Gov. Andy Beshear (D-KY) held a press briefing to discuss statewide issues and field questions from the press.
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NewsTranscript
00:00:00 Good afternoon, everyone. I'm Andy and welcome to this week's team Kentucky
00:00:04 update. We have a lot of people here with us today with a lot that's going
00:00:09 on. So a number of very exciting announcements. We're gonna first talk
00:00:14 about our booming economy. Uh, then we've got some some folks in from the
00:00:19 Derby Festival and we'll be unveiling some really special, meaningful posters.
00:00:25 We've got a number of our veterans here with us today and we're going to talk
00:00:28 about how our Kentucky Department of Veterans Affairs has won more awards
00:00:32 for their service to our veterans. Then we're gonna talk about legislation and
00:00:37 we've got a national champion from the University of Kentucky Wildcats in who
00:00:42 pushed the bill during this session. We're gonna do a signing for it. Then
00:00:46 we're gonna talk about weather, which it seems like we have to do every single
00:00:50 week on a few other updates. If you hear a little noise in the background,
00:00:55 it's just because we've got so many Kentucky ins that are part of this
00:00:59 week's update. Eso pretty exciting. So let's start where we always start with
00:01:04 our booming record setting economy. Just yesterday, our state budget
00:01:09 director john Hicks and his team at the office of the state budget director
00:01:12 reported on our latest general fund and road fund receipts and the news
00:01:18 continues to be record shattering. Our general fund receipts for March grew
00:01:23 nearly 13% over last year, while our road fund receipts grew by more than
00:01:28 13.5% over the same period. General fund receipts for March hit nearly $1.2
00:01:34 billion. That is an incredible all on its own. But when you take into account,
00:01:41 it is now the 19th consecutive month with general fund receipts over a
00:01:45 billion dollars. That is a record that grows every single month to give you
00:01:50 an idea about how good these latest numbers are. We have grown 3.9% over
00:01:56 the first nine months of the fiscal year 2024. Since the beginning of my
00:02:01 administration, now well over 1000 new location and expansion projects, a
00:02:06 record $30.5 billion of new private sector investment in Kentucky in us and
00:02:12 created more than 52,500 new jobs. We've had the best year for exports,
00:02:17 the best year for tourism, the best year for bourbon. It's pretty exciting
00:02:21 time and we need to recognize it and celebrate it while it's occurring
00:02:25 because it means more opportunity for future generations. That's what a lot
00:02:29 of these veterans sacrificed for a better life for our families. In this
00:02:33 week's news on Tuesday, we highlighted an expansion in Morgantown for gracious
00:02:38 living Kentucky, a manufacturer and distributor of consumer products,
00:02:42 including patio furniture, storage containers, laundry baskets, shelving
00:02:46 and recreational products. They invested over $9.8 million. They're
00:02:51 creating 50 new full time jobs. The company initially located its
00:02:55 headquarters in Morgantown in 2023 and are already expanding. The expansion
00:03:01 should be completed by the end of 2025. Manufacturing has long been essential to
00:03:06 our economy and this continue investment by gracious living shows
00:03:10 what a great place we are to manufacture goods as they are already
00:03:14 expanding. Another Kentucky company expanding after 75 years of operation
00:03:21 is Manchester Lumber Company that recently celebrated the groundbreaking
00:03:26 of their new location. I want to offer my congratulations to the owner, Donna
00:03:31 Jackson and her entire team at Manchester Lumber on this great
00:03:35 announcement. I wish them all the luck in the world and later today at 2 30
00:03:39 I'll be in Winchester to celebrate the start of construction at Washington
00:03:44 Penn Plastic Company. That is a $105 million investment in Clark County.
00:03:51 It's gonna create 88 good paying jobs. It is an exciting time to be a
00:03:55 Kentucky and it's an exciting time to be a business doing business in
00:04:00 Kentucky and we are thrilled for Washington pens investment and all of
00:04:04 the continued momentum we have where we are at the top of so many lists that we
00:04:09 used to not be on at all. This is our chance to build that better world and
00:04:15 better commonwealth for our kids and offer them endless possibilities. It's
00:04:19 really exciting. All right now we are fast approaching one of the most
00:04:25 important times on the calendar here in the commonwealth, the Kentucky Derby.
00:04:29 This year we celebrate the 150th running of the Derby, a signature event
00:04:35 in sports culture and for our economy. Every springtime the world turns
00:04:39 their attention to Churchill Downs for the most exciting two minutes in sports
00:04:44 and every year the people of Kentucky extend their hospitality and we show
00:04:48 everybody how we do it best in Kentucky. We know Derby is so much more than a
00:04:54 two minute race. It's a season of exciting events where we make memories
00:04:58 with our families and welcome hundreds of thousands of tourists in to spend
00:05:03 their dollars in our communities. Throughout history, our thriving horse
00:05:07 racing industry has been a source of inspiration for artists. Whether it's
00:05:11 the dedication of the jockeys, the power of the thoroughbreds or the
00:05:15 grandness of the crowds, these elements have given birth to artistic
00:05:20 masterpieces that we as Kentucky ins take great pride in today. I'm honored
00:05:25 and proud to take part in a time honored tradition of presenting a
00:05:29 governor's celebration Derby poster and I'm glad the first lady and Lieutenant
00:05:34 Governor could join us today for it. If you all would, would you want me and
00:05:38 when he's here too. So first we're announcing the artist for this year's
00:05:43 governor's celebration Derby poster is Ken Bernie.
00:05:47 Ken, are you here with us? Come on up.
00:05:50 Come on.
00:05:53 Ken is a contemporary painter in the artist village in Lexington. I hope you
00:05:58 don't mind dogs. Uh, throughout his illustrious career, he's taken on
00:06:04 various creative roles, including graphic designer, muralist, tattoo
00:06:08 artist. If anybody's interested, uh, illustrator and educator. The work is
00:06:13 the work he has created for the celebration Derby posters pays homage
00:06:18 to some of the Kentucky Derby's most famous black jockeys who made
00:06:22 significant and historic contributions to the sport, especially in the early
00:06:26 days of the Derby. Despite facing obstacles and discrimination, black
00:06:31 jockeys have been an integral part of the Kentucky Derby since its inception,
00:06:35 including the very first Kentucky Derby, where the horse that came in
00:06:40 1st 2nd and 3rd were all ridden by black jockeys. Ken's artwork depicts
00:06:45 Oliver Lewis writing Aristides in 1875, Isaac Murphy writing Buchanan in 1884
00:06:52 and Isaac Lewis writing Montrose in 1887. With that, we have Ken and along
00:06:59 with Kentucky Derby Festival president and CEO Matt Gibson. If Matt, you can
00:07:04 join us and, uh, to come on up here and we will unveil this first masterpiece
00:07:11 of a poster.
00:07:12 We're about to find out.
00:07:21 Yeah.
00:07:21 Okay. You want to mention anything about it? Sure. You're welcome to. Thank you.
00:07:29 Thank you, guys.
00:07:31 How's everyone doing today? Okay. Well, I want to thank Governor Beshear and
00:07:40 the first lady for this amazing opportunity. I also would like to thank
00:07:45 Secretary Case Beer for his tremendous support in the process of completing
00:07:51 this painting. It was a lot of phone calls back and forth. There was a
00:07:56 reoccurring theme as this project developed, and everyone involved wanted
00:08:02 to get it right because there's not a lot of readily available information.
