows made a motion to pass over the request until a later time. The motion was seconded by Representative Clark. A roll call vote was called for and the motion failed with eight ayes and eight nays as follows: Ayes: Reps. Barrows, Callahan, Clark, Stumbo, and Speaker Richards; Sens. Boswell, Karem, and Long. Nays: Reps. Allen, Ford, Hoover; Sens. Borders, Kelly, Roeding, Tori, and President Williams.
A motion was then made for the previous question for approving the formation of task forces. A roll call vote was taken as follows: Ayes: Reps. Allen, Ford, Hoover; Sens. Borders, Kelly, Roeding, Tori, and President Williams. Nays: Reps. Barrows, Callahan, Clark, Stumbo, and Speaker Richards; Sens. Boswell, Karem, and Long. The motion failed with eight ayes and eight nays.
Senator Kelly presented a memo from Senator Williams requesting approval of the establishment of a Special Subcommittee on Block Grant Applications which would be a subcommittee of the LRC. Representative Barrows then made a motion to pass over the request, which was seconded by Representative Clark. The motion to pass over the request failed with eight ayes and eight nays as follows: Ayes: Rep. Barrows, Callahan, Clark, Stumbo, and Speaker Richards; Sens. Boswell, Karem, and Long. Nays: Reps. Allen, Rep. Ford, Hoover; Sens. Borders, Kelly, Roeding, Tori, and President Williams.
Senator Kelly made a motion to approve the establishment of the Special Subcommittee on Block Grant Applications, which was seconded by Senator Roeding. The motion failed with eight ayes and eight nays as follows: Ayes: Reps. Allen, Ford, and Hoover; Sens. Borders, Kelly, Roeding, Tori, and President Williams. Nays: Reps. Barrows, Callahan, Clark, Stumbo, and Speaker Richards; Sens. Boswell, Karem, and Long.
During discussion on the motion, Representative Stumbo called for a point of order. He asked Director Sherman if a suspension of the rules was in order when an item is submitted for approval that the members have not seen before the LRC meeting. He asked if in the past, there had been a rule stating that items on the agenda needed to be submitted a certain number of days in advance of the meeting. Mr. Sherman said he did not know of such a rule, or the need for a suspension of the rules, but that he would confirm that opinion.
Under New Business, a motion was made by Speaker Richards, seconded by Representative Clark and duly passed without objection, to refer item A., BR 40, to the Interim Joint Committee on State Government.
By separate voice votes, a motion was made and seconded to approve Items B., C., and D. The motions passed by voice votes. Items B., C., and D. are as follows:
B. From Speaker Jody Richards: Request for approval of the appointment of Representative Charles Geveden to the Kentucky Information Technology Advisory Council.
C. From Senator Ernie Harris, Representative Larry Clark, and Jack Conway, Co-Chairs, Special Task Force on Electricity Restructuring: Request for approval for a special meeting on September 25 to comply with SJR 107, which requires that the first meeting of the Task Force be held no later than October 1, 2000. The Task Force has held no previous meetings.
D. From Bobby Sherman: Request for approval to hold an orientation workshop on December 5-7 for new legislators, and to pay members' expenses related to the orientation.
A motion was made by Senator Kelly and seconded by Senator Roeding to approve Item E. as follows:
E. From Senator Vernie McGaha, Chair, Tobacco Task Force: Request for approval to hold a meeting on September 12 to fulfill the requirements of SB 49, which requires at least four meetings and a report of the Task Force by December 15, 2000. The Task Force has held two previous meetings in July and August.
Representative Barrows questioned whether it was appropriate for the Commission to be selective in determining which committees and issues are of sufficient importance to justify approval of the meeting.
A roll call vote was called for and the motion failed with eight ayes and eight nays as follows: Ayes: Reps. Allen, Ford, and Hoover; Sens. Borders, Kelly, Roeding, Tori, and President Williams. Nays: Reps. Barrows, Callahan, Clark, Stumbo, and Speaker Richards; Sens. Boswell, Karem, and Long.
