HB 463 allows businesses to receive a 50% tax credit for contributions to either a Commonwealth school improvement fund or a qualified tuition assistance organization. The first benefits public school students by improving the quality of education in a manner to be decided by those who work in this system and the second benefits non-public school students through scholarships based on financial need.

HB 463 allows for a $35 million credit for $70 million in contributions to the Commonwealth school improvement fund and a $15 million credit for contributions of $30 million to qualified tuition assistance organizations.

Rep. Terry Mills files HB 463

Rep. Terry Mills introduced HB 463 on Friday, February 24. This week it will be assigned to a House Committee where we hope to have a hearing on its merits and move the legislation to the House floor in the coming weeks.

Paragraph 72 of Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship  states the following:

Parents—the first and most important educators—have a fundamental right to choose the education best suited to the needs of their children, including public, private, and religious schools. Government, through such means as tax credits and publicly funded scholarships, should help provide resources for parents, especially those of modest means, to exercise this basic right without discrimination. Students in all educational settings should have opportunities for moral and character formation.

The Catholic Conference of Kentucky supports HB 463 because it will help all Kentucky school children by increasing the quality of education in public schools and by scholarship assistance to students whose parents choose to place them in non-public schools. Businesses who support Kentucky schools benefit not only because of the tax credit received, but because a quality education leads to their having access to a well-educated work force.

ACTION: CALL 1 800 372 7181 AND ASK YOUR STATE REPRESENTATIVE TO CO-SPONSOR AND SUPPORT HB 463

Read our letter to Senators urging a NO vote on SB 151: Catholic Conference Letter Opposing Expanded Gambling

Sen. Damon Thayer, SB 151 sponsor

An effort to expand gambling in Kentucky has begun, supported by professional gambling corporations, the racing industry, various labor unions and the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce. In other words, a lot of money is betting that SB 151 will pass. WE CANNOT LET THAT HAPPEN.

We posted early in the session about some of the reasons the Conference has opposed efforts of this sort since at least 1996.

Senate Bill 151 as introduced wants to expand gambling beyond horse racing and our state lottery by allowing 7 casinos to open if the legislature approves the bill for ratification on the November ballot. The Conference has written a letter detailing our opposition which we encourage you to read.

Kentucky needs a stable stream of revenue that is progressive in nature, a reformed tax law that requires taxpayers to pay their fair share. The state should not depend on an unreliable, regressive source of funding like professional gambling to meet the needs of its residents, especially the 800,000 already living in poverty.

Income derived from expanded gambling is the result of gambling losses – money spent by those hoping to be winners, but who are, ultimately, losers. Is this a responsible way to fund government?

In 2008 the University of Kentucky’s Survey Research Center found that found that Kentucky’s overall prevalence rate of lifetime compulsive gamblers is 0.3 percent of all adult Kentuckians. The overall prevalence rate of lifetime problem gamblers is 1.7 percent. The overall prevalence rate of lifetime at-risk gamblers is 6.2 percent. Based on this research, it is estimated that there are nearly 190,000 at-risk gamblers, more than 50,000 problem gamblers, and more than 9,000 compulsive gamblers.

Data from the 2008 survey indicates, among gamblers, the following groups are at relatively higher risk to have some manifestation of problem or compulsive gambling:

• males
• young adults 18-24 years of age
• Blacks and other racial minorities
• those who have never married
• those who have been divorced or who are separated
• employed adults
• individuals in residing in households with incomes of $25,000 or less.

Senate Bill 151 is not a dream, but a nightmare that is regressive in nature as a revenue source, preying on needy individuals especially vulnerable to the lure of the casino and the promise of great fortune. For those who are struggling to make ends meet, casino gambling can provide an attractive means to relieve financial burdens, which ultimately only leads to crushing debt and personal crisis.

An article published February 17 in the Lexington Herald-Leader about Governor Beshear’s weekly Internet chat reported that the Governor “touted gambling as a way to generate additional money for the state budget by allowing casinos to open and then taxing their revenue.”