00:08:08 I reached out to experts for help. I'm fortunate to know
00:08:15 local historian Yvonne Giles, who has a wealth of knowledge about African
00:08:20 American history in Kentucky. And speaking to former Kentucky poet Laureate
00:08:25 Frank X. Walker, who wrote a play about Isaac Murphy, he allowed me into his
00:08:31 library to borrow a few books, and that doesn't happen often for people. And so
00:08:37 if Frank gets to see this and listen to this, I will return the book soon.
00:08:43 And also, the Keeneland Library was a lot of help in getting the
00:08:54 jockeys' silk colors right. And I chose this composition to focus on winners.
00:09:01 That's the title of the painting. And of course, we spoke about who the
00:09:10 jockeys are. There's Isaac Murphy in the center. He won the first Derby.
00:09:13 There's Oliver Lewis on the left, and he... Oh, no, Oliver Lewis won the
00:09:18 first Derby. I'm sorry. Get it right. And Isaac Murphy, who won the most
00:09:26 Derbys, he's in the center. And on the right, we have Isaac Lewis.
00:09:31 He won the 13th Derby, and he's one of the youngest winners.
00:09:35 It is my hope that this painting will inspire people to learn more about
00:09:39 the black jockeys and share their stories for future generations.
00:09:42 All right. Thank you. Thank you.
00:09:45 Beginning in 1956, as a single event, the Kentucky Derby Festival is expanded
00:09:56 into a two-week celebration of all things Kentucky Derby. Some of the
00:09:59 fantastic events include Thunder over Louisville, the Great Balloon Race,
00:10:03 the Great Steamboat Race, and the Pegasus Parade, a major part of the
00:10:07 economic success for the Run for the Roses, can be attributed to the state's
00:10:13 tourism industry, including the extraordinary work of the Kentucky
00:10:17 Derby Festival. Today, we're honored to have Matt Gibson, his team at the
00:10:21 festival, as well as the 2024 Kentucky Derby Royal Court. If you all would
00:10:26 join us up here.
00:10:27 The Kentucky Derby Festival also highlights the arts with a yearly
00:10:32 poster. So as the court comes up, and if any of the members... I mean,
00:10:37 these are great people in questionable jackets, would like to come join us
00:10:41 up here, you're welcome to. And Matt, if you feel free to brag on the
00:10:45 festival, as well as introduce your poster. One of my favorite things to
00:10:49 brag on the festival. Thank you, Governor. Thank you all for being here
00:10:53 today.
00:10:54 What a glorious time of year. As the Governor said, it's not only about
00:11:02 what's happening in this community. There's always a lot of weather in the
00:11:05 springtime. But thanks for having us here today. There's always a lot of
00:11:10 excitement and energy this time of year in the Commonwealth, and especially
00:11:13 this year, as we as an entire state, mark a historic milestone and look
00:11:18 forward to the celebrating of the 150th Derby. For nearly 70 years, the
00:11:23 Kentucky Derby Festival has been bringing a community together in
00:11:26 celebration leading up to that first Saturday in May. We entertain more than
00:11:30 1.5 million folks each year, with a packed schedule of over 70 events. As
00:11:35 the Governor said, we started with just one event, and 70 years later, we're
00:11:40 well over 70. We're proud to be one of the leading community celebrations in
00:11:44 the world and an economic driver for the entire state of Kentucky, along
00:11:48 with all of our partners for that month long celebration. In just eight days,
00:11:54 believe it or not, the opening ceremonies of the Derby Festival will
00:11:57 light up the Ohio River, the Louisville skyline with thunder over Louisville.
00:12:01 If you've not seen it, it is something to behold. It's one of the nation's
00:12:05 top air shows and fireworks displays. This truly is our favorite time of year.
00:12:09 One of the first signs of spring isn't necessarily flowers. It's not the
00:12:14 trees. For us, it's the unveiling of the official Derby Festival poster.
00:12:18 It's become an iconic symbol that commemorates the Derby Festival season
00:12:22 and means that it's in full swing. We've hit a home run with this year's
00:12:26 poster artist. The 2024 design was created by a Louisville artist who is
00:12:30 a former professional baseball player, and I'm happy to report, too, he was
00:12:35 the Governor's artist last year. So maybe we should talk about the future.
00:12:39 [laughter]
00:12:41 So this year's piece is called "Liberated." As you'll see in just a
00:12:44 moment, Richard said his inspiration for this watercolor artwork was the
00:12:50 fact that there's so much celebration and so much to celebrate during the
00:12:54 Derby season that it feels just like the city is flying. Now I'd like to ask
00:12:59 Richard Sullivan, the poster artist, and Aaron Razanin, our 2024 Derby
00:13:04 Festival chair, to help us unveil this year's poster. We do know which one
00:13:09 this one is.
00:13:09 As you see, with celebrating over 70 events, sometimes it's hard to capture
00:13:24 what we do celebrate, but one of the most iconic images that we have is not
00:13:28 only the Pegasus, as you see on the jackets, the Governor has one as well,
00:13:31 but is also the balloon. Yeah, somewhere. You might be able to find it. It does
00:13:37 stand out in a closet. But as you'll see, one of the most iconic images is
00:13:41 always the ballooning. When you look up in this state, so many of them have
00:13:47 been participating with us for years. So great job, Richard, in creating this
00:13:51 year's image. So, Governor, we have one more iconic symbol of the Derby
00:13:55 Festival that we want to leave you and the First Lady and the Lieutenant
00:13:59 Governor. One of our favorite ways of sharing the Derby Festival each year is
00:14:02 with Pegasus pins. It's one of the largest fundraisers for the organization,
00:14:06 and a pin will get you into almost everything that the Derby Festival does.
00:14:10 It's not like a movie ticket where you use it one time. One pin gets you into a
00:14:14 number of events. So the Derby Festival collaborated with Churchill Downs, again,
00:14:19 on this wonderful 150th running of the Kentucky Derby. And it is our pleasure
00:14:24 to present you all with the metal version of the gold Pegasus pin. And
00:14:30 this year's theme is Pin the Town Derby. Thank you very much.
00:14:35 So we ask that you wear it with pride. As you'll see, many people in the room
00:14:43 are wearing it, not just those in the pink coats. And we'd love to and be
00:14:47 honored if you all did as well. So thank you for having us here today,
00:14:50 Governor.
00:14:50 Congratulations.
00:14:55 Back to back. I agree.
00:14:58 And I tell you what, as we bid goodbye to the festival, would you all like to
00:15:03 introduce yourself to the state?
00:15:04 Hi, everyone. I'm Peyton Brooks. I'm a senior at the University of Louisville,
00:15:12 double majoring in political science and criminal justice. And it's nice to meet
00:15:15 you all.
00:15:17 Future Governor.
00:15:17 Hi, everyone. My name is Laurel Riggs. I'm originally from Bardstown, Kentucky.
00:15:24 I attend the University of Kentucky in Lexington. And I am double majoring in
00:15:28 political science and writing rhetoric and digital studies. And I'll be
00:15:31 attending law school at UK Law in the fall.
00:15:33 Another future Governor.
00:15:34 Hello, everyone. My name is Sarah Downs. I'm from Springfield, Kentucky. But I
00:15:42 graduated from Bellarmine in 2022 with a degree in biology. And now I'm a second
00:15:46 year medical student at UofL. So glad to be here.
