When Bowling Green Republican Brett Guthrie ran for the Kentucky State Senate in 1998, his theme was a “Common Hope for Tomorrow.” After serving in the state legislature for nine years and serving as Transportation Committee chairman, he upgraded his lawmaker status to serve as 2nd District congressman in 2009.

Since the start of his stint in public office, Guthrie says, “people are still anxious about their ability to move ahead.” That’s his number one priority in Congress – which means jobs and the economy. “We need to make Washington work so people can see that government is not in the way,” he adds.

He’s been a staunch critic of the Affordable Care Act that he says is thrusting uncertainty on the business community. He believes that fears of increased healthcare costs are sure to stifle hiring and harm the economy.

During his interview tonight with Bill Goodman, Guthrie also discusses the importance of
immigration reform and why it’s critical to the farming community in his district.

Guthrie says Western Kentucky University (located in his district) has been aggressive in luring international students to campus, only to have many of the students return to their native countries with high-level skills and knowledge that the U.S. covets.

The second-term congressman is a 1987 economics graduate from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. He served as a field artillery officer in the 101st Airborne Division – Air Assault at Fort Campbell. After his military service, he worked at Trace Die Cast, a manufacturing facility owned by his father based in Bowling Green, Kentucky.

Rep. Guthrie says his experience with struggling to find high-skilled workers for his father’s factory put him on a legislative quest to form policies and nurture apprenticeship programs for non-college bound kids who would rather move right into the workforce after high school.

Bill and Guthrie discuss these issues plus sequestration, gun legislation, and industrial hemp tonight at 6:30 ET on KET. Bill’s interviews with the congressional delegation resume at the same time Monday night with 3rd District Rep. John Yarmuth.

Elected to Congress in 1994 as the first Republican to represent Kentucky’s First Congressional District, Hopkinsville native Ed Whitfield blasts President Obama for exacting environmental policies that, he claims, can effectively shutter the coal industry.

In the third of a series of interviews with Kentucky’s congressional delegation, Whitfield tells host, Bill Goodman, that President Obama’s tightened controls on mine permitting and coal-fired power plants point to a deliberate strategy aimed at shutting down the industry. Whitfield is the chairman of the Subcommittee on Energy and Power of the full House Energy and Commerce Committee. His western Kentucky district has underground coal mines.

Congressman Whitfield also discusses the “The Freedom to Fish Act” backed also by U.S. Senators Mitch McConnell and Rand Paul. It is meant to reverse the Army Corp of Engineers’ fishing restrictions at the Cumberland River system which ban public access to waters downstream of dams managed by the Corps.

On Washington gridlock, Whitfield explains why complex issues are hard to resolve given deeply held political ideologies, differing geographical backgrounds, and lack of outside socializing among members.

In fixing what he perceives as a “broken” budget process, Whitfield says Congress should work from the President’s plan and go to a biennial, or two-year, budget cycle.

Whitfield also discusses the Syrian conflict, immigration, and reviving gun legislation. Of the latter, Whitfield laments there are more pressing and important matters, and he predicts gun legislation will continue to stall out in the 113th Congress.

Watch Bill Goodman’s full interview with Congressman Ed Whitfield tonight at 6:30 ET. Tomorrow night, Bill talks with 2nd District Congressman Brett Guthrie.

In April, Time magazine bestowed the dubious distinction of Kentucky’s junior U.S. Senator from Bowling Green as one of the world’s 100 most influential people. Former GOP Veep candidate and Alaska Governor, Sarah Palin, penned a glowing caption beside a black and white image of relative newcomer Rand Paul with arms folded, sans suit jacket and posing with a pensive gaze that suggests that he knows something we don’t.

Palin said of Paul in Time that he is a “…voice of reason awakening the public to what must be done to restore our prosperity and preserve the blessings of liberty for future generations.”

Paul’s meteoric rise to political stardom began with the 2010 mid-term elections, and his star shows no signs of dimming.