Apparently Governor Beshear did not read the article published January 16 in the Lexington Herald-Leader - Casinos no cure-all for state budgets, economists say – reporting on the experience of other states and the failure of professional gambling to provide the revenue necessary to meet the needs in those states. The newspaper found that in two dozen states with casino revenue “[a]ll of them cut spending; half raised taxes. Some fired thousands of their public workers, including educators and police, and gutted their basic classroom funding.”

Any number of studies point to the harmful effects that result in expanding the opportunities to gamble, especially among low-income persons and those who suffer from gambling addiction. A 2009 study in Connecticut found an increase in employment and revenues, but also a 400 percent increase in embezzlement arrests, a doubling of driving while intoxicated arrests, and an increase in personal bankruptcies in areas where the state’s two Indian casinos are located. The data is clear that proximity to casinos in general and predatory slot machines in particular increases addiction rates, and casinos derive at least 60% of their revenues from problem gamblers.

When looking at potential sources for new revenue, it is the responsibility of government to consider the consequences. Continued expansion of gambling will be devastating to individuals and families.

We cannot improve the conditions of our low-income sisters and brothers by throwing away some of them to lives of addiction to predatory gambling. The Catholic Conference of Kentucky continues to support the resolution of the Kentucky Council of Churches in which it states the following:

For the Christian, the common good, therefore, must be established by just and honest means. In a democratic society, government must persuade its citizens to support with their taxes the programs the citizens believe will be instrumental in nurturing and protecting all members of society and efficacious for productive economy and just relations among all residents of that political entity.

ACTION: CALL 1-800-372-7181 IMMEDIATELY. URGE YOUR STATE SENATOR TO VOTE NO ON SENATE BILL 151.

Photo: KY Legislative Research Commission

Fr. Larry Snyder addresses participants at the annual Catholics @ the Capitol event held in Frankfort. He is President of Catholic Charities USA.

Also, this past Monday and Tuesday, 130 parishioners from Kentucky’s four Catholic dioceses gathered in Frankfort for Catholics @ the Capitol to learn about legislative priorities and to meet with their State Senators and Representatives. On Monday evening Bishop Ron Gainer celebrated Mass and delivered a homily which touched on the important issue of religious liberty. Several members of the House of Representatives joined us for the meal following the liturgy and then heard Fr. Larry Snyder describe new and innovative ways to help people escape poverty: Speaker Pro-Tem Larry Clark, Majority Whip Tommy Thompson, Representatives C. B. Embry, Terry Mills, Jim Wayne, Addia Wuchner,  and Brent Yonts. All members of both chambers were invited.

• To leave a message for your legislators call 1-800-372-7181.
• Click here to respond to current legislative alerts

Senate Legislation Of Interest to the Conference

SB 63 – SUPPORT - This legislation would replace the use of the death penalty in Kentucky with Life Without Parole. It remains in the Senate Judiciary Committee waiting to be heard. The Lexington Herald-Leader recently featured this editorial: Suspend state’s death penalty lottery.

SB 75 – SUPPORT - This bill respects the religious beliefs of the Scwartzentruber Amish and provides for the safety of Kentucky drivers by allowing the option of using reflective tape on slow-moving non-motorized vehicles so they are visible to approaching cars. The Conference supports SB 75 which passed out of the Senate unanimously and is now waiting a hearing in the House Transportation Committee. Two House bills – - on this same topic are waiting for a hearing in this committee. It appears they will take up HB which is the least effective of the three proposals. SB 75 appears to be the best crafted of the three bills and is the one CCK prefers to see passed.

SB 102 – SUPPORT – This bill makes clear the legislative intent of past legislation related to requiring that women seeking abortions receive all the information necessary about the surgery in a manner that respects their dignity and their need for quality health care. Current practice allows a woman to listen to a recorded message about the procedure, a practice that does not allow her to ask questions nor take into account her own person medical history. This bill makes clear that this information is to be imparted in a face-to-face setting with a health care professional. It passed the Senate on February 8 with only five dissenting votes – Senators Clark, Harper-Angel, Gerald Neal, Tim Shaughnessy, and Kathy Stein – and is now in the House awaiting assignment to a committee. Senator Robin Webb was not present. The remaining 32 Senators all voted yes.