00:15:50 Hello, my name is Emma Rhodes. I'm a second year master's student at Bellarmine
00:15:56 University. I also went to Bellarmine for all four years of my undergrad. Go
00:16:01 Knights. I'm a master's student studying education, and I'm a full time third
00:16:06 grade teacher in Louisville, where's where I'm from.
00:16:08 Hi, kids.
00:16:10 All right.
00:16:11 Hello. Hello, everyone. My name is Ankita Nair, and I graduated from UCLA,
00:16:17 and I'm currently a third year medical student here at the University of
00:16:20 Louisville. I'd love to be a future surgeon one day, but we'll see what
00:16:23 happens with the match. And before derby season, I was previously the Miss
00:16:29 University of Louisville. It's nice to meet you all.
00:16:31 Thank you all. We appreciate you.
00:16:39 Yeah.
00:16:39 All right. We're gonna go just a little bit out of order because we know
00:16:44 we've got a senator who has an appointment coming up. So as you know,
00:16:51 the period for vetoes and signing bills has ended. I'm gonna go over that as a
00:16:56 summary in a minute. But today we wanted to highlight a specific bill
00:17:01 because here with us today we have a very special advocate for Senate Bill
00:17:06 1 11 Senate Bill 1 11 requires insurance to cover the cost of speech
00:17:11 therapy as a treatment for stuttering. About three million Americans have a
00:17:16 stutter, and this can often hold them back from public speaking or certain
00:17:20 opportunities. Speech therapy can make a world of difference, and now everyone
00:17:24 is going to be able to have that coverage. So here with us today we had
00:17:29 the sponsor of the bill, Senator Whitney Westerfield, along with former
00:17:32 University of Kentucky basketball star NBA player, national champion Michael
00:17:37 Kidd Gilchrist. He used the power of his own story, which takes a real
00:17:42 vulnerability to stand up for others and and to ultimately ensure that they
00:17:46 can get all the services they need. So Senator Michael, please come on up
00:17:51 and family. Thank you, Kevin. I appreciate it. Uh, I want to give
00:17:58 Michael the opportunity to speak. It's his story on. He's the reason this bill
00:18:01 is here. I'm honored to have been the sponsor. Senate Bill 1 11 on. I'm glad
00:18:06 that Kentucky gets to be the first of the states in the country where
00:18:09 Michael is going to bring this important work in this important change.
00:18:12 Governor, thank you for the signature on the bill. I appreciate that. And
00:18:16 Michael, thank you for your advocacy advocacy. As the governor just said,
00:18:19 using your story and your platform to do good for others is what society
00:18:23 calls all of us to do, and you've got a rare opportunity to do it. And you've
00:18:26 met with success this year here in Kentucky, and I look forward to 49
00:18:29 other examples of success. So thank you so much. Thank you, Governor.
00:18:33 Come on in where they can see you. I want to thank you guys. Um, I've been,
00:18:40 um, I've been honored, obviously. Um, and, um, and, um, and obviously blessed.
00:18:49 So I want to thank the governor. I want to thank the senator, um, and my family
00:18:56 as well. Um, um, uh, um, back in 2000 and 10 had I had, uh, I made a
00:19:08 commitment to to UK, but also the state, you know, and I'm fortunate enough
00:19:17 to help help state and also adults like myself who stutter and in the future,
00:19:27 you know, like, and that's kids, you know, I, um, I weathered the storm,
00:19:33 you know, of being picked on teas and such like that, you know, so, um, I
00:19:41 might just want to thank you guys. I'm like just being heard, uh, at this
00:19:46 magnitude, you know, I'm not, I'm not, uh, um,
00:19:53 um, I'm not, uh, just a national champion here anymore, you know, like
00:20:03 I'm a person who, um, made a real impact in the state. So I want to
00:20:11 thank you guys for the opportunity, you know, you're right. Yeah, I'm ready
00:20:15 to sign man for sure. Right down here.
00:20:17 Come on down here.
00:20:21 Come on in.
00:20:26 So we'll sign two of these.
00:20:45 First, we're all looking ahead.
00:20:46 Congratulations.
00:20:56 Do it again.
00:21:04 Congratulations, everybody.
00:21:14 Yeah.
00:21:14 That's for him.
00:21:19 Be careful with that. Anything you write comes along.
00:21:22 Couldn't use this a couple of months ago.
00:21:26 If it only worked that way. Thank you all very much.
00:21:40 All right. Today we have some very good news to share from our Kentucky
00:21:43 Department of Veterans Affairs. The department has received another
00:21:47 prestigious award for one of its innovative programs. KDVA has received
00:21:53 an Abraham Lincoln Pillar of Excellence Award for the fourth year in a row.
00:21:57 This time they earned it for their red carpet program. The program was started
00:22:02 at the Carl M. Brashear Radcliffe Veterans Center, where Veterans Center
00:22:07 staff give a warm welcome to new veteran residents and ensure the
00:22:11 veteran has a seamless transition to his or her new home. There is a lot
00:22:17 to celebrate. The Kentucky Veterans Cemetery Southeast, located in
00:22:21 Hayden, is receiving the National Cemetery Administration Stewardship
00:22:25 Award in recognition for superior results. The National Cemetery
00:22:30 Administration recognizes veteran cemeteries that meet certain high
00:22:34 priority standards. We're proud to say the Kentucky Veterans Cemetery
00:22:38 Southeast is one of the few state veteran cemeteries in the country that
00:22:43 have received this award and recognition. And on Monday, April 15th,
00:22:48 there will be an award ceremony to celebrate this achievement. So once
00:22:52 again, congratulations to everyone at Veterans Affairs for their work. We're
00:22:56 also celebrating the Carl M. Brashear Radcliffe Veterans Center 2023 Best
00:23:01 of Kentucky Nursing and Rehabilitation Award. This award was from November
00:23:06 when the Radcliffe Veterans Center was honored by the Kentucky Association of
00:23:11 Health Care Facilities Kentucky Center for Assisted Living during their annual
00:23:16 quality awards banquet. The award is given to the top long term care
00:23:20 facilities in Kentucky. And on top of all that, three of our veterans
00:23:24 centers were recognized in February as 2024 America's best nursing homes by
00:23:29 U. S. News and World Report. That is a lot of awards, but no fewer than our
00:23:37 veterans deserve. Today we have Commissioner Whitney Allen along with
00:23:40 several members of his staff. Come on up whoever you'd like to join. And I
00:23:44 wanted to take a moment to congratulate them on these incredible awards.
00:23:50 Come on in, guys. We can all step down.
00:23:53 Yeah,
00:23:55 yes.
00:23:58 I don't know about that.
00:23:58 Great.
00:24:00 Yes.
00:24:03 Oh, wow.
00:24:06 All right.
00:24:08 Oh,
00:24:10 right here. You'll join me. All right.
00:24:16 So, yes,
00:24:18 yes, this is our best of Kentucky award. Here is
00:24:26 Carl Rashir. I'll show it. I'll show it up there in a second.
00:24:30 And this is yet another Abraham Lincoln Filler of Excellence Award.
00:24:36 These are all awarded for the service that this crew is providing people,
00:24:43 which is no less than you deserve. So we're really grateful and we will
00:24:47 continue to try to find ways to better and better, better and better.
