Call to Order and Roll Call
The meeting of the Tobacco Settlement Agreement Fund Oversight Committee was held on Wednesday, September 3, 2014, at 10:00 AM, in Room 129 of the Capitol Annex. Representative Wilson Stone, Chair, called the meeting to order, and the secretary called the roll.
Present were:
Members: Senator Paul Hornback, Co-Chair; Representative Wilson Stone, Co-Chair; Senators Carroll Gibson, Jimmy Higdon, Dennis Parrett, Robin L. Webb, and Whitney Westerfield; Representatives Mike Denham, Tom McKee, Terry Mills, Ryan Quarles, and Jonathan Shell.
Guests: Mr. Roger Thomas, Mr. Joel Neaveill, Mr. Bill McCloskey, Mr. Brian Murphy, Ms. Angela Blank, and Ms. Beth Herbert, Governor’s Office of Agricultural Policy; Dr. Mark Evers, Markey Cancer Center; and Dr. Don Miller, Brown Cancer Center.
LRC Staff: Lowell Atchley, Kelly Ludwig, and Kelly Blevins.
The August 6, 2014 minutes were approved, without objection by voice vote, upon a motion by Representative Quarles and second by Representative Mills.
Kentucky Lung Cancer Program Report
Dr. B. Mark Evers, Director of the Markey Cancer Center at the University of Kentucky, and Dr. Donald Miller, Director of the Brown Cancer Center, University of Louisville, presented the annual report on the Kentucky Lung Cancer Program, which receives a tobacco settlement funds appropriation.
Dr. Evers discussed the mission of the Markey Cancer Center, the burden of different types of cancers on Kentuckians, the bodily damage that tobacco use can cause, and the tobacco-related death and cancer toll on state residents. He discussed the cancer center's mission and expressed his support of a higher cigarette excise tax and smoke-free policies, the importance of the National Cancer Institute designation and the return on investment of the Lung Cancer Program funding. He discussed continuing cancer-related research related to treatments, screening, and testing of patients. Future plans are for the center to reach NCI comprehensive status, continue to improve the program, expand education and training, and recruit additional specialists.
Responding to Representative Stone, Steve Byars, Legislative Liaison, discussed some of the space needs and uses at the university.
In a response to Representative Denham, Dr. Evers said the state has made progress in smoking cessation efforts. He said that one-third of the state is affected by non-smoking ordinances. There is an emphasis in eastern Kentucky on smoking cessation.
Responding to Representative Denham, Dr. Evers listed efforts that could help reduce smoking rates. These efforts include increasing the excise tax on cigarettes, having more smoke-free areas, and instituting lung cancer screening projects.
Responding to Senator Higdon, Dr. Evers said that medical maladies in a small percentage of patients may be linked to radon. Senator Higdon mentioned awareness about the dangers of radon.
Senator Webb discussed the link between pulmonary disease and air quality, and also environmental factors in the incidence of cancer. She mentioned research being done in West Virginia and in the Pennsylvania. Dr. Evers responded that Markey has a medical affiliate in Ashland.
Responding to Senator Hornback, Dr. Evers said there is a correlation between high cancer rates in eastern Kentucky and smoking. There are high cancer rates in other states, but that region of Kentucky is particularly high.
Responding to questions from Senator Hornback and Representative McKee's questions about vapor products such as electronic cigarettes, Dr. Evers said he was worried about the potential impact of the products on young people. Vapor products come in flavors such as cherry and bubblegum. Senator Hornback described the problem that refillable vapor products present. Dr. Evers responded to Representative McKee that research continues to be undertaken regarding vapor products. He mentioned the likelihood that vapor products are harmful.
Both physicians responded to Senator Gibson, who asked how insurance companies address the newer medical technologies. According to Dr. Miller, there are standard guidelines regarding medical procedures that can be used in dealings with insurance companies.