SB 103 – SUPPORT – This bill would require an ultrasound prior to an abortion. It cleared the Senate committee and is waiting for a vote on the Senate floor.

Bills like HB 5 and SB 118 end up harming citizens and other legal residents of the U. S.

SB 118 – OPPOSE - The title of this bill –  AN ACT relating to restricting welfare and public benefits for illegal aliens – is clear in its intent. However, undocumented aliens are not eligible for public benefits and Kentucky’s various departments that manage the distribution of public benefits already screen to exclude those not eligible, whether undocumented or documented, i.e. citizens and others legally present. The Conference has worked with the Catholic Legal Immigration Network and developed a list of concerns about the bill: Talking Points Summary for SB118.

House Legislation of Interest to the Conference

HB 5 – OPPOSE – This is the 3rd of 4th time this bill or very similar legislation has been introduced in the House and then not pass the Senate. This bill did clear the House and is now in the Senate. It is an attempt to solve problems associated with the problem of undocumented immigration and labor, but fails to do so because this can only be done through federal legislation. Here is what the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce is telling its members about this bill:

The Chamber believes it is important for businesses, particularly those who operate in multiple states, to have a single set of federal requirements to meet instead of a patchwork of federal, state and local laws that impose an inordinate financial and administrative burden.

The Conference opposes it because of flaws in the E-Verify system that affect citizens and others legally present who are allowed to work, while at the same time not stopping those without authorization to work to do so. See Five Facts About State Mandatory E-Verify Laws.

HB 70 – SUPPORT – Since we last posted on this bill it has passed out of committee and is awaiting a vote on the House floor. A vote is expected in the coming week. To read the Courier-Journal article click here. And a Courier-Journal editorial: Ex-felons’ voting rights.

HB 114 and HB 133 - SUPPORT - These two bills are similar to SB 75, which seeks to protect the religious liberty of the Amish who object to certain images being attached to their non-motorized vehicles, yet are satisfied with other means to ensure they can be seen at night and are not a danger to other drivers. We prefer SB 75, but also support the other two bills.

HB 145 – SUPPORT - For unknown reasons the Chair of House Judiciary continues to refuse to set a date for a hearing on this important bill which will replace the death penalty for severely mentally ill persons with lengthy prison terms, including life without the possibility of parole. For more information about the bill see this post. Call the legislative message line noted above and urge Representative Tilley to give HB 145 a hearing in his committee. The votes to send it to the floor are there. And there are enough YES votes in the House to send it to the Senate where Senator Jensen has indicated he will hear it in the Senate Judiciary Committee.

HB 332 – SUPPORT - This is the payday loan bill and you can read more about it here. We learned this week that the Chairman of Banking and Insurance, Rep. Jeff Greer, said he would not hear the bill this year. He told this to the Executive Director of the Kentucky Council of Churches, as well as to Fr. Delahanty. He has since said the same to the bill’s sponsor, Rep. Darryl Owens who has requested that the bill be heard. We have asked him to reconsider, but he will need to hear from many people who live in his district. Rep. Greer’s House District 27 includes parts of Bullitt, Hardin, and all of Meade counties. If you live in that district or have friends who do, please call the number above and leave a message urging him to give HB 332 a hearing in his committee. Members of the Kentucky Coalition for Responsible Lending have learned that several who voted no or did not vote last year are now willing to vote YES in committee.

Photo: Kay Chernush for the U.S. State Department.

HB 350 – SUPPORT – With nearly half the members of the House sponsoring this bill to provide funding to train police, provide services to victims of human trafficking and create new criminal offenses, this bill should receive the hearing in committee it deserves. It builds on Kentucky law passed several years ago regarding “modern day slavery” and is intended to bring more attention to this issue. The U. S. Conference of Catholic Bishops have a wealth of information at their website on the extent of trafficking and programs to address it.

HB 390 – SUPPORT - Copper theft from churches and others is a growing problem in Kentucky and so the Conference joined with many others to support legislation to try and discourage this kind of theft by requiring more of those likely to be in the business of purchasing it.