00:24:51 Thank you. Thank you. Congratulations. Thank you.
00:24:57 It's just fine.
00:25:07 Everybody smile.
00:25:12 All right. Thank you all. Thank you for your service.
00:25:21 Thank you. All right. Absolutely. Very well.
00:25:26 Finally, we have an update on our Veterans Program Trust Fund,
00:25:32 which provides funding to support veterans programs and initiatives across the state.
00:25:36 The Trust Fund is overseen by a board of directors that I've appointed and
00:25:39 receives its funds through the veterans license plate purchases and renewals.
00:25:43 Following March's Trust Fund meeting, the board approved and awarded more than $392,000.
00:25:50 This is the most ever from a single meeting or session of the Veterans Programs Trust Fund.
00:25:57 Thank you all. They include $105,000 to Honor Flight Bluegrass.
00:26:02 The Clark County Veterans Council was awarded $100,000.
00:26:05 Honor Flight Kentucky was awarded $75,000. Lady Veterans Connect was awarded $14,700.
00:26:14 Louisville Armed Forces Committee was awarded $5,000.
00:26:18 The Rowan County Veterans Foundation received an award.
00:26:21 The Kentucky Veterans Hall of Fame was awarded $30,000.
00:26:24 Operation Odyssey Outdoors, $10,000.
00:26:27 And the Kentucky Department of Veterans Affairs Homeless Veterans Program was awarded $50,000.
00:26:33 Over the past four years, we've now seen $2.9 million in awards to support our veterans in
00:26:40 various ways. The next Trust Fund meeting is June 12th. We're excited about their continued good
00:26:47 work. I'm going to now turn it over to our Lieutenant Governor for some updates,
00:26:51 and then I will come back up and give the legislative breakdown, and we'll take questions.
00:26:56 Thank you, Governor. So we have seen some great success from sports wagering, which opened last
00:27:08 September. And for the first time, Kentuckians were able to place legal wagers for the NCAA
00:27:14 tournament games. Preliminary numbers indicate that over 2.5 million individual bets were placed
00:27:21 in Kentucky on the NCAA men's basketball tournament, with a total handle of more than $57.7
00:27:28 million, retail and mobile included. The total handle includes all money wagered in the state.
00:27:35 Tax numbers are calculated from the adjusted gross revenue after wagers are settled, including
00:27:41 winnings returned to the bettors. In just seven months, sports wagering tax revenue is already
00:27:48 beating predictions, and it continues to be an entertainment source Kentuckians enjoy. Tax
00:27:53 revenues from sports wagering support the Kentucky Permanent Pension Fund, which frees up money for
00:28:00 our general fund, money that can be used to help build a better Kentucky, and that is a win-win
00:28:05 for the whole state. Next up, we have some updates on eastern Kentucky housing. On Tuesday,
00:28:13 Governor Beshear visited Wayland and the site of a high ground community that will soon be home to
00:28:18 11 families. It was just six months ago when he first visited the site, formerly owned by the
00:28:24 Wayland Volunteer Fire Department, and announced a new community of homes that would be built there
00:28:29 on four acres. Things have been moving quickly. Volunteer groups have been working eight hours a
00:28:35 day nearly every day, putting in thousands of volunteer hours in support of their community,
00:28:40 and you can see that the result of that work, as homes are being framed, exterior is nearly
00:28:47 completed, and work has actually begun on the interior. In June, we expect that 11 families,
00:28:54 each of them impacted, and in some cases completely displaced by historic flooding,
00:28:59 can start moving into their new safe home. This was a great day for Team Kentucky,
00:29:06 and I'm glad that I'm able to share this update and congratulate these families on their new home.
00:29:10 A special thanks to the local leaders in Wayland and Floyd County and Appalachia Service Project
00:29:17 for their tireless work on these high ground homes. The project is also supported by the
00:29:22 Team Kentucky, Team Eastern Kentucky Flood Relief Fund that contributed $100,000 per home.
00:29:29 Each of these homes are built with resiliency, allowing survivors to rebuild their lives in an
00:29:35 area that's safe and secure from future flooding disasters. As a reminder, this project is one of
00:29:42 seven high ground communities being built as a part of a vision for a long-term recovery in the
00:29:48 areas devastated by historic flooding. Once completed, these seven high ground communities
00:29:54 will be home to more than 500 families. We have a few more updates on these other sites as well.
00:30:01 Homeowners will soon be moving into the cottages at Thompson Branch. Construction on eight more
00:30:07 homes will begin this summer through a partnership with Homes Incorporated. A bridge leading to the
00:30:13 Skyview community has been upgraded and work is underway to widen and improve the access road for
00:30:20 home building contractors and residents at future sites. Bids will be going out for water and sewer
00:30:26 installation in the coming days. At Chestnut Ridge, bids are in to build the access road and
00:30:32 a contractor will be announced soon to break ground. Underground utilities will follow right
00:30:38 behind the road, allowing the Foundation for Appalachian Kentucky to begin developing their
00:30:43 neighborhood. At Olive Branch, infrastructure work is ongoing, including upgrading a water
00:30:49 treatment facility that will improve service to additional parts of the county. Environmental and
00:30:55 geotechnical reviews are being finalized at Grandview in Letcher County. Team Kentucky is
00:31:02 going to keep our promise and keep working until every home and every life is rebuilt.
00:31:07 Okay, so we have a few upcoming weather updates. Last week, the Commonwealth was hit by yet another
00:31:15 severe weather event. Communities across Kentucky experienced storms that produced strong winds and
00:31:21 multiple tornadoes. This storm knocked out power for thousands of Kentuckians, temporarily
00:31:27 shutting down numerous roads and interstates, and caused massive damage to many homes and
00:31:33 businesses. But like we always see after severe weather events, first responders and neighbors
00:31:39 together came together to help clean and rebuild. The National Weather Service has confirmed
00:31:46 19 tornadoes in last week's storms. Counties were hit by tornadoes. The counties that were hit by
00:31:54 the counties that were hit by tornadoes include Anderson, Bath, Bourbon, Boyd, Bracken, Clark, Henry,
00:32:03 Jessamine, Jefferson, Mason, McCracken, Nelson, Oldham, Woodford, and Union counties. As a result
00:32:14 of these storms, we had 17 counties and 12 cities declare a state of emergency.
00:32:23 I visited Boyd County Emergency Management offices last Wednesday afternoon to tour
00:32:28 storm damaged areas with Judge Executive Eric Cheney and discuss ways to assist affected
00:32:35 residents. We will continue to be with this community and every community impacted through
00:32:40 this rebuilding process. Our ongoing priority remains the assessment of damage sustained across
00:32:47 Kentucky following last week's storms. While we have yet to surpass the threshold for requesting
00:32:53 public assistance, we will continue to document and report damage until every affected area has
00:32:58 been covered. For those who were hardest hit, we are putting together the necessary information
00:33:04 to push for individual assistance. Our focus, as always, is on ensuring that affected communities
00:33:10 receive all the support needed as they begin the recovery process. We continue to support
00:33:17 storm survivors through using the Commonwealth Sheltering Program. Currently, four households
00:33:23 remain at General Butler State Park. Two of those are from last week's storms and two are from the
00:33:30 March 15th storms. Seven households remain in commercial locations and one household remains
00:33:37 on private property as a result of the 2022 East Kentucky floods. So, moving on to today's weather.