In fact, the Republican eye doctor and Tea Party favorite is relishing the chatter swirling around his presidential intentions and believes the speculation gives him a megaphone to influence the Beltway dialogue about issues foreign and domestic. In Bill Goodman’s engaging 30-minute interview with Senator Paul that airs tonight at 6:30 ET on KET, Paul answers questions about his presidential aspirations.

While Paul’s sights on the presidential post are still blurry, his vision on term limits remains sharp. He explains when he should vacate the US Senate seat, return home to practice medicine, and allow a newer voice to occupy the post.

Also in Bill’s interview, Paul admits to being frustrated by policy-making that he says is “obstructed by petty partisanship.” Puzzled by the scavenger hunt for grand bargaining, Paul says smaller items of bi-partisan agreement get overlooked: “There are many things both sides agree to. We just can’t seem to pass them because we have to vote on the whole package which is a thousand moving pieces…and I’m big on ‘why don’t we break it up into smaller bills?’”

Senator Paul also repeats a political mantra he believes should inform Republicans’ modus operandi in reaching the changing complexion of voters: “evolve, adapt or die,” says Paul of GOP minority outreach. Paul contends Republicans have done a poor job with connecting their message with the concerns and identities of the working class and minority groups.

“Those who are the most disadvantaged in our society – they’re the ones that get the worst effects from rising prices, and rising prices come from debt,” says Paul.

Learn more about Senator Rand Paul and his positions on an array of issues confronting Congress tonight at 6:30 ET in a special One to One with host Bill Goodman.

Last week, about a dozen KET production crew braved the pace of the Beltway to learn more about the work of our federal delegation in Washington. In a series of special One to One programs with Bill Goodman that begin tonight at 6:30 pm ET on KET, Bill talks with our six congressmen and two senators about the pressing national issues of immigration, gun control, deficit reduction, industrial hemp, and even the freedom to fish.

Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell, the second Kentuckian to lead his party in the Senate, talks with Bill tonight about his unwavering position to hold the line on the debt limit unless attached to legislation to reduce the federal deficit. McConnell says the move is not unprecedented as it dates back to the 1950’s as presidential requests to increase the debt ceiling have accompanied significant legislation.

He cites the Congressional Review Act, the Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985, the 1997 Bill Clinton and Republican Congress Deficit Reduction Proposal and the August 2011 Budget Control Act. McConnell proclaims it irresponsible to raise the debt ceiling without addressing the debt. Of the debt, he says, “the size of our debt looks a lot like a western European country. This is the biggest issue confronting the country.” McConnell adds, “It would be wonderful if the President would lead on this rather than us having to drag him to the table.”

The Republican leader also talks about his effort to pass the “Coal Jobs Protection Act” in response to what he deems hostile regulations by the federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) targeting the coal industry under President Obama. He says the measure addresses two types of permits that have to be granted in order to mine coal and would force the EPA to issue more timely decisions even if they result in rejection.

When asked whether the legislation would be a boon for coal production that’s now at the lowest level since the mid-1960’s, McConnell says, “it might not, they (EPA) might decide to say ‘no,’ but at least it eliminates the uncertainty.”

That lament by McConnell gave way to this wider criticism of the Obama administration. He adds, “in fact, the administration across the board, whether it’s health care, financial services… have gotten an army of regulators whose bias is ‘if you’re making a profit, you’re up to no good.’” He denounces enhanced regulation as “a huge wet blanket over the economy and it makes it very difficult for us to come out of this very deep recession.”

McConnell decries the federal health care reform law (Obamacare) that’s ramping up for implementation as “a calamity that can’t possibly work.” He and Bill discuss immigration, the “Freedom to Fish Act,” and the balancing of his duties as minority leader with the rigors of defending his seat in the 2014 election.

Here’s what Senator McConnell has to say about the 2014 contest:

Watch the entire interview with Mitch McConnell tonight at 6:30 pm ET on KET. Tomorrow night is Bill’s interview with junior U.S. Senator Rand Paul.

There were times when Yarmuth, the Louisville Democrat, and Paul, the Bowling Green Republican, were on the same political page. But some glaring contrasts on prominent, headline-making issues facing the 113th Congress remain, one of which is immigration.

Senator Paul says the United States is still not adequately addressing student visas and screening background checks from those with refugee status. He says Congress should not rush to pass immigration reform and instead engage in a robust, debate without self-imposed deadlines on action.
On the pathway to citizenship proposals, Yarmuth and Rand Paul gave their perspectives. Yarmuth says the government is deporting unprecedented numbers of the undocumented now and argues that deporting the estimated 11 million with questionable legal status is not prudent. Sen. Rand Paul says border security is a lingering concern for conservatives like himself and he’s poised to present a plan called “Trust but verify.”

The other lightning rod issue Congress is perhaps bracing for another round of debate about is gun legislation related to background checks. The shooting tragedy at Sandy Hook elementary school in Newtown, Conn., nearly six months ago reignited gun control measures, particularly relative to background checks.

Sen. Paul says he’s concerned that some proposals like the Manchin-Toomey plan that recently failed in the Senate, shift criminal blame onto law-abiding gun owners. He instead favors examining the background checks already in place.

Rand Paul doubts public polling on firearms background checks, which he contends is sullied with high emotions about recent events. He thinks that as time passes, the emotions will subside when policy proposals are parsed out for possible unintended consequences affecting the rights and civil liberties of upright citizens.

Bill’s engaging discussion on Kentucky Tonight Monday night covered ideology on poverty and minimum wage, Medicare, Syria, and the guests’ collaboration on a golf tournament to benefit veterans.

You can watch the entire program online.

On Friday afternoon, Governor Steve Beshear pulled out his veto pen on a controversial “religious freedom” measure, House Bill 279. The bill passed the state House on a vote of 82 to seven with 11 members not voting on March 1st. It was initiated by conservative Nicholasville Democrat Bob Damron, a former member of House leadership. Legislative leaders from both parties in the lower chamber supported it, while 7 democrats from Louisville and Lexington cast dissenting votes. The state Senate overwhelmingly endorsed House Bill 279 on March 7th with 6 democrats voting ‘no.’ It was sent to the governor on March 11th.

Friday, the governor issued his objection declaring that “I value and cherish our rights to religious freedom and I appreciate the good intentions of House Bill 279 and the members of the General Assembly who supported this bill to protect our constitutional rights to practice our religion. However, I have significant concerns that this bill will cause serious unintentional consequences that could threaten public safety, health care, and individuals’ civil rights. As written, the bill will undoubtedly lead to costly litigation. I have heard from many organizations and government entities that share those same concerns. Therefore, after giving this measure thoughtful analysis and consideration, today I vetoed the bill.”

The full text of the governor’s position and action can be read here.

Groups ranging from gay rights advocates to quasi-governmental agencies (Kentucky Association of Counties, Ky. League of Cities and Ky. County Judge/Executive Association) and civil rights organizations staunchly denounced the measure and urged the governor to veto it. Earlier this week, Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer penned his arguments for why it shouldn’t become law.

Opposition forces to House Bill 279 say civil rights protections and laws could be disregarded if a person believes those laws substantially burden sincerely-held religious beliefs.

Senate Republican majority floor leader Damon Thayer Tweeted his disappointment with Governor Beshear’s action and urged House Democrats to override it so the Senate can do the same. He continued: “I look forward to making the motion.” The Senate President’s communications director Lourdes Baez Schrader said that “the Senate is prepared to override the veto of HB279 if and when the Speaker moves to do so.” She added, “As a House bill, that chamber must act on the bill first.”

Our public radio partner WFPL has comment from bill sponsor Bob Damron and Martin Cothran of the Family Foundation in this report,

We’ll have coverage of lawmakers’ actions on this bill and more when they convene Monday. Watch action as it happens live online at ket.org/legislature or on our Kentucky Channel.

Follow @ReneeKET on Twitter for constant updates and tune in Monday night at 11pm ET on KET for a recap of the day’s events.

It wasn’t really a night I looked forward to. I had spent months of weekends with city girls some 30 miles north of my rural digs who viewed me as a country bumpkin anxious for their ‘sedity’ ways to wear off on me. I couldn’t tell you one name in the group of debutantes who surrounded me as I danced the ‘Tennessee Waltz’ with my date and my dad then, or now. I never tried to remember.

Who I do remember with sweet fondness is my beloved, highly-educated, poised, and borderline bougie aunt who convinced me such exposure would do wonders for my self-esteem and career. Cousin Gwendolyn was a principal in Nashville who belonged to pretty much every elite group in town, and if she didn’t belong, it was because they weren’t highfalutin enough for her. Yet, she wasn’t so pretentious, so glued to status that her time was consumed with its pursuit. She reached back to me as a youngster with non-college educated parents to make sure I earned enough degrees to make up for what they didn’t. She wrote letters of encouragement, helped me network and offered pats and praise for my work at KET when I sent recordings at her request… well, her demand. She was my mentor, and a feisty fifty-something-year-old when cancer claimed her seven years ago.

I say all that as a testament to mentoring; to empowering. They sound like soft, psycho-babble words that require only a small exercise of brain power. But, that couldn’t be further from the truth. Gwendolyn did for me what so many women do for young girls well outside their family circle – they advise and at times gently chide. They share their time, talent and treasure with hopes their mentee will dodge the pits and potholes that come from poor choices.

This weekend on ‘Connections,’ I talk about how to help our young girls guard their bodies and spirits, and reach their full potential — despite their zip code, familial status, peer pressure and influence of pop culture. I’m joined by two women who put their boots on the ground when it comes to female empowerment: Tanya Torp, the community engagement coordinator at the United Way of the Bluegrass and founder and CEO of the grassroots organization called BE BOLD; and Dr. Stephanie Troutman, assistant professor of Women’s and Gender Studies and African and African American Studies at Berea College.

See preview here

Watch Connections Friday at 5pm ET on KET 2 and Sunday at 1:30pm ET on KET. Follow @ReneeKET on Twitter.

If you measure success by a bargain on pension reform, industrialized hemp, tax reform, redistricting – the answer is likely ‘no.’

But, if you deem the session victorious for independent review of child death or near death cases stemming from abuse or neglect; raising the school dropout age from 16 to 18; stiffening laws and penalties for human trafficking while granting child victims safe harbor and giving bonding authority to the state’s public universities to build or renovate dormitories, academic buildings and sports complexes — you’ll quickly respond in the affirmative.

According to the Legislative Research Commission website, 101 pieces of legislation have been delivered to the governor so far. There were 216 Senate bills and 458 House bills filed for consideration in a 30-day session, a total not including the mounds of resolutions in each chamber. Simple math will direct you to your own conclusion about productivity or lack thereof. And, many contend that it’s not the number that counts, but the substance. Here’s some proof:

The first bill to reach the governor’s desk (on Feb 21st) was House Bill 7 that gives bonding authority to six of the state’s eight public universities for eleven campus construction projects totaling $363 million. The package includes $110 million in renovations to the University of Kentucky’s Commonwealth Stadium.

Two weeks later, minor adjustments to the hallmark prescription drug abuse legislation of 2012 were approved. House Bill 217 tweaks laws that regulate pain management clinics, commonly called “pill mills” and requires doctors and pharmacists to use the state’s prescription drug monitoring system, KASPER. House Speaker Greg Stumbo and House Judiciary chairman John Tilley’s HB 217 exempts hospitals, long-term care facilities and hospice programs from some of the law’s restrictions on prescribing and dispensing narcotics.

Child advocates statewide were jubilant over the passage of two measures they say offer more protections and services to abused, neglected, and exploited children. House Bill 3 strengthens Kentucky’s human trafficking laws and offers “safe harbor” for child victims of trafficking –- giving them health and counseling services instead of locking them up for prostitution. It also establishes a victims’ fund from fines and asset seizure of traffickers. And, House Bill 290 makes permanent a 20-member external child fatality and near-death review panel that will have access to full and complete records of neglect and abuse cases. The Kentucky Youth Advocates applaud the measure for striking a balance between public disclosure and protecting sensitive information beyond the victim and perpetrator. Both of those measures were sent to the governor on Tuesday.

A compromise measure long in the making aims to lower the high school dropout rate by keeping kids in school until they turn 18. The initial language of Senate Bill 97 gave every school district the option of upping the legal school dropout age from 16 to 18. That still stands, but the House added language mandating that it will become mandatory statewide four years after more than half of the state’s districts implement it.

Skeptics of the school dropout plan are pessimistic that raising dropout age will actually increase graduation rates. Meade County Democrat Jeff Greer sponsored a rival bill in the state House that would gradually raise the dropout age from 16 to 18 statewide. He’s been on the compulsory attendance beat for at least four sessions, and this time around the compromise sealed the deal.

Louisville Democrat Reginald Meeks, a co-sponsor of the measure, offered some reserved praise. He said lawmakers are backing into a decision instead of forging ahead with progressive, forward-thinking action.

Madisonville Republican Ben Waide has been a relentless foe of the school dropout measure. He stood again to sternly assert that research shows raising the dropout age doesn’t guarantee an improvement in graduation rates.

The House approved the amended school dropout measure on a vote of 88 to ten. The Kentucky State Senate gave it final passage on a vote of 33 to 5. When the measure hit the Senate floor, it was carried by Senator David Givens of Greensburg, who said it had all the elements of a great compromise measure –- time, leaders, and substance. He said the bill wouldn’t work without a number of vigilant supports to see the red flags as youngsters fall into distress, especially early in the game.

Former governor Julian Carroll, who became Frankfort’s state senator in 2005, stressed the value of education for its capacity to prepare students for productive citizenship. He noted the high correlation between dropouts and prisoners.

Though Senate Bill 97 cleared the Senate 33 to 5, four Republicans joined Independent Bob Leeper in dissent. Governor Beshear and the First Lady released a statement of appreciation for passage of what they call “the graduation bill.” The statement said in part that Senate Bill 97 “will help to break the cycle of poverty, close the revolving door of prison, and improve the quality of life for all Kentuckians.”

The ACLU of Kentucky and the Fairness Campaign are among the groups pressuring Governor Steve Beshear to veto the ‘Religious Freedom Restoration Act” embodied in House Bill 279. Defenders of the measure contend their religious freedoms have been under attack by the government at all levels, while opponents believe the idea will lead to discrimination of gays and lesbians and an erosion of civil rights protections by allowing folks to assert a deeply held religious belief for not doing business or interacting with minority groups. The governor has yet to announce his intentions toward the bill. He could allow it to become law without his signature.

Senate Republican Leader Damon Thayer recited a lyric from the Rolling Stones in announcing a compromise on a bill giving more transparency to special taxing districts such as water and sewer districts, librarie, and fire departments. “You can’t always get what you want,” said Thayer of House Bill One. He has often bemoaned those special purpose government entities as exacting taxation without representation and argued for more local government control over their ability to levy taxes and fees. In the end, negotiators agreed making special taxing districts hold public meetings before increasing taxes or fees and to give reports to fiscal courts regarding their budgets. Non-compliance with the new rules could subject these boards to an audit by state officials and jeopardize state funding.

What’s undone? Hemp, pension reform, redistricting, and a slew of other headline-drawing issues. I’ll break those down next week.

Legislative lines drawn last year were declared unconstitutional by the state Supreme Court and it left the mapping scheme from 2002 in place. Redistricting is required after a decennial census to take into account shifts or growths in population. House Speaker Greg Stumbo, the mastermind of the remapping plan before the House mid-week, called the chore personal and often divisive, claimed it’s a mere puzzle of math. His House Bill 2 splits 24 counties which is the minimum, mandated number by the courts; the two additional counties that are split are Graves in the west and Harlan County in the east. It also pairs 11 Republican incumbents against each other and one Democrat against a Republican in the new mapping scheme. A contentious calculation in the redraw is the exclusion of the federal prisoner population. To that point, Speaker Stumbo gave this explanation.

In an inquiry from House Republican leader Jeff Hoover, Democratic House Speaker Greg Stumbo acknowledged that both the congressional and judicial maps drawn and adopted last year included a count of federal prisoners. The inquisition into that sticking point was pursued even further by Representative Hoover.

Hoover continued a diatribe about rule-breaking referring to a plan for funding public pensions and other matters. Hoover accused House Democratic leadership of using adjusted, manipulated numbers this year that they didn’t use last year to achieve a political goal of maintaining control in the House.

In a rare floor speech, Republican Jill York did some numbers crunching of her own. The House Democrats redistricting plan pits her in a district with House Majority Floor Leader Rocky Adkins.

Several aggrieved by the new map proposal rose to denounce it. House Speaker Greg Stumbo was unmoved and in his signature country lawyer vernacular he spouted that when it comes to redrawing legislative lines “somebody’s ox is getting gored.” While he had the body’s attention, he also rebuffed accusations that he’s obstructing compromise or passage of two prominent bills this session: public pension reform and hemp.

After about 85 minutes of floor debate, House Democratic leadership’s new maps for state House districts cleared the House in mostly partisan divide 53 to 46.

The hemp bill Speaker Stumbo alluded to cleared the House Agriculture committee Wednesday morning with minimal opposition. Whether or not the measure, Senate Bill 50, gets a floor vote in the House is concerning supporters. The Speaker claims the hemp measure contains an appropriation, and applying his logic means the measure should have originated from the House. And, the Speaker also isn’t convinced a state law is necessary and asked Kentucky Attorney General Jack Conway to render an opinion. On Thursday, as Tom Loftus of The Courier-Journal wrote “the attorney general agreed with Stumbo that Kentucky would be forced to adopt any change in hemp policy at the federal level. But the opinion also said that if the federal government legalized hemp without providing a regulatory framework, ‘industrial hemp would be essentially unregulated in Kentucky after the mandatory adoption of the federal definition.’”

See Courier-Journal article by Tom Loftus.

Senate Bill 50 doesn’t allow hemp to be grown in Kentucky, as it’s currently banned by the federal government. But, it does establish a regulatory framework in case the feds lift the ban or Kentucky is granted a waiver. A recent Courier-Journal Bluegrass Poll found that 65 percent of Kentuckians favor legalizing hemp for industrial uses, compared to 22 percent opposed and 13 percent unsure.

The Kentucky State Police and prosecutors worry that hemp legalization will complicate drug eradication and enforcement efforts because of the physical similarities of hemp and marijuana that they contend make them indistinguishable by the naked eye. Hemp has a much smaller concentration of the psychoactive or intoxicating ingredient, THC, that’s found in marijuana. Hemp fibers can be used for fuel, apparel, cooking, plastics, and moisturizing creams. It’s still uncertain whether or not House Democratic leadership will call the bill up for a floor vote in the 4 days remaining this session.

In the mad dash to hoist bills across the legislative finish line, the Kentucky State Senate toiled nearly until midnight last night. Among the cluster of measures approved was a human trafficking bill that took a rather twisted and, at times, uncertain path through the legislative process. House Bill 3 is called ‘safe harbor legislation’ because it treats children who are sexually exploited for profit as victims as opposed to criminals. Like other child victims of abuse or neglect, they would be eligible for state services. The bill also calls for a victims’ fund to be created from fines and asset seizure of traffickers; victims of forced labor would be able to sue for unpaid wages and law enforcement would trained on recognizing the crime.

According the Kentucky Rescue and Restore Coalition, 101 victims of human trafficking have been identified in Kentucky, 44 of them were children. The State Senate passed House Bill 3 with some minor changes that must be approved by the House before it’s sent on to the governor’s desk.

Around 11:00 last night, the State Senate awarded final passage to a religious freedom measure that that allows citizens to ignore laws that substantially burden their religious beliefs. Opponents argue it endangers civil rights protections, stokes discrimination against gays and lesbians, and even endorses domestic violence under a person’s warped biblical interpretation.