Other Legislation:

Along with many others we will OPPOSE all efforts to expand gambling in our Commonwealth for reasons stated in an earlier post. The bill most likely to move will be introduced in the Senate on behalf of Governor Beshear.

We still look forward to the introduction of an informed consent bill in the House. House leaders have indicated to our Bishops that if a Democrat would introduce this legislation it would pass in the House, as it did before in 2006. Several have been approached by the Conference and Right to Life and to date none have been willing to sponsor.

We are continuing to work on the language for legislation to create and Education Business Tax Credit bill that, once passed, will provide new revenue to benefit the education of all Kentucky students, whether in public or non-public schools.

Photographs: Pat Delahanty

TAKE ACTION: SEND AN E-MAIL TO MEMBERS OF CONGRESS

Religious Liberty

The Catholic Conference of Kentucky joins our fellow bishops and other religious leaders in expressing our deep concern about the recent decision of the U. S. Department of Health and Human Services to require that almost all employers, including Catholic employers, will be forced to offer their employees’ health coverage that includes sterilization, abortion-inducing drugs, and contraception. Almost all health insurers will be forced to include those “services” in the health policies they write. And almost all individuals will be forced to buy that coverage as a part of their policies.

In so ruling, the Administration has cast aside the First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States, denying to Catholics our nation’s first and most fundamental freedom, that of religious liberty.  And as a result, unless the rule is overturned, some Catholic employers will be compelled either to violate their consciences or to drop health coverage for their employees (and suffer the penalties for doing so).  The Administration’s sole concession was to give these institutions one year to comply.

Nearly 50 years ago, when the U. S. Bishops attending the Vatican Council took part in writing and promulgating the Council’sDeclaration on Religious Freedom, they would hardly have imagined that these words would be describing our current situation:

The further fact is that forms of government still exist under which, even though freedom of religious worship receives constitutional recognition, the powers of government are engaged in the effort to deter citizens from the profession of religion and to make life very difficult and dangerous for religious communities (DRF, p. 15, 1965).

It saddens us that the Administration is making life difficult for Catholics and other believers by infringing on their right to the free exercise of religion.

One way the exercise of religion – religious liberty – takes concrete form is in institutions established by people of faith to help members of society. Whether it is education, health care, social charities, worship or another activity, each activity is an expression of faith. Each one has a unique quality flowing from that basis of faith. To deny that underpinning of faith is to change the very character of the institution and of the service it provides. This ruling by HHS denies this underpinning of faith. It ignores the diverse ways through which faith is expressed. It forces people to act against their free, conscious decisions made in the light of faith.

We call upon the Administration to rescind this order, thereby recognizing the right established by the Constitution and in conformity with the teaching found in the Declaration on Religious Freedom:

Government therefore ought indeed to take account of the religious life of the citizenry and show it favor, since the function of government is to make provision for the common welfare. However, it would clearly transgress the limits set to its power, were it to presume to command or inhibit acts that are religious (DRF, p. 3, 1965).

In addition, we urge Congress to enact legislation that would reverse the Administration’s decision and end this assault on our religious liberty now and in the future.

In closing we ask the Catholic community of Kentucky to join together in prayer and fasting that wisdom and justice will prevail, and religious liberty will be restored.  Further, we urge you to visit www.usccb.org/conscience, for more information on this issue and to learn how you can contact our members of Congress and ask them to vote for legislation that would reverse this decision.

Additional Resources:

• Archbishop Kurtz’ letter to parishes of the Archdiocese of Louisville
• Bishops Foys’ letter regarding the HHS decision (on the home page now, but subject to move so may not be available later.
• Bishop Gainer’s Homily for a Mass at  Catholics at the Capitol Feb 2012
• Bishop Gainer’s letter to parishes in the Diocese of Lexington

ACTION: Thousands of Kentuckians, especially those associated with the Kentucky Mental Health Coalition and with the National Alliance on Mental Illness-Kentucky, have written postcards asking Chairman John Tilley to hear House Bill 145 in his House Judiciary Committee.

Join your voice to theirs by calling 1-800-372-7181 and leaving a message for Rep. Tilley and for your own State Representative asking that they do everything they can to bring HB 145 to the House floor for a vote.

