Pubdate: Tue, 05 Mar 2013
Source: Daily Independent (Ashland, KY)
Copyright: 2013 The Daily Independent, Inc.
Contact:  http://www.dailyindependent.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1573
Author: Ronnie Ellis, CNHI News Service
Page: A1

HEMP BILL BACK ON TABLE; REDISTRICTING IN 'FINAL PHASE'

FRANKFORT Watching the 2013 General Assembly is a bit like watching
Kentucky's weather; if you don't like what you hear one day, just
stick around for what they say the next.

When lawmakers left town Friday, a bill sponsored by Sen. Paul
Hornback, R-Shelbyville, to regulate hemp cultivation if the federal
government allows it and pushed by Republican Agriculture Commissioner
James Comer appeared dead in the Democratic-controlled House.

Meanwhile, Speaker Greg Stumbo, D-Prestonsburg, told reporters he
expected to share a House redistricting plan with the Democratic House
caucus Monday.

Check both of those.

House Agriculture Committee Chairman Tom McKee, D-Cynthiana, said
Monday afternoon that after Comer visited McKee's home county of
Harrison earlier that morning, the House committee will now take up
Hornback's bill Wednesday and McKee intends to vote for it.

"That's correct," McKee said. "I'm going to vote for it. I don't know
how anyone else will vote."

The last time the bill was before McKee's committee, McKee intended to
offer a substitute version, but the committee appeared prepared to
vote for the original bill. So McKee first recessed, then later
adjourned the committee without a vote on either.

That would appear to mean the bill will pass out of McKee's committee,
but that doesn't mean it will get a vote on the floor of the House.

Stumbo said Monday afternoon he still opposes the bill.

"I'm not for the bill," Stumbo said. "I don't think we need
it."

Comer has said he thinks the bill would get upwards of 60 or 70 votes
if it receives a vote in the 100member House. But even if it passes
out of McKee's committee, the bill could still be bottled up in the
Rules Committee by House leadership if it chose.

Stumbo said he's requested an opinion from Attorney General Jack
Conway about whether a 2001 law already on the books prepares Kentucky
to move immediately on hemp cultivation if the federal government
either legalizes its growth or offers Kentucky a waiver to test its
cultivation.

Redistricting will also have to wait another day.

"It is in its final phase," Stumbo said when asked about
redistricting, giving that answer for what seemed the third or fourth
consecutive day. "We hope to be able to present it to the caucus
(Tuesday). They're - as we speak - still working to get everything
correct." The near-constant delay on redistricting in the House
suggests disagreement within the Democratic caucus. Republicans still
haven't seen a preliminary map.

The problem apparently is trying to satisfy everyone inside the
"mountain caucus" of eastern Kentucky.

Rep. Kevin Sinnette, DAshland, said Monday there have been several
"final" votes on maps for the eastern Kentucky districts.

"It seems like we vote on a plan, and then afterward, they come back
with another plan," said Sinnette.

Even if House Democrats approve a plan for their chamber, Republican
Senate leaders have said they don't intend to take up
redistricting.

Stumbo said he still thinks the Senate should pass the House plan -
"and we'll stand up publicly and say we'll pass their plan" whenever
the Senate acts.

But Senate President Robert Stivers, R-Manchester, said the Senate
isn't likely to pass the House plan with only a guarantee the House
will then approve whatever plan the Senate comes up with.

"You always cut the deck before the cards are dealt because it's
customary among gentlemen and necessary among thieves," Stivers said.

The two chambers also remained at an impasse on what was expected to
be the biggest issue of the nonbudget, 30-day session: a state
employee pension plan.

The Republican-controlled Senate passed a fix based on recommendations
of a bipartisan task force with no provisions for how to fund the
annually required contributions to the system.

The House rewrote the bill and passed a companion bill to fund the
system through growth revenues from the lottery and revenues from
instant races.

Neither chamber will accept the other's bills, citing various alleged
procedural deficiencies.

Stumbo said Monday he still hopes the two chambers can set up a
conference committee to work out their differences and thereby avoid a
likely special session.

Stivers said the Senate is ready to discuss the pension impasse though
he continued to say the funding mechanism should be taken up in the
2014 budget session. Budgets, he said, are to establish priorities.

He also suggested "any subject discussed in the General Assembly"
could be brought up in a free conference committee between the two
chambers, apparently holding out the prospect that both the pension
framework and funding measures could be discussed in such a committee.

At least one thing got done Monday; the Senate passed a bill already
passed in the House to "tweak" last year's bill to crack down on
pain-pill abuse. The changes were adopted to allow hospitals, hospices
and long-term-care facilities to prescribe the drugs without pursuing
full reports on past use by patients.

House Bill 217 now goes to Gov. Steve Beshear for his signature.
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MAP posted-by: Matt