News of KFTC and our issues
Sen. McConnell Hints at Support for Black Lung Disability Trust Fund
October 24, 2018
At a public meeting in Pikeville, Sen McConnell was asked whether he would support strengthening funding for the Black Lung Disability Trust Fund. Currently, the fund is running out of money because more miners are getting sick and more coal companies are going bankrupt.
Here are 5 ways to boost Kentucky's economic development
August 25, 2018
It’s time for a robust discussion about what economic development policies would actually work. We need new ideas that are backed by evidence and rise to meet the moment we are now in. Kentuckians are hungry for bold answers to the old problems facing our state.
Matt Bevin wants to limit LGBT protections against job discrimination
August 25, 2018
Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin has joined officials from 16 states in urging the U.S. Supreme Court to rule that people who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender do not have special protections against discrimination on the job.
Trump coal plan kills more than it helps
August 23, 2018
Even Donald Trump's own Environmental Protection Agency says his proposal to replace the Clean power Plan would kill and sicken thousands of people.
Kentucky just put doctor shopping into law to help coal companies avoid paying for black lung
July 22, 2018
On July 14, the coal industry’s doctor-shopping was enshrined in Kentucky law as a spate of new laws took effect.
Coal miners’ lives still matter
July 11, 2018
If you wonder why black lung disease is not just still killing coal miners but also making a roaring comeback, consider the criminal indictments announced in Owensboro on Wednesday.
A now bankrupt coal company and eight of its managers conspired to cheat on dust monitoring tests and lied about the results in violation of federal law, according to the charges.
Bevin’s spite is a prescription for pain
July 3, 2018
Gov. Matt Bevin’s decision to end dental and vision coverage for 460,000 Kentuckians is vindictive, probably illegal and also illogical because emergency-room visits for dental problems will increase.
New taxes won’t do much for Kentucky. (But they’re sweet for the well-off.)
June 29, 2018
In Kentucky, conventional wisdom has long held that if lawmakers are going to raise taxes (and inevitably make some voters mad), the increase should be big enough to both accomplish something dramatic and avoid the need for another one any time soon (like three or four decades).
In 2018, the Republicans who control the legislature junked that conventional wisdom.
Kentucky Lawmakers Limit Black Lung Claims Reviews Despite Epidemic
April 1, 2018
A measure signed into law in Kentucky this past week would prevent federally-certified radiologists from judging X-rays in state black lung compensation claims, leaving diagnoses of the disease mostly to physicians who typically work for coal companies.
Pension bill takes an extra six years and $5 billion to pay Kentucky’s pension debt
March 30, 2018
The controversial pension plan rushed through the Kentucky legislature Thursday night would do at least one thing Republican lawmakers vowed to stop this year: It would kick the can down the road.
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