A motion was made by Senator Kelly and seconded by Senator Roeding, to pass over Item. F. because of questions about the composition of the membership of the Special Subcommittee on Energy. Item F was as follows:
F. From Representative Tom McKee, Chair, Special Subcommittee on Energy: Request for approval to meet in September to review CMRS Board regulations.
Upon a roll call vote, the motion to pass over Item F. passed with 15 ayes and one nay from President Williams.
A motion was made by Representative Barrows and seconded by Representative Clark to pass over Items. G. and H. Representative Barrows withdrew his motion after it was decided that the two items should be dealt with separately.
A motion was then made by Senator Kelly, seconded by Senator Tori and duly passed without objection, to approve Item G. as follows:
G. From Senator Virgil Moore and Representative Hubert Collins, Co-Chairs, Interim Joint Committee on Transportation: Request for approval of the appointment of Representative Mike Weaver to the Subcommittee on Highways and Traffic Safety.
Representative Stumbo made a motion which was seconded by Senator Long, to approve Item H. as follows:
H. From Representative Tom Burch, Co-Chair, Interim Joint Committee on Health and Welfare: Request for approval to meet on September 20 to consider important issues.
A roll call vote was called for and the motion failed with 14 nays. Senator Long and President Williams passed.
Speaker Richards stated that he plans to approve discussion groups of House members which will gather for updates on developing issues. He stressed that these will not be interim committee meetings.
President Williams said that joint approval of the LRC Co-Chairs would be necessary in order to compensate members for such activity, and that he would not approve any compensation for members for unauthorized in-state meetings.
President Williams then offered a memo requesting the appointment of Senate members to serve on the Special Subcommittee on Energy. President Williams made a motion to approve the request and Senator Roeding seconded the motion. A roll call vote was taken and the motion failed with eight ayes and eight nays as follows: Ayes: Reps. Allen, Ford, Hoover; Sens. Borders, Kelly, Roeding, Tori, and President Williams. Nays: Reps. Barrows, Callahan, Clark, Stumbo, and Speaker Richards; Sens. Boswell, Karem, and Long.
Under Communications, a motion was made by Representative Clark, seconded by Representative Barrows and duly passed without objection to refer communications as follows:
A. From President David Williams (FYI): Notification of appointment of Senator Robert Stivers and Senator Marshall Long to serve on the Sexual Assault Task Force.
B. From Senator David Williams (FYI): Notification of appointment of Senator Richard Roeding to serve as a nonvoting ex-officio member on the Kentucky Health Care Improvement Authority.
C. From Senator David Williams (FYI): Notification of appointment of Senator Robert Stivers to serve as a nonvoting ex-officio member on the Governor's Early Childhood Development Authority.
D. From Speaker Jody Richards (FYI): Notification of appointment of Representative Jim Gooch to serve on the Kentucky Health Care Improvement Authority as a nonvoting ex-officio member.
E. From Senator David Karem (FYI): Notification of appointment of Senator Ed Miller to serve as a non-voting ex-officio member of the Kentucky Health Care Improvement Authority Board.
F. From the Department of Parks: Annual Report of the Parks Capital Maintenance and Renovation Fund; to Appropriations and Revenue and Economic Development and Tourism.
G. From the Finance and Administration Cabinet, Office of the Controller: Surtax Receipts Statements for the Law Enforcement and Professional Firefighters Foundation Fund Programs for the year ending June 30, 2000, and for the month of July 2000; to Appropriations and Revenue and Local Government.
H. From Kentucky Employers' Mutual Insurance: Statement of Assets, Liabilities, and Surplus as of June 30, 2000; to Appropriations and Revenue and Labor and Industry.
I. From the Kentucky Heritage Land Conservation Fund Board: Annual Report of the Kentucky Heritage Land Conservation Fund Board; to Agriculture and Natural Resources.
J. From the Kentucky Department of Education: Report on the Early Reading Incentive Grant Program; to Education.
There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned.