Economic Development, Tourism, & Labor Committee 2020

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## **Notable Senate Bills:**

***SB 53- AN ACT relating to sheltered employment***

* **Why It's Worth Watching:** This bill would redefine “employee” in Kentucky law to include workers in sheltered workshops whose employment begins after January 1, 2024. It also requires new regulations for sheltered workshops (an organization or environment that employs people with disabilities separately from others).
* **What the Bill Attempts to do:** This will provide explicit recognition for individuals working in sheltered workshops to be considered employees (often persons with disabilities). Additionally, it will add new regulations for employers in an environment that is not yet heavily regulated and would defer referrals to sheltered employment from “covered services and supports” by the state.
* **Change from the Status Quo:** This bill should be tracked because it would change the classification of workers in sheltered workshops to “employees” giving persons with disabilities legitimacy within the realm of employment. This should be tracked also because it would assist in eventually phasing out sheltered workshops. This view is controversial among disability employment experts.
* **Problem it is Trying to Solve:** This would save state reimbursement rates for day training for businesses supporting sheltered employment. However, by phasing out sheltered workshops this

could also phase out a means for people with disabilities to access employment.

* **Comparison to Other States:** Many states have already phased out sheltered employment as this bill proposes.
* **Politics of the Bill:** Sponsors: *Alvarado , Ralph (28th District- R- Montogomery, Clark, Fayette (Part))*

* **History:**
	+ *Wednesday, January 8, 2020 - to Economic Development, Tourism, and Labor (S)*
	+ *Tuesday, January 7, 2020 - introduced in Senate*
	+ *Thursday, December 12, 2019 - Prefiled by the sponsor(s).*

* **Amendments:**
	+ *There are No Amendments for this Bill.*

https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/recorddocuments/bill/20RS/SB53/bill.pdf

***SB 173- AN ACT relating to employment and substance use disorder treatment***

* **Why it’s worth watching:** This bill takes steps towards addressing the opioid crisis and keeping Kentuckians employed while providing treatment for substance use disorder. This falls under economic development because when Kentuckians are employed, they are able to spend money on goods and services, education, and which all benefit economic development.
* **What the bill attempts to do:** The bill's goal is to encourage the employment of workers by requiring employers to provide an assessment of someone who has failed a drug test so they can refer educational programs substance abuse treatment options. This bill also aims to provide training to employers on signs and symptoms of abuse.
* **Change from status quo:** Currently, if an employee tests positive on a drug test, they may be put on probation or terminated. Some employers may offer rehabilitation but there is currently no law on how to enforce it. This bill will be a new section of KRS Chapter 222.
* **Problem it’s trying to solve:** Trying to keep Kentuckians employed and provide education and treatment on substance use.
* **Comparison to Other States:**Many state’s policies say an employer has the right to discipline or remove the employee from his/her position, but 8 states have follow-up rehabilitation programs, including Alaska, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont (ACLU, 2020). With this bill, Kentucky will be joining other southern states but also being a leader in the nation given only 8 others currently use rehabilitation programs.
* **Politics of the Bill:** *Sponsors: Senator Matt Castlen (8th District-R-Daviess, Hancock, McLean) & Senator Whitney Westerfield (3rd District- R- Christian, Logan, Todd).*
* **History:**
	+ *Thursday, March 5, 2020 - floor amendment (3) filed to Committee Substitute*
	+ *Thursday, March 5, 2020 - 2nd reading, to Rules*
	+ *Wednesday, March 4, 2020 - floor amendment (1) filed to Committee Substitute, floor amendment (2) filed to bill*
	+ *Wednesday, March 4, 2020 - reported favorably, 1st reading, to Calendar with Committee Substitute (1)*
	+ *Wednesday, February 26, 2020 - reassigned to Health & Welfare (S)*
	+ *Tuesday, February 18, 2020 - to Economic Development, Tourism, and Labor (S)*
	+ *Thursday, February 13, 2020 - introduced in Senate*

* **Amendments:**
	+ ***SCS**- Make technical changes to conform.*
	+ ***SFA1**(Schickel, John) - Amend Senate Bill 173 to include disclosure of information by court order and clarify employer liability.*
	+ ***SFA2**(Schickel, John) - Amend Senate Bill 173 to include disclosure of information by court order and clarify employer liability.*
	+ ***SFA3**(Schickel, John) - Amend Senate Bill 173 to include disclosure of information by court order and clarify employer liability.*

https://secure.kentucky.gov/billwatch/BillSummary.aspx?br\_rsn=45719&ses\_rsn=104

