The Kentucky Chamber lobbied against the measures below and was successful in defeating them .
ANTI-BUSINESS MEASURES DEFEATED
The Kentucky Chamber lobbied against the measures below and was successful in defeating them .
ANTI-BUSINESS TAX REFORM HB 342 would have put Kentucky at a competitive disadvantage to many other states by creating a personal property tax on manufacturing equipment , retail inventory , and raw materials including distilled spirits . The bill would have made Kentucky a “ throwback ” state meaning businesses that generate income in another state but aren ’ t taxed by that state could be subject to additional tax in Kentucky . It would have required combined reporting which arbitrarily decides how a state determines the corporate income tax base for a multistate corporation .
ENERGY MANDATE HB 339 / SB 190 would have required that electric utilities meet a certain percentage of electricity demand with renewable resources and energy efficiency and pay special rates for renewable electricity fed into the grid .
SURFACE MINING HB 152 would have increased restrictions for surface mines and reclamation sites .
KENTUCKY CORE ACADEMIC STANDARDS REPEAL SB 210 / HB 553 would have repealed Kentucky ’ s English and math standards along with prohibiting the state ’ s Next Generation Science Standards . Kentucky led the nation in developing standards to prepare its students to be successful in an ever changing economy . These bills would have not only hurt education in Kentucky but would have set the state back at a price tag of about $ 35 million .
MAIL ORDER PHARMACIES HB 458 would have prohibited insurers from requiring the use of mail-order pharmacies , which would lead to increased costs .
MATERNITY LEAVE MANDATE HB 627 would have required employers with more than 50 employees to provide 6 weeks paid maternity leave for an employee .
SICK LEAVE MANDATE HB 617 would have required employers to provide employees earned paid sick leave .
CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS MANDATE HB 227 would have unnecessarily increased costs on public construction projects by requiring constructionmaterials , such as iron and steel , to be produced in the United States , regardless of cost or availability .
TAX ON PIPELINES HB 240 / HB 551 would have established a per mile tax on pipeline operators in Kentucky to fund new government programs to oversee spill response planning .
DEFINITION CHANGE FOR DISTRICTS OF INNOVATION HB 318 would have changed the terms “ district of innovation ” and “ school of innovation ” to “ public charter district of innovation ” and “ public charter school of innovation .” The bill did nothing to increase parental choice and education opportunities in the Commonwealth and would have been a setback to the school choice movement .
BUSINESS VOICES
“ Kentucky ’ s abysmally low success rate in rehabilitating our criminal offenders doesn ’ t just result in massive expenditures of state resources with poor outcomes , but also creates economic development and workforce readiness obstacles to improving the Commonwealth ’ s business climate .
Kentucky Chamber President and CEO Dave Adkisson spoke with Gov . Matt Bevin and Rep . Darryl Owens shortly after the governor signed legislation enabling the expungement of some non-violent class D felonies .
The Chamber highlighted this reality early on through its Leaky Bucket Report and has since strived to mitigate these challenges through pragmatic and data-driven reforms , to include their recent successful advocacy for common-sense felony expungement . Their leadership throughout the 2016 session in seeking expungement reform , no doubt , changed the tenor of the conversation and will have a direct impact on enhancing our workforce and ultimately making Kentucky safer .“
Russell Coleman Spokesman , Kentucky Smart on Crime
& Member , Frost Brown Todd , LLC