The General Assembly has gotten off to an unusually fast start. In a rare Saturday meeting, seven pieces of legislation were enacted into law. The Governor is expected to sign all seven by today.
The primary bill that may impact AIA members is House Bill 3 which repeals the prevailing wage for state and local government construction projects. Due to an emergency clause, this legislation becomes effective immediately upon the Governor's signing. Federal projects will still be subject to the Federal Davis-Bacon Act. Architects should consult with clients and their attorneys to discuss how to proceed on pending projects. For members determining how to handle projects that have been advertised and not yet bid, or bid but not yet awarded or approved by governing boards, please see Section 15 of the bill below, which speaks to this:
Section 15. The repeal of prevailing wage requirements for public works projects in this Act applies to any public works project or portion thereof for which bids have not yet been awarded as of the effective date of this Act. For bids that have been requested but not awarded prior to the effective date of this Act, the public authority may elect to request a resubmission of bids to conform to the provisions of this Act.
Others bills included the right-to-work legislation and a bill prohibiting the collection of union dues without the written consent of an employee. There were two pieces of abortion legislation and a bill dealing with legislator pension transparency. Another bill confirmed the Governor's executive order reorganizing the University of Louisville Board of trustees, which bears watching since it is still unclear how it will affect the University's accreditation.
The legislature has now adjourned until February 7. The first week's action required taking a day from part two of the session so there are now 25 legislative days remaining.
Below are the bills AIA Kentucky is tracking. We will be evaluating this legislation during the recess and will update you in our next report which will be February 6. In that edition, we will provide information on how to track legislation as it moves through the process. Several members have requested this information in order to better understand the process.
Finally, please note that our legislative breakfast is scheduled for Tuesday, March 7 from 8 to 9:30 in the annex cafeteria. Information and registration will be provided in early February.
Greg Brotzge
AIA Kentucky Lobbyist
|
|
|
Bill Activity Report
| Below is the current status of bills AIA Kentucky is tracking. |
| Report created on January 9, 2017 |
| HB3 |
PREVAILING WAGE (HOOVER J) AN ACT relating to prevailing wage and declaring an emergency.
Amend various KRS sections to delete prevailing wage provisions; abolish the Prevailing Wage Review Board; make conforming amendments; create new section of KRS Chapter 65 to prohibit local governments from requiring employers to pay prevailing wage to employees; repeal KRS 337.505, 337.510, 337.512, 337.520, 337.522, 337.524, 337.525, 337.530, 337.540, 337.548, and 337.550, relating to prevailing wages in public works; apply this repeal to public works projects for which bids have not yet been awarded as of the effective date of the Act; EMERGENCY. |
| |
Current Status: |
1/7/2017 - delivered to Governor |
| |
|
|
| HB30 |
PUBLIC PROCUREMENT (DONOHUE J) AN ACT relating to public procurement.
Create new sections of KRS Chapter 45A to set forth findings of the General Assembly and establish policy of the Commonwealth of Kentucky to promote the Kentucky and United States economies by requiring a preference for iron, steel, and manufactured goods produced in Kentucky and the United States; define "manufactured in Kentucky," "manufactured in the United States," "Kentucky," and "United States"; require preference for iron, steel, and manufactured goods made in Kentucky in construction and maintenance contracts and subcontracts; provide for a waiver of the Kentucky preference requirement; require preference for iron, steel, and manufactured goods made in the United States if the Kentucky waiver is granted; provide for a waiver of the United States preference requirement; establish a short title of "Kentucky Buy American Act"; amend KRS 45A.343, 45A.352, 65.027, 162.070, 164A.575, 176.080, and 424.260 to require compliance with the Kentucky Buy American Act. |
| |
Current Status: |
1/3/2017 - (H) Referred to Committee House State Government |
| |
|
|
| HB35 |
PUBLIC BENEFIT CORPORATIONS (MILLER J) AN ACT relating to public benefit corporations.