Dr. Miller said that Kentucky leads the nation in age-adjusted cancer death rates. The state is falling behind the nation in cancer mortality. He discussed some of the transitional research Brown Cancer Center relating to cancer treatment, noting the success of a treatment, called AS1411, in a renal cell cancer afflicting one of the center’s patients. He described work being done to create a breath analysis implement to detect early signs of lung cancer. Dr. Miller discussed the progress being made by the cancer center and the Owensboro Cancer Research Program toward a tobacco-based HPV vaccine and a tobacco-based oral vaccine to protect against cholera toxin. He discussed the work of Kentucky BioProcessing in the development of zMapp, an antibody developed from tobacco plants and used against the Ebola virus epidemic in West Africa. He discussed the computerized cancer data collection in Kentucky, described the development of cancer treatment, termed PFK 158, from its discovery in 2004 until the clinical trials, and acknowledged the importance of the "Bucks for Brains" initiative, which was created by the legislature as a part of higher education reform.
Responding to Co-Chair Hornback, Dr. Miller described the center's work in genomics. A group of researchers at Brown Cancer Center have discovered a way to "switch off genes," and those treatments will be tested in the next year and a half.
Responding to Co-Chair Stone, Dr. Miller described some of the center's cutting edge work, such as creating new drugs through research and the breast and lung cancer treatment programs. Dr. Miller responded to Representative McKee that patients from outside the state come to the Brown Cancer Center for specialized treatments.
Governor's Office of Agricultural Policy
Mr. Roger Thomas, Executive Director, Mr. Joel Neaveill, Chief of Staff, and Mr. Bill McCloskey, Director of Financial Services, Governor's Office of Agricultural Policy, summarized the project funding decisions by the Agricultural Development Board (ABD) during its August meeting.
Mr. Neaveill discussed tobacco settlement funding allocations for the previous months under the County Agricultural Improvement (CAIP), Deceased Farm Animal Disposal Assistance, and Shared-use Equipment programs. Mr. Neaveill responded to Representative Stone that he was not aware of any dead poultry disposal programs. In addition, Mr. Neaveill said that available county funding stood at about $11 million.
Mr. Neaveill reviewed statewide or regional projects receiving funding approvals from the board. Those included: Crittenden County Board of Education, $3,811 for a school horticulture program; $320,500 to the Department of Agriculture's Kentucky Proud program to continue the Restaurant Rewards initiative through the end of the year; and $7.5 million to the Kentucky Agricultural Finance Corporation for KAFC's low interest agricultural loan program.
Mr. Neaveill responded to Senator Hornback's question about the growth of the Restaurant Rewards initiative by indicating the available funding for incentives to restaurants that buy Kentucky Proud products. The board has established some lifetime limits to businesses seeking the incentives.
In response to Co-Chair Hornback, Mr. Thomas said that food products can carry the Kentucky Proud label so long as products are processed in Kentucky. There has been discussion in the Department of Agriculture about creating a higher level designation for foodstuffs grown and processed in the state.
In response to Senator Gibson, Mr. Thomas said that indicating that some farmers’ markets items sold to be produced in the states and some do not.
Referring to the ADB-KAFC funds transfer, Senator Webb said there is very little the agricultural development fund money in eastern Kentucky. Mr. Thomas discussed meetings the agency has had in eastern Kentucky. Senator Webb said that ADB-KAFC is not reaching certain demographics. She mentioned the need to connect with younger people through the FFA and universities, and she said that farmers are "aging out." Mr. Thomas said that legislation passed previously required county council memberships to change periodically. Senator Hornback pointed out the difficulty in getting young people actively involved in seeking the agricultural development fund cost-share loans. He said that outreach can occur, but motivation is needed.
Mr. McCloskey detailed the financial standing of KAFC, loan applications by county, and funding by KAFC loan category. KAFC has almost $33 million in principal outstanding. There are 376 active loans and 67 others that have approved, but the funds not disbursed. In addition, he spotlighted some successful projects by loan category. Most of KAFC's agriculture loans are made in participation with lending institutions located throughout the state.
Responding to Senator Parrett, the speakers discussed the loans deemed uncollectible, which total almost $1.3 million. Mr. Thomas said a "big write-off" was for a dairy heifer fattening or finishing enterprise that had financial problems.
In a response to Senator Higdon, Mr. McCloskey said there are funds available that have not been loaned.
In response to Representative McKee, Mr. Thomas described how the program has been modified through the years. Some loan limits have changed, and at least one loan category has been reduced. The young or beginning farmer loan category is the most active.
Documents distributed during meeting are available with meeting materials in the LRC Library. There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned.