While the General Assembly is at its busiest during the first few months of the year, when new laws are approved, the summer and fall are vital as well to the legislative process.
The interim, as this time is called at the Capitol, starts in June and runs through mid-December, and it gives the 14 main House and Senate committees a less-hectic setting to come together to review the real-world impact of legislation and to learn more about issues affecting the state.
On Monday last week, the Health, Welfare and Family Services Committee helped to kick off the interim with a focus on mental health and homelessness. During that meeting, legislators learned that the number of those in Kentucky who are homeless or fleeing domestic violence has dropped significantly in recent years. This total went from 4,998 people in 2014 to 3,688 people in 2018, with nearly half of that population located in Jefferson and Fayette counties.
On Thursday, the Tourism, Small Business and Infrastructure Technology Committee heard from Kentucky State Parks about the nearly $100 million in wide-ranging upgrades the system has undertaken in recent years.
In another broad overview, this one on Kentucky’s coal industry, legislators on the Natural Resources and Energy Committee reviewed the ongoing challenges we face in this energy sector.
Coal severance tax receipts that reached $311 million in 2011, for example, are below $100 million now. On the other hand, officials say coal’s outlook “looks to be flat but stable.” It’s worth noting that coal still provides three-fourths of Kentucky’s electricity, although that is down from 94 percent a decade ago.