The text of the House Bill 279 reads as follows: “Government shall not substantially burden a person’s freedom of religion. The right to act or refuse to act in a manner motivated by a sincerely held religious belief may not be substantially burdened unless the government proves by clear and convincing evidence that it has a compelling governmental interest in infringing the specific act or refusal to act and has used the least restrictive means to further that interest. A “burden” shall include indirect burdens such as withholding benefits, assessing penalties, or an exclusion from programs or access to facilities.”

House Bill 279 passed 29 to 6 and now heads to the governor’s desk for his approval, veto, or he can let it become law without his signature.

State lawmakers agreed to change the session calendar and cancel class for today. The move means legislators will work both Monday and Tuesday of next week before taking a 10- day recess for gubernatorial veto consideration. The last day of the 30-day session is slated for March 26th. They are constitutionally bound to conclude their business by March 30th.

Tune in Monday night at 11pm ET for day 27 coverage of the 2013 Kentucky General Assembly in Regular Session, and follow @ReneeKET throughout the day for updates.

Today, a House committee exacted a parliamentary move to revive an anti-human trafficking measure (House Bill 3) that was idling in a Senate committee and destined for termination this session.

The House Judiciary Committee attached House Bill 3 to a Senate measure by Senator Brandon Smith dealing with “safe child drop-off areas” in response to a horrific shooting recently at Hazard Community College. The practice of conjoining a measure trapped in political molasses with another bill having momentum in order to move stifled legislation along is called “piggybacking.”

The inertia of HB 3 (up until today) to create a safe harbor for child victims of human trafficking baffles victims’ advocates like MaryLee Perry Underwood and Gretchen Hunt of the Kentucky Association of Sexual Assault Programs. They have been unyielding in their push to enhance penalties and fines for human traffickers and adopt a “Safe Harbor” statute, as neighboring states Illinois, Ohio, and Tennessee have done.

The bill is shepherded in the state legislature by a bi-partisan duo of state representatives: Democrat Sannie Overly of Paris and Republican Addia Wuchner of Florence. The measure cleared the state House on February 15th by a vote of 95 to zero.

Here’s Rep. Sannie Overly giving some background on HB 3 from the House floor last month.

Bill co-sponsorRep. Addia Wuchner read chilling words from a human trafficking victim during floor discussion of HB 3.

House Bill 3 aims to ensure that children who are victims of human trafficking are not arrested for prostitution or a status offense (actions that would not be considered crimes if they were 18 or older). Instead, these traumatized child victims will receive the services that they need rather than arrest and detention. It also aims to bring the “johns” out of hiding by clarifying that buying children for sex is a felony crime with an enhanced penalty.

The bill also makes it possible for law enforcement to seize assets from human traffickers and charges convicted traffickers with fines to create a Human Trafficking Victims Fund.

So how big of a problem is human trafficking in Kentucky? MaryLee Perry Underwood is quick with the answer: “Human trafficking takes place in all sorts of places, like truck stops — where runaways are coerced into commercial sex — and on horse farms and in other industries where workers are forced into slavery under threats of deportation and harm to loved ones,” she says. “Children are trafficked by parents, foster parents, and exploitative adults who convince them that they are their boyfriends,” adds Underwood. According to Underwood, the FBI estimates that one in five persons in prostitution is a child, with the average age of entry into prostitution being between twelve and fourteen years of age.

House Bill 3 appears to have vast support from a wide range of stakeholders: prosecutors, defense attorneys, the state Justice Cabinet, the Cabinet for Health and Family Services, Commonwealth and County attorneys, Kentucky State Police, the Family Foundation, the Catholic Conference, and Kentucky Youth Advocates.

A statement from Martin Cothran with the Family Foundation of Kentucky says: “The Family Foundation supports this bill because we believe in the sanctity of human life which means protecting all children, from conception to adulthood, from all forms of harm which clearly includes human trafficking.”

House Bill 3 which was attached to a separate, unrelated Senate measure is now bound for a vote by the full House. It will then return to the state Senate for approval or rejection.

Follow @ReneeKET on Twitter for Capitol updates throughout the day during the legislative session and tune in KET at 11pm ET each weeknight for “Legislative Update” for a recap of committee and chamber activities.