00:33:45 We have seen heavy rains the past few days and severe weather is expected to occur into the
00:33:50 evening hours tonight. The weather forecasts for the Commonwealth include scattered showers and
00:33:55 isolated thunderstorms and this storm could produce damaging winds and hail and Kentuckians should be
00:34:01 on alert. There is also an increased chance of flooding and tornadoes cannot be ruled out.
00:34:07 Agencies across Kentucky have notified and have been notified and are on call. Backwater from
00:34:14 the rising Ohio River in western Kentucky has already covered some low-lying state highways
00:34:20 along the river, including two roads in Henderson County and four roads in Union County as of
00:34:25 Wednesday afternoon. State highway crews are placing high water signs and will continue to
00:34:31 respond as needed for the next several days as more flooding is expected. The Kentucky
00:34:36 Transportation Cabinet will continue to send traffic advisories about road closures until high
00:34:42 water recedes. Motorists are reminded to stay alert, to keep themselves safe, and to never drive
00:34:48 through high water and take the necessary precautions to keep you and your loved ones safe.
00:34:53 And last up we have the Team Kentucky All-Stars. Earlier, Governor Beshear shared some amazing news
00:35:02 about the awards that our Kentucky Department of Veterans Affairs team has won in their service to
00:35:07 help our veterans. They have now won the Abraham Lincoln Pillar of Excellence Award for the fourth
00:35:13 year in a row. So to everyone doing this fine work of supporting our veterans, we are naming you all
00:35:19 this week's Team Kentucky All-Stars. And we thank our veterans and their family members.
00:35:24 No matter the conflict, they have stood ready to sacrifice and protect our freedoms. We are
00:35:30 forever grateful and you all truly represent what it means to be part of Team Kentucky. And with
00:35:37 that, I'm going to turn it right back over to Governor Beshear. Thank you.
00:35:39 All right, we're going to close out today by talking about a few of the actions that I took
00:35:49 during this veto period. First to date, I have signed 144 bills and we're going to highlight
00:35:55 just a few of them. So just a few moments ago, we talked about Senate Bill 111 that will now
00:36:01 provide coverage for speech therapy for those that stutter. A good bill and pretty special
00:36:08 to see someone directly impacted being out there and advocating for it. Next, I signed House Bill
00:36:15 377, which establishes a teacher recruitment student loan forgiveness pilot program. Student
00:36:21 loan forgiveness for our educators is something I've been advocating for a while. It is a great
00:36:26 way to recruit and retain more teachers. The bill also establishes a pilot student teacher
00:36:33 stipend program, which will recruit more young folks to be student teachers and help us get more
00:36:39 great educators in our public schools. I signed House Bill 453. This bill requires that when a
00:36:47 child abuse or neglect is reported to the Cabinet for Health and Family Services, they determine
00:36:53 the military status of the parent or guardian. That is because the military has a family advocacy
00:37:00 program that has a lot of resources that can help. They can help stabilize families. They can help
00:37:06 provide additional mental health resources. This is a big resource that the Department of Defense
00:37:12 has been talking to all states with about how we can work better together. We worked with not only
00:37:18 D. O. D. But also prevent child abuse Kentucky to support this bill. We think it's gonna be
00:37:24 very helpful for a number of our families. I also signed House Bill 30. This bill establishes
00:37:31 the Kentucky service members, veterans and their families suicide prevention program, according to
00:37:37 report 17% of total deaths by suicide in Kentucky or Kentucky veterans. It's unacceptable. We
00:37:45 appreciate our veterans and their sacrifices for us. We just had a Korean War veteran in here just
00:37:50 a minute ago. And when they especially face combat, they come back with scars not just on the outside,
00:38:00 but on the inside for far too long. We haven't told people that it's okay to not be okay.
00:38:06 And not done everything that we should be doing to help provide support, especially at a time of
00:38:12 mental health crisis. This new program helps us do more. I also signed House Bill 7 52. That bill
00:38:20 appropriates some funding from the eastern Kentucky and western Kentucky safe funds to help
00:38:25 communities continue to recover. Ah, whole lot of it's going to Mayfield $48 million to ultimately
00:38:32 help with a state of the art fire station and police station. And listen, I know both those
00:38:38 chiefs, they were all stars during the worst of the worst and they continue to serve in special
00:38:43 ways. The fire chief drove east in his ambulance, bringing supplies when the floods hit because he
00:38:48 wanted to be there for the rest of the Commonwealth, like the Commonwealth has been there
00:38:52 for Mayfield. It will also help with electric and water system facilities and city hall. Remember,
00:38:58 Mayfield had an iconic city hall that the tornado hit head on. They deserve another iconic city
00:39:06 hall. And this is going to help 6.1 million is going to Graves County for its administrative
00:39:11 building and $11 million is going to the breath of county school district to help their schools
00:39:16 recover. Those are good parts of the budget. I will note that we did not get any replenishment
00:39:23 in the eastern Kentucky safe fund. That's going to be a real problem because each of the counties
00:39:28 impacted are telling me that they don't have the funds in their fiscal courts budget to meet the
00:39:34 FEMA matches that are coming. And so that is still a challenge. Hopefully we can get some of that
00:39:39 in the final days, but but otherwise we're going to have some counties that are going to have to
00:39:43 get creative or potentially even turn down FEMA money because that amount for four cities and
00:39:50 counties has fully run out. I also signed House Bill 15, which protects Kentucky and rights
00:39:55 relating to personal data, including letting Kentucky and snow when their data is being used.
00:40:01 Assigned House Bill 52. This bill ensures all Kentucky and have insurance coverage for any
00:40:06 cancer screenings, test or pre diagnostic procedures. This is my dad still alive today
00:40:12 because he had a cancer screening on ultimately learned early enough of it to. And when you're
00:40:19 17 year old and your dad tells you yes, cancer, it's it's a hard moment helping more people out
00:40:26 to not have to have that conversation or to have it so early that they can get the help they need
00:40:31 is critically important. I also vetoed 27 bills during this legislative session. I'm going to go
00:40:40 over just a few of them. First, a vetoed House Bill five. This bill has a number of good sections,
00:40:48 but I do believe it was cruel to put some of these sections that would have received
00:40:55 unanimous approval with others that individuals knew would have been controversial. Yesterday,
00:41:01 I was in Louisville for the one year anniversary of the murder of my friend and four other people
00:41:05 at the old National Bank shooting and House Bill five would provide for the destruction
00:41:09 of weapons used in those murders. I know how it feels knowing that weapon could have been
00:41:17 auctioned off to the highest bidder, and I know everybody else who's lost somebody like this
00:41:22 hurts the way that I do. It also has some some some good pieces on having a separate
00:41:29 carjacking statute as well as some extra flexibility for the Kentucky Parole Board,
00:41:34 which which which I support. So I did not take lightly what parts of this bill do.