***HB102- Employment-related Drug Screens***

* **Why it's worth watching:** This bill is important to watch because many bills related to hemp, cbd, and  medical and recreational marijuana have been proposed in Frankfort. When they first appeared, they were hard no’s, but over time restrictions have slowly been peeled back. However, when those restrictions were lessened, legislation was too broad and obscure, eventually leading to a collapse in some sectors (e.g. hemp) in Kentucky. What should have been an economic boost has become an economic blunder, and our state can not afford financial mistakes.
* **What this bill does:** HB102 prevents employees or potential employees from being terminated or refused by an employer due to a positive result for testing of THC or CBD, unless they are applying for a position that is funded by a federal grant, or presents themselves at the place of business impaired. This proposal aims to solve the issue of a “false-positive” on a drug-screen for marijuana. CBD and THC are chemical compounds found within a marijuana plant, and it often occurs that an advertised CBD product contains THC. Manufacturer’s can  regulate the production process to an extent, but no matter how diligently they try, all CBD products contain some THC. Legislators hope that this bill will prevent employees or potential employees from being wrongfully terminated for drug use, when they are simply using an “herbal remedy”. With CBD products being such a recent advent, no legislation currently addresses this issue.
* **Other States and Comparison:** Kentucky is not an outlier in this. All states that do allow the use of CBD products have seen wrongful termination cases. However, as aforementioned, widespread CBD use is only a recent trend, so many states do not have any legislation that addresses this issue. If they do, there is no database that reflects their practices.
* **Sponsors behind bill:** *Sims Jr , John; Brown Jr , George; Kulkarni , Nima; Scott , Attica; Hinkle , Kathy; Willner , Lisa; Bojanowski , Tina; Stevenson , Cherlynn; Gentry , Al*
	+ Representative John Sims Jr. is the primary sponsor behind this bill. This doesn’t seem to matter much at all. Sims is not a chairperson of the committee and not a big name player in the House, but he is a Democrat. This may matter slightly given that members of the Democratic party are given more leeway when it comes to proposing  bills related to hemp or marijuana laws. All cosponsors are also Democrats of various ethnicities. Therefore, it may be more important to the minority population due to a high incarceration rate for members of minority groups, and a general inability for minorities to get jobs due to discrimination.

* **Opposition:** There does not seem to be much opposition from the legislature or outside groups. The bill, while important, is dying in committee. More focus is being placed in other areas. In fact, since its introduction, nothing has happened with the bill. No vote, no amendments, no protests, not a single thing.

* **History:**
	+ Tuesday, January 7, 2020 - to Economic Development & Workforce Investment (H)
		- Tuesday, January 7, 2020 - introduced in House
			* Monday, November 18, 2019 - Prefiled by the sponsor(s).

* **Amendments:** *There are No Amendments for this Bill.*

https://secure.kentucky.gov/billwatch/BillSummary.aspx?br\_rsn=44984&ses\_rsn=104

***HB 137: Sports Wagering***

* **Why it's worth Watching:** This bill is an important bill this session. The primary interest is that of its large bipartisan support, yet less than 50% constituent support. As well, it was proposed by a Republican and promoted as a Republican bill, but Republicans constituents are the one’s fighting against its approval.
* **What the Bill Attempts to Do:** HB137 looks to fund numerous Ky programs, namely teacher pension programs, through the potential revenue that will be accrued once the program is fully funded.
* **Comparison of Policy Status Quo with Other States:** Nationally, forty states have either active or proposed wagering. Currently, there is no sport-wagering allowed in Ky, but all states that surround us do allow it or have legislation currently in the works. The states that currently have active legislation have made a lot of money doing so.
* **Other States In Practice:** When it comes to a comparison with other states, Kentucky’s model follows much of the same practices as those with active legislation. Most states allow either mobile, partially mobile, or purely physical books.The Kentucky legislation, as it is now, would be partially mobile. This means that those wishing to place wagers must first visit a physical location to register an account, and then they would be able to bet at any subsequent time. This follows suit with the regions surrounding us as well as regions around the country.
* **Politics of the Bill:** There are many sponsors of this bill. However, the primary sponsor is Representative Adam Koenig, and this does matter for a handful of reasons. First and foremost, it is important to note that the bill was originally proposed as a means of boosting Kentucky’s economy and was originally due to be posted in the Economic Development committee, yet before its proposal was transferred to the Licensing, Operations, and Regulations (LNO) committee. Why is this important? Representative Koenig is the chair of the LNO committee. Being chair means he’s a senior member, well-respected, well liked, and has pull with every sitting committee member; especially Republicans. This is apparent, due to the fact that the committee passed the bill unanimously on its first day of proposal, despite much pushback from constituents and constituent groups.
	+ When it comes to cosponsorship, there are more Democratic legislators (20+) cosponsoring the bill than Republicans(5-10). Many of the Democratic sponsors are minorities or support minority groups. Furthermore, the Democrats have given little to no opposition against the bill. All opposition has come in the form of amendments from Republican opponents. Why? Constituent groups. Many Religious groups have stood against this bill. Given that many Republicans are supported by Christian groups, it makes sense that those legislators would attempt to amend this deal to death. As well, slight pushback has come from the psychological community, who express concerns about gambling addiction. However, the former has been addressed.

* **History:**
	+ *Friday, February 21, 2020 - floor amendment (18) filed to Committee Substitute*
	+ *Thursday, February 13, 2020 - floor amendment (17) withdrawn*
	+ *Wednesday, February 12, 2020 - floor amendment (17) filed to Committee Substitute*
	+ *Tuesday, February 11, 2020 - floor amendments (6), (7), (8), (9), (10), (11), (12), (13), (14), (15) and (16) filed to Committee Substitute*
	+ *Wednesday, February 5, 2020 - floor amendment (5) filed to Committee Substitute*
	+ *Thursday, January 23, 2020 - floor amendment (4) filed to Committee Substitute*
	+ *Wednesday, January 22, 2020 - floor amendment (3) filed to Committee Substitute*
	+ *Tuesday, January 21, 2020 - floor amendments (1) and (2) filed to Committee Substitute*
	+ *Thursday, January 16, 2020 - posted for passage in the Regular Orders of the Day for Friday, January 17, 2020*
	+ *Thursday, January 16, 2020 - 2nd reading, to Rules*
	+ *Wednesday, January 15, 2020 - reported favorably, 1st reading, to Calendar with Committee Substitute (1)*
	+ *Wednesday, January 8, 2020 - posted in committee*
	+ *Tuesday, January 7, 2020 - to Licensing, Occupations, & Admin Regs (H)*
	+ *Tuesday, January 7, 2020 - introduced in House*
	+ *Thursday, December 5, 2019 - Prefiled by the sponsor(s).*

* **Amendments:**
	+ ***HCS/LM/AA/CI**- Add definitions of "net poker revenue," "online poker," and "rake" to KRS Chapter 239; remove oversight of online poker from the Lottery Corporation and place online poker under the Public Protection Cabinet in newly created sections of KRS Chapter 239; segregate sports wagering from advanced deposit wagering; establish a January 1, 2022 end point for the requirement to download the sports wagering phone application at a licensed venue; remove the prohibition on wagering on Kentucky collegiate teams; delete the provision for the professional sports leagues to submit names for consideration for membership on the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission.*
	+ ***HFA1**(Hoover, Jeff) - Amend KRS 230.225 to require members of the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission to comply with the Executive Branch Code of Ethics.*
	+ ***HFA2**(Hoover, Jeff) - Amend Section 13 to remove the statement of policy and intent on sports wagering and the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission.*
	+ ***HFA3**(Koenig, Adam) - Amend Section 4 to clarify that five percent of all funds deposited into the wagering administration fund shall be allocated to the Kentucky problem gambling assistance account prior to any other allocation of moneys from the wagering administration fund, the remaining funds shall be dedicated to the Kentucky permanent pension fund after necessary administrative expenses.*
	+ ***HFA4**(Koenig, Adam) - Amend Section 1 to clarify the definition of "adjusted gross revenue"; amend Section 3 to require a criminal background check and to ensure that fantasy contest operators already operating in the Commonwealth may continue to operate until initial licensure is received or denied; amend Section 6 to specify that the audit required is a financial audit and shall be submitted to the cabinet within 270 days of the end of the operator's fiscal year; amend Section 7 to clarify requirements for segregation of funds and to remove the prohibition on university or college events and to clarify that officers and directors of registrants are prohibited from participating in public contests; amend Section 11 to clarify that individuals shall be at least 18 before being able to place wagers; create a new Section 34 to ensure that employees of sports wagering licensees shall not wager on technology associated with the licensee with which he is employed.*
	+ ***HFA5**(Koenig, Adam) - Amend Section 10 of the House Committee Substitute to revise the definition of "sports wagering."*
	+ ***HFA6**(Petrie, Jason ) - Amend Section 3 and KRS 230.330 and 230.368 to stipulate that any applicant aggrieved by a final order of the racing commission shall appeal the action in any Circuit Court that is greater than 60 miles distance from any race track licensed under KRS Chapter 230.*
	+ ***HFA7**(Petrie, Jason ) - Create a new section of KRS chapter 239 to allow local governments to prohibit fantasy contests, online poker, or sports wagering by local ordinance and require geographical software on smart phone or online applications to be amended to reflect the prohibition.*
	+ ***HFA8**(Petrie, Jason ) - Increase fantasy contest renewal fee from six (6) percent to nine (9) percent; increase the gaming fee on online poker from 6.75% to 10%; increase the tax on sports wagers placed at licensed tracks or professional sports venues from 9.75% to 14%; and increase the tax on sports wagers placed online or via smart phone from 14.25% to 21%.*
	+ ***HFA9**(Petrie, Jason ) - Amend to change funding rate to Kentucky problem gambling assistance account to 15 percent.*
	+ ***HFA10**(Heath, Richard) - Amend KRS 230.260 to require the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission to comply with all open records requests and impose a penalty equal to three times the legal fees of parties bringing the open records request if found to be in violation.*
	+ ***HFA11**(Heath, Richard) - Amend Section 11 to increase locations licensed to offer sports wagering to include lottery retailers, restaurants where at least 70 percent of food and beverage sales comes from the sale of food, and any other secure location deemed appropriate by the commission.*
	+ ***HFA12**(Petrie, Jason ) - Increase fantasy contest renewal fee from six (6) percent to 12%; increase the gaming fee on online poker from 6.75% to 13.5%; increase the tax on sports wagers placed at licensed tracks or professional sports venues from 9.75% to 19.5%; and increase the tax on sports wagers placed online or via smart phone from 14.25% to 28.5%.*
	+ ***HFA13**(Petrie, Jason ) - Increase fantasy contest renewal fee from six (6) percent to 18 percent; increase the gaming fee on online poker from 6.75 % to 20.25 %; increase the tax on sports wagers placed at licensed tracks or professional sports venues from 9.75 % to 29.25 % and increase the tax on sports wagers placed online or via smart phone from 14.25 % to 42.25 %.*
	+ ***HFA14**(King, Kim) - Amend KRS 230.215 to declare the policy of the Commonwealth that any information provided to the racing commission concerning pari-mutuel racing or sports wagering shall be deemed to be a public record subject to open records provision.*
	+ ***HFA15**(Petrie, Jason ) - Amend to change funding rate to Kentucky problem gambling assistance account to seven and one-half percent (7.5%).*
	+ ***HFA16**(Petrie, Jason ) - Amend to change funding rate to Kentucky problem gambling assistance account to 10 percent..*
	+ ***HFA17**(Hale, David) - Amend KRS 230.260 to require the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission to comply with all open records requests and impose a penalty equal to three times the legal fees of parties bringing the open records request if found to be in violation.*
	+ ***HFA18**(Hart, Mark) - Amend Section 1 by deleting definitions for "net poker revenue," "online poker," and "rake"; delete Sections 8 and 9 from the bill to remove provisions for online poker; make conforming amendments throughout.*

https://secure.kentucky.gov/billwatch/BillSummary.aspx?br\_rsn=44911&ses\_rsn=104

***HB 148: AN ACT relating to the regulation of cannabis***

* **Why it’s worth watching:** This bill is making an attempt to establish rules and regulations as well as a taxation system to legalize recreational use of cannabis in the state of Kentucky. This falls under economic development as this would bring more money into through the economy through spending as well as through taxes.
* **What the bill attempts to do:** This bill is attempting to legalize the use and distribution of cannabis in the state of Kentucky. It is also establishing guidelines and regulations on the distribution of the product including age requirements and the amount of locations in an area that can distribute the product. It establishes licensing fees and states that those fees will be directed to the permanent pension fund as well as taxation on the product.
* **Change from status quo:** Currently in the state of Kentucky the recreational use of cannabis is illegal. This bill will make the recreational use of cannabis legal.
* **Problem it’s trying to solve:** The problem this bill is attempting to solve is coming to the realization that cannabis can be used for good intentions and isn’t as harmful as some may think. It also will help raise revenue for the economy.
* **Other States/Regions:** The policy in place currently in the state of Kentucky lines up more so with what the rest of the country is doing in regard to the situation. Tennessee still currently has cannabis listed as completely illegal while other states have decriminalized it or made it legal for medical use.
* **Comparison to Other States:** If HB 148 is adopted into law Kentucky will be joining 10 other states as well as Washington D.C. as the only places to completely legalize the use of cannabis in the entire country. Kentucky will become the only state in the southeastern part of the country however to fully legalize cannabis.
* **Politics of the Bill:** Sponsors: Cluster Howard (Democratic Representative for District 91), Mary Lou Marzian (Democratic Representative for District 34) and Charles Booker (Democratic Representative for district 43)

* **History:**
	+ *Tuesday, January 7, 2020 - to Judiciary (H)*
	+ *Tuesday, January 7, 2020 - introduced in House*
	+ *Monday, December 9, 2019 - Prefiled by the sponsor(s).*

* **Amendments:**
	+ *There are No Amendments for this Bill.*

https://secure.kentucky.gov/billwatch/BillSummary.aspx?br\_rsn=44817&ses\_rsn=104