WHY IS THE BILL NEEDED?

• The death penalty cannot deter someone who cannot understand the consequences of his/her actions; and
• Because of their diminished capacity severely mentally ill persons should be treated in ways similar to others who have that same standing, e.g., persons with mental retardation or those under 18 at the time the crime is committed.

In December 2011, a report prepared by a group of Kentucky’s distinguished jurists, legal scholars, and practitioners and issued by the American Bar Association found significant flaws in our capital sentencing process and made several unanimous recommendations. One of these was that Kentucky should end the use of the death penalty for severely mentally ill persons.

TO WHOM DOES HB 145 APPLY?

The proposed legislation, HB 145, is narrow in its application and applies only after a judge determines the following conditions have been met:

• A defendant is severely mentally ill;
• The severe mental illness was active at the time the crime was committed; and
• The crime in question was committed after the effective date of the act.

TO WHOM DOES HB 145 NOT APPLY?

HB 145 is narrowly drafted and does not apply to the following persons:

• Individuals currently sentenced to death and awaiting execution; or
• Persons whose actions are attributable solely to the intentional use of alcohol or other drugs.

HOW WILL IT WORK IN THE COURTROOM?

As proposed, HB 145 would call for a hearing before trial, during which a judge would be presented evidence by the prosecution and the defense regarding the issue of severe mental illness. If the judge finds that the defendant meets the criteria set forth in this bill – the defendant has a severe mental illness that was active when the crime was committed – then the judge will order that the death penalty is excluded from consideration by a jury.

HOW WILL A GUILTY DEFENDANT BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE?

All other penalties for capital murder are still available, including life without parole. This assures the guilty are punished and Kentuckians’ safety is secured.

Resources on the Death Penalty

The Catholic Conference is a member of the Kentucky Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty and also works with the Catholic Mobilizing Network to End the Use of the Death Penalty. Factual information is available from the Death Penalty Information Center. And the Conference has published pastoral letters on this issue and other issues regarding the protection of human life.

ACTION: Call 1-800-372-7181 and leave a message for Rep. Tilley and for your own State Representative asking that they do everything they can to bring HB 145 to the House floor for a vote.

Take Action: Call 1-800-372-7181 and ask your legislators to support HB 332 when they have the opportunity to vote for its passage or in a committee meeting.

On Friday, January 27, Rep. Darryl Owens introduced House Bill 332, which would cap the interest rate on payday loans at 36%. This bill is virtually identical to HB 182 in the 2011 Session. In addition to the interest rate cap, HB 332 would require payday loan companies to disclose in a prominent way the effective interest rates being charged and would bring this industry into a regulatory environment similar to that of other lending institutions.

Conference Position

The Conference supports HB 332 . Catholic Social Teaching is very clear that banking and lending are important services and can contribute to the common good, but such practices can easily lead to usury. The state has a role to play in protecting consumers, especially the poor, from predatory lending practices. As Pope Benedict XVI said to European bankers in 2010, “Economics and finance do not exist for themselves, but are mere instruments or means. Their end is solely the human person and his full realization in dignity. This is the only capital worth saving.” Honest and fair lending practices lead to job creation, economic growth, home ownership, and many other good and important things. Predatory lending and usury lead to the unjust enrichment of a few on the backs of those with the least to lose.

Also, payday lending often creates a debt trap which is very difficult to break out of. According to the payday lending database mandated by the state, there are two million transactions each year in Kentucky, with an average of 1.7 transactions per customer per month. Clearly, for many people, this is not an occasionally used product, but is a means of financing routine monthly expenses. It is for these regular users that the high effective interest rates become a tremendous burden.

The coalition supporting HB 332 continues to grow. The Catholic Conference is especially pleased to be working alongside our brothers and sisters in the Kentucky Baptist Convention, which has recognized the exorbitant Interest rates charged by payday lenders, often totaling 400%, to be usurious.

Here is an op-ed by some Lexington, KY pastors that the Lexington Herald Leader published: Payday lending entraps people.

Action

Call 1-800-372-7181 and ask your legislators to support HB 332 when they have the opportunity to vote for its passage or in a committee meeting.