00:41:40 We just come out of the Easter season, and as I had minister after minister after minister
00:41:48 approached me on this bill, they all said the same thing. They said, If your savior came back,
00:41:54 who do you think he'd be ministering to and helping first? And the answer is the lost,
00:42:00 the lonely, the left behind. That definitely includes our homeless population,
00:42:04 and I could not in good conscious with my faith sign a bill that would virtually criminalized
00:42:11 homelessness and would treat an abandoned car better than a car that had a person in it
00:42:17 who was suffering from homelessness. My hope is that the General Assembly will take a second look
00:42:24 at this. We'll split it into two other bills, which which could easily pass in the last couple
00:42:30 days, but make sure that we are not treating those that we're called to serve, even though I don't
00:42:36 have the answers when it comes to that. I just know that we have to approach them with with
00:42:41 empathy and that jail and prison when someone hasn't been violent is not the answer to homelessness.
00:42:47 The second piece is we have a duty to create a balanced budget here in Kentucky, and there's
00:42:53 no question that House Bill five is going to significantly increase jail and prison costs,
00:42:58 and I say both of those because it will mean we're housing more people or we're housing people for
00:43:03 longer. Both of those increase prison costs and jail costs. So so we house people in our state
00:43:11 prisons, which we need the dollars to be able to operate and operate at that capacity. More people
00:43:16 you put in, the more corrections officers you need, the more resources that have to go in there
00:43:21 to operate it safely. And then we also house state inmates in jails where we have to make direct
00:43:26 payments and should to our our our county jails. Well, the problem here is while they passed a bill
00:43:34 that we kept telling them and trying to provide estimates would definitely increase correction
00:43:38 costs. They never published it at all for any of the legislators when they were taking a vote.
00:43:46 And so what we have as the executive branch is the requirement that we house everybody in one of
00:43:52 those two options that come to us, and we don't get to choose how many. That's ultimately determined
00:43:56 by the court system, by a jury, but not by the executive branch. And so the amount for corrections
00:44:03 that's currently in the budget was an estimate that we made without without the House Bill five
00:44:10 impact. And on top of that, it is the problem is magnified by for the first time ever a limitation
00:44:17 in the budget on our ability to delve into necessary government expenses if our correction
00:44:22 costs go over. So I think it is in 13 of the last 18 fiscal years, those costs have gone over. That's
00:44:31 pre House Bill 5 13 of the last 18 years. The costs of incarcerating people in Kentucky have gone
00:44:39 over the budgeted amount this year. Even with House Bill five, we only have, I think, five
00:44:45 million extra dollars we can use. Well, before House Bill five and 10 of those 13 years, it was
00:44:51 over $5 million. And so under our current budget, there's absolutely no way that we can pay
00:44:59 on that and that the dollars have been provided for those that are going to be
00:45:04 in our state prison system and in our county jails. Now, that's bad enough in in the state
00:45:11 prison system, but it means we're going to reach a point where we can't pay the bills
00:45:15 to our county fiscal courts who are housing them. And that's not right,
00:45:19 because they're also in a position where they have to take these individuals if there's not
00:45:24 space. If the legislature said you can't pay them once we reach this threshold, what it's going to
00:45:30 mean is we're going to face a special session just on whether we're going to pay our bills.
00:45:35 If House Bill five is passed and before I ever get to the ideological piece or of any bill,
00:45:43 I ask one question. Will it work? And the answer to will it work has to include. Do we have the
00:45:49 funding to make it work? And we do not with the current budget as passed. If they overrule my
00:45:57 line item veto of the necessary government expense limitation, which I have lined item,
00:46:03 but between that and House Bill five, there's no question our costs are going to exceed and
00:46:08 perhaps greatly exceed the budgeted amount for corrections. Second, I vetoed Senate Bill three
00:46:16 forty nine. Listen, I believe in an all the above energy policy, and that includes our coal fired
00:46:22 power plants. I believe that there is still an important role for every source of energy.
00:46:28 I also agree with President Stivers that we should be really careful about taking any means
00:46:33 of production offline right now when the demand is growing so greatly. You know, we're building
00:46:39 a lot of enormous factories that are going to greatly help this this world's climate based on
00:46:46 how they're producing things and what they're producing. But remember, these are being built
00:46:51 all over the country, though more here than most places on the demand for energy is going up
00:46:56 significantly. So I am concerned about trying to build all these amazing new factories and change
00:47:04 all of our means of producing energy all at the same time. It's it's it's a math problem
00:47:09 that is very difficult, but I believe this needs to be handled through the current PSC.
00:47:16 Virtually every chamber of commerce from regional to the U. S. Chamber opposes it.
00:47:21 Every utility opposes it, and I think it can make it harder for us to get new means of energy
00:47:26 online quickly. I also believe that the board it creates is not constitutional.
00:47:32 This is a board that virtually appoints an individual from an association from a part of
00:47:40 a specific industry just directly onto a board and gives them regulatory power. That's not how
00:47:46 our boards are created. That's not how we can delegate executive authority, and I vetoed a
00:47:52 number of those because of this. But this one in particular, I think even puts legislators on the
00:47:58 board, and we are 100% successful in challenging that. That is black letter law. You can't put a
00:48:04 legislator on an executive branch board. I also vetoed the bill that would significantly alter the
00:48:17 Racing Commission as well as charitable gaming and sports betting. Listen, this was done on the 56th
00:48:24 day of the session, and it's an enormous move. It creates an independent corporation that,
00:48:30 by the way, would even when charitable gaming comes in, have its own law enforcement unit,
00:48:35 which we've never seen before. It would give regulatory authority to something that's supposed
00:48:39 to be totally independent from the executive branch. I believe that the limitations on the
00:48:46 directors are more significant and severe than they've looked at. We're supposed to get it done
00:48:50 in three months, and right now the cabinet does all the IT, all the HR significant parts of
00:48:56 operations. There's no way it will succeed if done in three months. This is a conversation
00:49:02 that I think we could have in the interim before the next session, but no company out there would
00:49:08 create a new subsidiary or spin off a company in 48 hours without doing the diligence and without
00:49:14 sitting down talking to those that would have to make it happen and say, "Can it work?" So before
00:49:19 I get to any of the other pieces, I always ask, "Will it work?" and this will fail, not because
00:49:25 we won't try, but you can't create a new lottery corporation in three months and it be successful.
00:49:32 And the last note I'd make on that is I got to stand up for my people. The Public Protection
00:49:38 Cabinet worked so hard to get sports betting launched. They brought all of their resources
00:49:44 to bear and look at how well it's gone. You know, there's that old axiom, "If it ain't broke,"
00:49:50 right? "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." And this is something that is operating better than
00:49:56 anyone could have ever imagined, and why are we going to mess with it and mess with it,
00:50:01 you know, within a 48-hour period without doing all the due diligence?
00:50:06 Finally, I vetoed House Bill 513. The legislature's tried to take a lot of functions out there. I
00:50:15 think it was the last session or the session before they said, "We control all the parking
00:50:17 spaces around the Capitol," because that's somehow policy. And this time, it's, "We're
00:50:23 going to be curators of the Capitol, and whatever statues or artwork is permanently in the rotunda,
00:50:29 we're going to decide through legislation. Listen, let's all do our job. Let's recognize
00:50:33 that we're in different branches of government." And I'm proud that we took the Jefferson Davis
00:50:37 statue out, and I'll never apologize for that, even if language like this comes in. I've watched
00:50:42 so many kids walk into the rotunda when that statue was there and look at it, wondering why,
00:50:49 and are they less? The answer is no. They are children of God that deserve a rotunda,
00:50:53 that they can come in and feel accepted and ultimately feel proud of or certainly not feel
00:51:00 less than anyone else. On line items, there are a number of them. Some of them are very technical.
