Posted by: Dave Newton on February 8, 2013
On Wednesday, KFTC members gathered in Frankfort for our first regular lobby day of the General Assembly, kickstarting our 2013 grassroots lobbying for legislation to restore voting rights toformer felons who have served their debt to society.
This was the first time lobbying for several of us, and a key space to learn how.
In all, we talked to 19 legislators, several of which were new themselves, having just been elected the previous November.
Two of our citizen lobbyists were former felons themselves, Mark Romines of Louisville and Teddi Smith Robillard of Lexington. Telling their stories to legislators face-to-face and connecting with them was a really key part of the day.
Posted by: KFTC on February 6, 2013
Legislators can move Kentucky significantly forward by giving serious consideration to comprehensive tax reform legislation introduced by Rep. Jim Wayne on Tuesday.
“The reality is … we are in a state of fiscal crisis,” Wayne said, adding that his intent is “to begin the debate during this session ... and start educating the legislators and the general public about the crisis.”
House Bill 142 would raise about $800 million in new revenue, mostly by tapping income and transactions that now go untaxed. That includes extending the sales tax to about 15 services and lowering to $35,000 per person the exclusion for pension income.
He pointed out that the bill would decrease taxes on the lowest incomes, primarily through a refundable Earned Income Tax Credit.
KFTC members joined Rep. Wayne at the press conference, with Becki Winchel delivering a statement on behalf of KFTC’s Economic Justice Committee. She reminded those present that, “Our state budget is one of the best means we have for moving Kentucky and its people forward.
Posted by: Tanya Turner on February 4, 2013
Just days before traveling back to Frankfort for the two upcoming months of General Assembly, new Senate Majority Whip Brandon Smith met up with KFTC members at the Perry County Library. This was one of several at-home meetings KFTC members organized this past week to open up communication during this General Assembly as well as to build support for the Clean Energy Opportunity Act. Members from Perry County, Harlan County, and Letcher County met with Sen. Smith about this legislative priority as well as the Kentucky Voting Rights Amendment (HB 70) and other local issues.
Posted by: Dave Newton on February 4, 2013
This weekend, we had a powerful statewide meeting in Louisville with allies to plan our campaign to restore voting rights to former felons who have served their debt to society.
We had forty participants from a wide range of groups including Jobs with Justice, NAACP, the Kentucky Council of Churches, Stepping to a New Beat, and the UAW along with a lot of KFTCmembers. Many of the participants were former felons themselves.
We used a lot of the time to let people in the room have a chance to connect, root themselves in why they think restoring voting rights is important, and review the history of ourcampaign and the current landscape.
But after that, we focused a lot on actions to restore voting rights to former felons and we're sharing those out to the broader public here:
Posted by: KFTC Staff on February 4, 2013
We are 10 days out from our annual I Love Mountains Day rally, and we are getting excited! Members are making Valentines cards,organizing buses, and hosting at-home events to get ready for the big day. Additionally, we have confirmed great line up of speakers for the rally including Kentucky author Silas House, KFTC leaders Elizabeth Sanders and Sue Tallichet, our Youth Essay Contestwinner, and more. Our rally will also feature music by one of our favorite bands, Sugar Tree!
If you haven't had been to I Love Mountains Day before, or you'd like a refresher on our bills and the logistics for the day, please join us for one of two informational webinars that we will be hosting this week. These quick webinars will give you a quick overview of our work in Frankfort and how you can plug in this year. The webinars will be held on Thursday evening at 7 p.m. and on Friday morning at 10 a.m.
Posted by: KFTC Staff on February 4, 2013
The Kentucky General Assembly reconvenes next week with lots of important issues to tackle – and plenty of opportunities for KFTC members to make a strong grassroots presence felt in the decisions that will be made.
The opportunities start on Tuesday, February 5 when Rep. Jim Wayne has invited us to join his press conference to introduce a comprehensive tax reform bill. Rep. Wayne has been the strongest voice in the General Assembly for progressive tax reform that meets our principles of fairness, adequacy and improving the quality of life for Kentuckians. We plan to show our support at an 11 a.m. press conference in Capitol Annex Room 129. Please join us if you can.
Posted by: Ondine Quinn on January 30, 2013
This January the Lexington city council welcomed four new members; Shevawn Akers (district 2), Jennifer Scutchfield (district 7), Jennifer Mossotti (district 9) and Harry Clarke (district 10).
Posted by: Ondine Quinn, Beth Howard on January 30, 2013
The Central Kentucky chapter of Kentuckians for the Commonwealth had their monthly chapter meeting on January 17th at 7 p.m. with 24 members in attendance. The chapter meeting focused on a lobby training for members and an opportunity to meet the new Central Kentucky organizer Beth Howard. The lobby training focused on topics such as how a bill becomes a law, what grassroots citizen lobbying looks like, and what bills KFTC members will be actively suporting during the 2013 general assembly. Members also came together to make Valentine’s Day cards for Governor Steve Beshear to be delivered on I Love Mountains Day on February 14th. The valentines urge the governor to do more to protect Kentucky's air, water, mountains and communities.
Posted by: KFTC on January 29, 2013
A coal company's plans to destroy 3.5 miles of streams in the Lotts Creek area of Knott County should have drawn scrutiny for its po
Posted by: Dave Newton on January 28, 2013
In the last few months, students and faculty of Georgetown College have been trying to a pass a non-discrimination policy on campus to make a safer space for gay and lesbian members of the community, making it impossible for students, faculty, or staff to be fired or expelled from the college just because of their secxal identity.
A proposal from the faculty to create such a policy moved to the Board of Trustees late last year, but the Board decded to not move forward with it.
The Scott County Chapter of KFTC decided to support the campaign by facilitating a "power analysis" to help clarify the objectives of the campaign, map out where stakeholders stand on the issue and how much influence the have, to help plan next steps. It was also a good space to root our work in why fighting discrimination and standing in solidarity woth the LGBT community is important.