Bishop Ronald Gainer addresses rally participants in 2010

Coming up next week: on Wednesday, February 1, the annual “Rally for Life” will be held in the Capitol Rotunda, Frankfort, KY at 11:00 am.  The Conference certainly hopes many of our Faithful Citizen Advocates will be able to join us and witness to the sanctity of human life. Featured that day will be sponsors of important life legislation that the Conference will be supporting.

Bills clear committees

Two bills supported by the Conference cleared committees recently: HB 70 and SB 75.

On Tuesday, Jan. 24, lawmakers voted 7 – 1 to send HB 70 to the House floor. This bill proposes to change the state constitution regarding the restoration of voting rights to former felons. See our recent post on this for more details. Call 1-800-372-7181 and ask your state legislators to support HB 70 when it is called for a floor vote. Or send a prepared email message to your legislators by clicking here.

The Lexington Herald-Leader published an excellent editorial on this issue asking, “Why, you might wonder, is this even an issue? Why not put a proposed amendment on the ballot and let those of us who can vote decide?”

In 1979 ,Pope John Paul II wrote in Redemptor Hominis:

Certainly the curtailment of the religious freedom of individuals and communities is not only a painful experience but it is above all an attack on man’s very dignity, independently of the religion professed or of the concept of the world which these individuals and communities have.

Senate Bill 75, and two House bills still in committee, have been filed to curtail an infringement on the right of a group of Amish to practice their beliefs. Out of concern for the safety of drivers, Kentucky law requires that slow-moving non-motorized vehicles – pulled, for example by horses – display an orange triangle on the rear of the vehicle. This symbol is offensive to the Schwartzentruber Amish because of certain religious beliefs and they have refused to display it resulting in the imprisonment of drivers of these vehicles. They do not object to the placement of reflective tape on these vehicles, an option not yet available under Kentucky law.

Senate Bill 75, as well as the two House bills still in committee, respects the religious beliefs of the Scwartzentruber Amish and provides for the safety of Kentucky drivers by allowing the option of using reflective tape on slow-moving non-motorized vehicles so they are visible to approaching cars. The Conference supports SB 75 and the two House bills still in committee. We are pleased SB 75 cleared a Senate committee unanimously on Wednesday, Jan. 25. Call 1-800-372-7181 and ask your state senators to support SB 75 when it is called for a floor vote in the Senate chamber.

Photo: courtesy Pat Delahanty

HB 70 is scheduled to be heard in committee on Tuesday, Jan 24, a 8:30am. Call 1-800-372-7181 and ask your state legislators to support HB 70 if it comes before them in committee and when it is called for a floor vote in his or her chamber. Or send a prepared email message to your legislators by clicking here.

Conference Position

The Conference supports passage of HB 70 because it is in keeping with our social teaching and with the Catholic Catechism. It is our belief that each of us is created in the image of God and that each person possesses a basic dignity the comes from God. As a result we each have certain rights as well as obligations. One such is the right and the obligation to participate in the public life of the community. This obligation finds expression in the Catholic Catechism when it teaches that exercising the right to vote is a moral obligation.

Rational

In 2000, the U. S. Bishops called for the criminal justice system to “become less retributive and more rehabilitative.”  In, A Catholic Perspective on Crime and Criminal Justice, Revised  (December 2005), the Kentucky Catholic Bishops were true to that call when they asked for a change in public policy to “[p]rovide for the timely restoration of voting rights to offenders.” They said:

Ex-offenders should be welcomed back into society as full participating members, to the extent feasible, and have their right to vote automatically restored. In Kentucky, an estimated 109,000 adults have been disenfranchised as a result of incarceration. Section 145 of the Kentucky Constitution suspends the right to vote for anyone convicted of a felony, but does allow for that right to be restored. The Governor can grant a limited pardon and restore voting rights to those who have fully satisfied the punishment imposed by the Court. In 2001 the Kentucky General Assembly passed legislation requiring the Department of Corrections to implement a simplified process for the restoration of civil rights to eligible felony offenders. The Catholic Conference of Kentucky supported this legislation because it is in accord with our faith’s desire that persons who have completed serving their sentences should become “full participating members” of society, which includes the right to vote. The Governor should exercise his discretion to restore the right to vote to felons who are released from prison on parole or after serving out their sentence. Section 145 of the Kentucky Constitution should be changed to allow for the automatic restoration of voting rights after release from prison or upon completion of sentence.