00:51:08 This happens in sessions. As you get close to the end, you've got to do a lot of work. There's one
00:51:12 line item in House Bill 1 that said, "X million dollars to this utility to support water loss."
00:51:20 Well, obviously, we're not trying to support water loss. We're trying to prevent water loss
00:51:24 or lessen it. But to actually give the money to the utility, we have to make sure that it's meeting
00:51:30 the purpose that is written into the law. So I line item part of that in a way that will allow
00:51:35 that utility to use it for their water system. I also line item the limitations on necessary
00:51:42 government expenses to respond to a national disaster. I've talked about it a lot. In the
00:51:48 last three fiscal years, we would have exceeded the amount they had. We shouldn't have to have
00:51:52 a special session just to say, "Can we please take care of our people?" Of course, we should
00:51:56 take care of our people. $25 million total. We go through that every year. So this, again,
00:52:05 is setting us up to fail. And can you imagine if we're coming up to that limit or if we've hit it?
00:52:10 I've got to call a special session at a time that everybody can get here. And they've got to spend
00:52:15 the three days at least to pass that bill into law. And at that point, how many weeks are we after
00:52:22 when people need help at their most? It just doesn't work. You can't
00:52:26 legislate in a special session a response to a natural disaster. You just have to let emergency
00:52:31 management and the National Guard and everybody else go to work. I think we've proven that we
00:52:35 know how to respond and take care of our people. And finally, the other example, unnecessary
00:52:40 government expenses I keep going back to is a limitation on money to fight forest fires.
00:52:46 We stop fighting forest fires when the fire's out or it's contained, not when we hit some
00:52:51 made-up threshold. Now, if we hit the $4 million that is the maximum extra that we can use,
00:52:59 do they want us to walk away from the fire? Do they want us to tell people from other states
00:53:03 that came in to go home? That's what we have. And think about how fast these fires break out.
00:53:09 Again, we've got to call them into session. They've got to come into session. And we're
00:53:13 literally going to pass a bill that says, keep fighting forest fires. I mean, we've got to be
00:53:18 better and smarter than that. OK, so that is a rundown. And while I talked about those line item
00:53:26 vetoes, I will say that there's a lot of good funding in the budget for a lot of good projects
00:53:32 that we are very supportive of. We're still working on different areas and think we might
00:53:37 get a couple other things either put in or clarified in the last couple of days. Certainly,
00:53:43 any positive changes, they don't need to be worried about a line item, especially in the budget.
00:53:48 For me, if it helps our people, I'm for it. So with that, we have a packed house,
00:53:53 and we're going long. But I want to make sure we get to all of them. So first, we have Sarah Michaels.
00:54:00 [INAUDIBLE]
00:54:20 Well, so first, the last two budgets for the first time ever have said that the attorney general
00:54:25 is the final word on what a part of a budget means. It used to say the finance secretary.
00:54:32 In the end, the courts always decide what a law means. And the budget is a law. I don't think it
00:54:38 will end up being an issue because any challenge to any section ends up in court anyways. So I
00:54:45 don't think that there would have to be a specific challenge to that. I guess if another section ends
00:54:52 up in court and the attorney general says, I decide what the law means, I'm pretty sure a judge
00:54:56 is going to say, no, that's our job. And then the second piece. [INAUDIBLE]
00:55:02 Oh, the executive order part about a significant numbers of reports and not reports to leadership,
00:55:11 but reports to what the A&R chair about executive orders. Well, we'll see. I will say they reduced it
00:55:19 from what it was originally in. And I appreciate that reduction.
00:55:23 We'll see. Of all my worries in this budget, that's not very high on my list.
00:55:30 Not as concerned as some might think about that. And we're not going to run off to court just to
00:55:35 make a point on something like that. So Sylvia Goodman.
00:55:40 [INAUDIBLE]
00:55:58 So I think it's fair to say I've been one of the most transparent governors, at least
00:56:04 in recent memory. I've released my tax returns, what, every year since I was attorney general.
00:56:08 And no one other than the lieutenant governor is doing that now. And no one has in years.
00:56:12 And no one has pressed anybody else on it at all. I believe I'm more transparent in the use of the
00:56:17 state plane, posting where it's going. I think I've answered more questions than every previous
00:56:21 governor put together because of COVID and others. And the only one having a standing
00:56:27 press conference each and every week. I was attorney general for four years and approved
00:56:33 every open records decision that came out. I've done as much and I think I've had as much
00:56:40 experience on open records as most people. Now what I do have is a difference of opinion in
00:56:47 how I think that this new law is going to impact open records than some in the press.
00:56:52 And I will say I've been a little surprised by the summary dismissal of a different point of view,
00:57:02 of name calling that's come from some, but you know, I promise to do what I thought was best
00:57:07 in this job. Let's, let's point out a couple of facts. First, the part that is addressed by this
00:57:13 bill, which is text messages on personal phones has only been a part of the open records law.
00:57:21 If you look at what, when court decisions came out for about five months. And so this idea that
00:57:27 it would destroy the open records law when it's only been a part of the open records law for a
00:57:30 brief period of time. When look at all the great journalism that's been done through the open
00:57:35 records law as it existed before, you know, I think is, is an over reaction. The second is it
00:57:43 is specifically tailored for the court decision that came out. What the advocates, those being
00:57:49 quoted, said in, in arguing that case was that Fish and Wildlife refused to provide state email
00:57:59 addresses to the commissioners and therefore they were forced to do public work on their
00:58:06 private cell phone. Well, the current bill says you have to give them an email address and they
00:58:13 have to use it. And if not, they violated the law. Now I can say from enforcement, when we actually
00:58:19 pull records, especially when there's bad actors, unless we get it on that public email, on that
00:58:26 public email, then a bad actor is ultimately not going to turn it over. Now I get that there are
00:58:32 members in the press that have a very different opinion of it, but I've been transparent in my
00:58:38 reasoning and in talking about it. How do I communicate with my staff? I communicate with
00:58:42 them face to face. I do it orally over the phone. That's, that's how we do. I'm still the generation
00:58:48 where we talk into a phone instead of just type. Tom understands what I'm talking about.
00:58:54 And next Tom.
00:58:55 Oh, good one. Budget stuff again, strangely enough. Have you talked to legislative leaders
00:59:05 at all? I guess with the two partners on the NGE limitations, therefore the disasters and the
00:59:10 fires. And secondly, is this moving of the Racing Commission to the separate body, is that an
00:59:18 unfunded mandate that you're somehow going to have to cover?
00:59:22 That's a really good question on the Racing Commission. When you look at the Racing
00:59:25 Commission and what they're going to have to do, the services that they're going to have to set up,
00:59:30 the IT systems that they're going to need, a lot of people that they're going to have to hire,
00:59:35 they're definitely going to be cost. The question is, are they able to use restricted funds
00:59:40 that they have in other accounts and that are available? And that would determine whether it's
00:59:46 an unfunded mandate. But I will say that the costs and the work have been significantly underestimated
00:59:53 in in what it would do. And yes, we've had discussions that were blue in the face
00:59:58 on how we need to have the flexibility to respond to a natural disaster.
01:00:03 And I really hope folks come around. Karen's are
01:00:06 governor. Last week you were talking about the importance of those who were hit by that storm
01:00:12 to turn in any kind of damage reporting. Yes. Do you have an update on how that is going?
