The 2019 General Assembly will convene this coming Tuesday, January 8. This will be the 30 day short session. After meeting for four days this week, the legislature will adjourn until Tuesday, February 5 for the remaining 26 days. The Constitution requires that the session adjourn no later than midnight on March 30.
Taxes and pensions are still the front burner issues as we enter 2019. We expect the General Assembly to make another run at pension reform before the session is over. Comprehensive tax reform will not likely happen this year due to the compressed time frame and the fact that revenue measures require a super majority in short sessions. However changes to fix the oversight in last year's tax bill regarding the taxation of non-profits will likely be on the table. The bill as currently drafted would fix the problem for 501c3's but not 501c6 organizations such as AIA Kentucky. We are working to address this problem.
Another issue we have been following closely is school safety. School safety legislation has been mentioned as a top priority in 2019 but it is not clear what will be in the bill when it is introduced.
Two other matters we have an interest in are holdovers from previous sessions. The first is the overhaul of state boards and commissions. The current draft of this bill contains amendments that AIA Kentucky was able to insert in the legislation. However, we expect at least one more rewrite before it is introduced. We are reserving judgement on this legislation until the bill is filed.
The second matter is the net metering legislation we successfully opposed last session. We are cautiously optimistic that a compromise will be hammered out this time around.
We will distribute a weekly report next Monday, January 14 and will begin regular weekly reports the first Monday in February. Also please mark your calendar for our
Wednesday, February 6. We will host our
2019 Legislative Breakfast at the Capitol that morning from 7:30 to 9:00 in the Capitol Annex cafeteria and we hope you will join us.
Should you wish to discuss these or any other issues, please feel free to contact us by phone or by email.
Thank you,
AIA Kentucky Lobbyist
502-819-6780
502-819-9005