In addition to wanting to restore persons to full participation in society, there is the added benefit shown by studies that those who have their voting rights restored are also less likely to become repeat offenders. Christopher Uggen and Jeff Manza, in “Voting and Subsequent Crime and Arrest: Evidence from a Community Sample,” Columbia Human Rights Law Review (2005) “find consistent differences between voters and non-voters in rates of subsequent arrest, incarceration, and self-reported criminal behavior.” In the data studied, between 1997 and 2000, 16% of non-voters were arrested, compared to 5% of voters. For persons with a prior arrest, the analysis of the data indicates that 27% of non-voters were rearrested, compared to 12% of voters.

And a news story in August 2011 in the Miami Herald reported that the Florida Parole Commission, after studying 31,000 cases in 2009 and 2010, found that a released felon in Florida whose civil rights are restored is much less likely to commit a new crime than others in the prison population.

The agency studied 31,000 cases over a two-year period in 2009 and 2010 and found that about 11 percent of people whose civil rights were restored ended up back in custody.

The overall re-offense rate in the state is three times higher — 33 percent — according to the Department of Corrections.

“This report shows clemency is working very well, as 89 percent of convicted felons granted a second chance have not re-offended,” said Reggie Garcia, a Tallahassee lawyer who has helped ex-felons navigate the complicated clemency process for the past 17 years.

Action

Call 1-800-372-7181 and ask your legislators to support HB 70 when they have the opportunity to vote for its passage or in a committee meeting.

Resources

Conference Testimony Supporting HB 70

Fact Sheet for Legislators

Photos: Ky Department of Corrections

Governor Beshear

Governor Beshear has announced plans to seek passage of legislation to expand gambling in Kentucky to help fund state government by asking voters to support an amendment to our Constitution that would allow this increase in gambling. Work continues between the State Senate and the Governor’s office to write the legislation.  In addition, several bills have already been filed in the House for similar purposes: HB 45, to create a new section of the Constitution of Kentucky; HB 46, related to casino gambling; and HB 140, to expand gambling without passing a Constitutional amendment.

Call 1-800-372-7181 and ask legislators to oppose all efforts to expand gambling in our Commonwealth. Or send a prepared email message to your legislators by clicking here.

Conference Position

The Catholic Conference of Kentucky has a long-standing commitment to oppose amending the state Constitution to allow for the expansion of gambling in the Commonwealth or to expand it through other legislation. While proponents point to economic benefits, it is our belief that the state must also consider the consequences, namely the potential for destroyed lives, increased crime and other social ills.

Rationale

The Catholic Church teaches that gambling is a morally neutral act and that games of chance “are not in themselves contrary to justice” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2413). However, the Catechism also warns that “the passion for gambling risks becoming an enslavement” and becomes morally unacceptable when it deprives an individual of what is necessary to provide for his/her needs and those of others.

When gambling as a revenue stream becomes overly prevalent in a society, the risks associated with problem gambling multiply. With their flashing lights, free-flowing alcoholic drinks, all-night hours and generally intoxicating atmosphere, casinos are more likely than other gambling options to lead to bad decisions and catastrophic losses for patrons, particularly those prone to problem or compulsive gambling.

In collaboration with the Kentucky Council of Churches and others “we are united in our belief that greed for unearned monetary gain destroys individuals and eventually corrodes the fabric of social trust upon which civic life must rely.” (KENTUCKY COUNCIL OF CHURCHES, Resolution Against Gambling Casinos
Adopted at the 46th Annual Assembly, October 14-15, 1993)

Any number of studies point to the harmful effects that result in expanding the opportunities to gamble, especially among low-income persons and those who suffer from gambling addiction. A 2009 study in Connecticut found an increase in employment and revenues, but also a 400 percent increase in embezzlement arrests, a doubling of driving while intoxicated arrests, and an increase in personal bankruptcies in areas where the state’s two Indian casinos are located. The data is clear that proximity to casinos in general and predatory slot machines in particular increases addiction rates, and casinos derive at least 60% of their revenues from problem gamblers.