01:00:19 Let us get you an update on that. So with all these storms that came through, if we want to
01:00:25 get FEMA help, we have to reach certain thresholds for public assistance, think about public buildings,
01:00:30 roads, water systems. And then if if our if our people want individual assistance,
01:00:37 then we've got to reach certain levels about that damage. And what that means is we need
01:00:42 everybody to report their damage, whether they're insured or not. And even if it's just 10 or $15,000,
01:00:48 we still need it documented and provided to emergency management because we definitely
01:00:52 have some uninsured people that got hit by this. I've talked to a number of them. I talked to a
01:00:58 family that's really lucky to be alive. Their kids were ejected from their home that landed
01:01:02 between two mattresses, which I think is is both hands of God protecting those those children. But
01:01:08 we'll get you an update. You know, we have a new mapping tool where emergency management can even
01:01:14 go home by home. And and they've done this in prospect, for instance, in Louisville, because
01:01:20 I saw that and even rate the levels of damage to structures. Boaty Brooks. Thank you, Governor.
01:01:27 So Bill to the guardians. Yeah, sign it. You didn't veto it. Tell me a bit about the decision
01:01:33 making there to let it come law without your signature and what kind of.
01:01:36 When you let a bill lapse into law, it's because you believe that there are certain good pieces on
01:01:43 it, but you also have certain concerns. And this one's going to become law. They're going to over
01:01:49 they would have overridden a veto. And I want to be in a position to make any program as safe as it
01:01:55 can be, knowing that it's going to go into to law. Do I have worries about who might be in our
01:02:03 schools with this? Yes. Are there some real significant limitations within the bill on the
01:02:09 training and the tests and everything else people have to pass? Yes. Is it entirely voluntary for
01:02:17 school districts to do this or not? That answer is yes to. And so as you look at the bill,
01:02:22 no school district needs to use one of these individuals. They can choose not to. I'm also
01:02:29 hearing from some sheriff's offices that if it's going to be done, they're going to try to bring
01:02:34 that individual in house in some sort of way. And I said, I got kids in a public school.
01:02:41 And you say, do you want somebody there or nobody there? If something happens, it's like most of the
01:02:48 world. This isn't just a black or white issue. It's it's a much tougher one. But I want to be in
01:02:53 a position to do the best I can with a program like this and and not issuing a veto, letting it
01:03:00 lapse, I think I think puts me in in that spot while also letting people know that I have some
01:03:05 concerns. Mark Vanderhoof. I think you already sort of ended up with my question, but if you
01:03:12 want to make it, can you say what are your top three things you want to get done over the next
01:03:16 two days? What would you say? Well, I'll tell him teacher raises in universal pre-K.
01:03:20 But but at this point, don't think that's happening. I do think that that there has
01:03:26 been enough money provided for teachers to get small raises, but nothing like what we've what
01:03:30 we've asked for. But one one benefit on the other on the other side that we haven't talked to a lot
01:03:38 is there's a billion dollars in this budget to prevent health care costs from going up for our
01:03:43 for our teachers and state employees, too. So they'll see no premium increases when a lot of
01:03:50 people around the country will see them. Certainly, the non-governmental expenses is really important.
01:03:57 Letting that veto stand, getting more money in and more flexibility on the Mountain Parkway and I-69
01:04:03 because they just opened this huge new grant program, billions of dollars for the from the
01:04:08 federal government. And I think we need skin in the game like we had it in the previous budget
01:04:13 for the Brent Spence Bridge. So those are a couple that I hope are are still on the table. Carolina.
01:04:32 Wow. Coach Cal has been a great friend to me, a really great friend. He said yes immediately to helping out after
01:04:42 tornadoes and floods. He brought the the blue-white scrimmage to Pikeville to raise money for for flood survivors.
01:04:50 I've seen the man's kindness to the people of our Commonwealth, and I will personally miss him.
01:04:57 He is a good man and I stick with my friends and will continue to. I have not been consulted
01:05:03 about the the hiring process. If I was, I would want someone of high integrity that will be
01:05:13 a good ambassador for our state that will help the young men who come through the program
01:05:20 and continue a tradition of excellence. But I will admit I don't watch as much college basketball
01:05:26 as I used to, though I watched the entire women's final four, which was worth every single minute,
01:05:31 and hope that next year we won't just have teams go further, men's teams go further,
01:05:38 in the NCAA tournament. I hope we have our major programs and others in the women's tournament
01:05:44 because it's an exciting time for women's basketball and it was a joy to watch.
01:05:51 McKenna, didn't know I'd talk about that today.
01:05:54 I am 100 percent in support of David Yates filing a discharge petition to bring Hadley's Law
01:06:19 to the floor of the Senate. And let me say that if somebody votes for bringing it to the floor,
01:06:26 it means they support exceptions for rape and incest in our state law. And if they vote against
01:06:31 it, it means that it's not getting to the floor. That means they are against adding exceptions for
01:06:36 rape and incest. Listen, we have one of the most restrictive laws in the country and it's mean and
01:06:42 it's cruel and Hadley had the courage to talk about being a 13-year-old raped and impregnated by
01:06:48 her stepfather who, thank goodness, is in jail now and hopefully will never get out. She had
01:06:53 the courage to do that and the reason she did it, and these are her words, is there are other people
01:06:58 in her position right now. If the legislature passes on that, that's another year that people
01:07:04 who are violated and harmed don't have options. Now I believe that there should be more access
01:07:11 than that, but this is the very least that people of empathy should be able to do. And I can tell
01:07:18 you that the people of Kentucky strongly support those exceptions, whether they used to think of
01:07:22 themselves as pro this or pro that. You know, that world doesn't exist anymore with the Dobbs
01:07:27 decision, but this is one that nobody should have to worry about their vote, that everybody's
01:07:35 community would at least understand whether they agree or don't. All right, we have two on the
01:07:42 telephone. First we have Austin Horn. Okay, next we have Gil McClanahan.
01:07:49 Oh hi, Governor. Long time no see from this week. I wanted to ask you, and you pretty much
01:07:59 covered it earlier about your veto of the Safer Kentucky Act. Obviously opponents to this
01:08:05 believe the state will not be better or safer under this law. You apparently
01:08:11 share that. Why won't the state be safer under the Safer Kentucky Act?
01:08:19 And I never said that. I believe that there are first some pieces of this legislation that people
01:08:27 jump up and talk about. When you talk about especially A and B felons, if they've committed
01:08:33 two felonies, much less three, they're in jail most of their remaining life or prison. But certainly
01:08:40 higher level crimes, if you commit a third of them, we ought to be thinking about whether you
01:08:44 will ever stop. I think we're safer if we destroy weapons used in murders, and I also think it's the
01:08:51 right thing to do for a family. I think we'd be safer having a separate carjacking statute because
01:08:55 of the data that we can pull from it, recognizing how big the problem is or isn't. But to criminalize
01:09:06 homelessness in the way that it does, coming right out of Easter, I just think is wrong.
01:09:11 And while I don't have the answer to homelessness, those that are experiencing it that aren't
01:09:19 committing any type of violent crime, I just think we have to start treating as human beings
01:09:26 and figuring out a better way. All right. This was a long one this week. I think we're back
01:09:31 next week. So everybody, life's short. Be kind to each other and do good things. Thank you, Winnie.
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