Amend KRS 14A.3-010, 271B.1-400, 271B.2-020, 271B.6-260, 271B.7-400, 271B.8-300, 271B.13-020, and 271B.16-210, and create a new section of Subtitle 11 of KRS Chapter 271B to establish public benefit corporations. |
| |
Current Status: |
1/3/2017 - (H) Referred to Committee House State Government |
| |
|
|
| HB113 |
OCCUPATIONAL LICENSURE (RICHARDS J) AN ACT relating to occupational licensure for military service members and veterans.
Create a new section of KRS Chapter 12 to require administrative bodies to issue professional licenses or certificates to military service members or veterans within two years of an honorable discharge if the training received by the service member or veteran could reasonably be expected to provide the necessary experience and skills; grant the administrative body the right to deny licensure or certification if training is not equivalent; allow appeal rights; require administrative bodies to promulgate administrative regulations to implement the section; clarify that military training and experience cannot be substituted for the acquisition of a college degree or passage of a specific examination when either is a prerequisite for licensure or certification. |
| |
Current Status: |
1/6/2017 - (H) Referred to Committee House Licensing, Occupations & Administrative Regulations |
| |
|
|
| HB161 |
VETERAN OWNED BUSINESSES (JOHNSON D) AN ACT relating to service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses.
Create a new section of KRS Chapter 45A to require the Finance and Administration Cabinet to set aside a minimum of 3% of the value of all state contracts for goods and services for service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses; require that when an item has been designated as a set aside for service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses, that the invitations for bids shall be confined to those qualified small businesses; if fewer than three qualified bids are submitted for an item and if the cabinet determines that the bids received are not cost effective, then the cabinet may open bidding to other businesses. |
| |
Current Status: |
1/7/2017 - Introduced |
| |
|
|
| SB107 |
GUBERNATORIAL APPOINTMENTS (STIVERS R) AN ACT relating to gubernatorial appointments and declaring an emergency.
Amend KRS 63.080 to permit the Governor or other appointing authority to remove and replace certain board or council appointments to comply with statutory proportional representation requirements for the board or council and to permit the Governor to remove and replace appointments if a board or council is unable to perform its statutory duties; amend KRS 156.029, 164.011, 164.131, 164.180, 164.321, 164.350, 164.821, and 164.830 to conform; EMERGENCY. |
| |
Current Status: |
1/7/2017 - (S) Referred to Committee Senate State and Local Government |
| |
|
|
|
|
Week in Review - 1/15/2016
A bill which would establish a new board and change the number of University of Louisville Trustees from 17 to 10 has been passed by the Kentucky State Senate on Thursday.
Construction workers hired for publicly financed projects would earn less money under a bill that has cleared the Republican-controlled state House of Representatives.
Although Republican lawmakers said they would focus in 2017 on jobs and Kentucky's economy, the first bills to fly out of the Senate and House chambers on Thursday concerned women's access to abortion.
After many years of frustrated lobbying efforts by corporate interests and the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce, the bill that would make it illegal for workers to have to join a labor union or pay dues to keep a job finally passed the Kentucky House of Representatives on Thursday evening.
Republicans in the state Senate were joined by four Democratic lawmakers on Thursday in passing a law which would make abortions after 20 weeks into a pregnancy illegal.
Lawsuits against doctors or health care institutions and their executives would have their merits evaluated by panels of medical providers before they could be filed in Kentucky courts under a measure approved Wednesday by the Senate Health and Welfare Committee.
Despite the Republican Party leadership attempting to side-step social issues in rhetoric before the session, a Democratic lawmaker has filed two pieces of legislation pushed by the GOP in previous sessions.
Only three weeks since unveiling "Where We Stand," the Northern Kentucky Chamber of Commerce's 2017 state legislative priorities, the chamber has already seen two of its preferences win approval in the House.
Among many bills that have breezed through the Republican Senate in recent years but were blocked in the Democratic House is one that would make public the state pensions paid to current and former lawmakers.
|
|
| |
Janet D. Pike, Hon. AIA
Executive Vice President
AIA Kentucky
(859) 223-8201
|
|
|
|
AIA KY LEGISLATIVE DAY
March 7, 2017
SAVE THE DATE!
|
|
HIGHLIGHTS
2016 Legislative Day
|
|