When looking at potential sources for new revenue, it is the responsibility of government to consider the consequences. Continued expansion of gambling will be devastating to individuals and families.

We cannot improve the conditions of our low-income sisters and brothers by throwing away some of them to lives of addiction to predatory gambling. The Catholic Conference of Kentucky continues to support the resolution of the Kentucky Council of Churches in which it states the following:

For the Christian, the common good, therefore, must be established by just and honest means. In a democratic society, government must persuade its citizens to support with their taxes the programs the citizens believe will be instrumental in nurturing and protecting all members of society and efficacious for productive economy and just relations among all residents of that political entity.

Therefore, we invite members of the Catholic community to call 1-800-372-7181 and ask legislators to oppose all efforts to expand gambling in our Commonwealth.

Photos: Governor of Kentucky website; USCCB Publishing

Sr. Mary Schmuck, RSM

The reflections below are presented in a Catholic Christian framework, but I have little doubt that persons in other faith traditions  and even our broader society will easily come to similar lines of thought and concern.

We are quickly moving through a time of year now broadly called “holiday season.”   I recently read that our national elected officials would not be allowed to call their greetings anything else now.

I hasten to note that various groups of people of faith around the world are severely curtailed by others in their respective societies, so in no way am I proposing that we Catholic Christians force our celebration of Christmas on everyone else. Christian experiences in Egypt and difficulties among sectors of our Muslim community are but recent reports.

It is indeed the fact that many things are being observed and celebrated this time of year and each actually has its point and merit. I for one am thrilled that the shortest day of sunlight in the year passed December 22, Winter Solstice. I grow in appreciating Muslim holy days and Jewish ones.  Kwanzaa is a wonderful newer one. Certainly love, peace, joy and a range of virtues all need raising up in our minds and hearts. Family and friends, actually being in physical presence with other human persons – all are great blessings worthy of celebration.

What gives me growing pause though is that many Catholic Christians – despite our official 4 weeks preparation and seventeen days of  Christmas feast celebration with their  public worship regulations and offerings  -  don’t seem to really celebrate Christmas itself…. enough.

Maybe I have been extra sensitized this year by the national unveiling locally of the religious Christmas postage stamp.   By my informal poll, those of us Christians using them seem to make up quite a minority.   Is our worship together especially on December 25 pretty much just one of the things we do that day – along with exchanging gifts, visiting/receiving visitors, eating, and watching those 5 NBA games? What are we celebrating first of all? What is the heart of our celebration?

Did we participate in any Advent waiting – or did we just celebrate the Holiday Season the whole time? Did we side-step any of it, preferring to wait a few more days to start celebrating?

A dear friend had a big flare-up of knee pain such that she will follow her doctor’s advice and ask for replacement surgery right after the first of the year. In the meantime, she has passed on hosting a Christmas Day gathering, gift buying and card sending. I suspect she will learn a lot from this experience. – including  new insights into what it all is about anyway, what the heart of our Christian experience is.

There is at least one organization urging us to “keep Christ in Christmas.” Back to Paragraph 3 in this column – I am careful about that call.   But a further thought:  why should we be urging our whole society along such lines when we don’t do a viable job either? Where would others expect to see vibrant faith and love in this feast??

As Amita Sarin wrote recently in her The Washington Post letter to the editor,  she is secure in her faith;  though reared in India , she is very comfortable in wishing others here a blessed Christmas. She sees this as wise sensitivity to others and respect for others in their celebrations. She urges us Christians to make a big deal out of our religious celebrations – while likewise being sensitive and respectful of others.

Maybe there is a call to us all that we truly celebrate and observe our faith with its special seasons and feasts. May others observe us and say, ‘Behold how they love one another and are so joyful and true to their belief!’

Sr. Mary Schmuck RSM works for Catholic Charities in the Archdiocese of Louisville as the Coordinator for the Bardstown area of the Catholic Identity and External Relations Department.