Tuesday in Frankfort

KFTC members and allies in Frankfort today had an eventful day with a lot of twists and turns. 

At 8:30 a.m., House Bill 70, our bill to restore voting rights for former felons who have served their debt to society, came up in front it its House committee.  We had a room full of supporters and people ready to testify, but instead, the committee quickly called the issue to a vote and passed it nearly unanimously with just one dissenting vote. The hearing adjourned about 6 minutes after it started.  

We spent the rest of the day meeting with legislators in the House and Senate about HB 70 and also had a number of accountability conversations with the many legislators who voted yes on the House and Senate redistricting plans, respectively. 

Jason Smith, a new citizen lobbyist and a former felon got to tell his story to a couple of legislators throughout the day, including Republican Representative Kevin Bratcher who talked to him for 30 minutes and voted yes on the bill that morning.  

We also held signs to legislators in key areas with messages like "They stole my Senator" and "This is why the people of Kentucky don't trust the legislature."

After that, we held a small but effective rally on the capitol steps speaking out against the redistricting plan.  About 35 people came out and we managed to get good media coverage and gave people a chance to speak their frustrations and let the legislature know that they need to do better.

Then, some KFTC members and allies visited the House and Senate chambers and witnessed Sen. Kathy Stein giving a powerful speech against the Senate redistricting plan, sparring with Senate leadership. 

And as we were headed out of the Capitol, many of our members witnessed an altercation in the hallway that we're still trying to understand.