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During the legislative session that ended earlier this month, Kentuckians saw a textbook example of what positive things can happen when both parties in the General Assembly come together and work toward the Commonwealth’s greater good.

The end result was a landmark law that stands as the biggest change to our criminal code since it was overhauled in the mid-1970s. It showed just how effective the legislative process could be when everyone has a seat at the table and a desire to do something truly meaningful.

The 2011 General Assembly Session wrapped up March 9 with both a success story and a disappointment. 

The Senate passed House Bill 463, a landmark bill that was the result of a long, thoughtful, and bipartisan study of the spiraling costs of corrections. This is the first serious revision to our penal code in more than 30 years.

The nationally recognized Pew Center brought both local and state authorities together to recommend several provisions to improve public safety while lowering correctional costs and the state crime rate. 

When the General Assembly began the 2011 Regular Session in January, there was only one thing that had to be done: Plug a sizeable deficit in Medicaid.
Work on doing just that began in November, when Gov. Steve Beshear offered a plan that would keep the solution within that healthcare program.
In essence, it calls for using money set aside for next year to cover the short-term problem, then implementing a wide array of cost-saving managed-care programs across the state similar to those that have long been used for Medicaid recipients in the Louisville area.

Over the last week or so in the Capitol, there has been a renewed push to help our youngest citizens and those who are young at heart.
On Monday, for example, Gov. Beshear presented the final report from a task force he formed more than a year ago to give a top-down look at our elementary and secondary schools and how they could be improved.