The Kentucky Senate’s fast-tracked heroin and Right-to-Work bills passed the chamber Thursday, making them the first pieces of legislation to move off the floor in the 2015 session.
Heroin (Senate Bill 5)
The heroin bill, sponsored by Republican Sen. Chris McDaniel, sets aside $13 million dollars annually for treatment programs in county jails and mental health centers, while also stiffening penalties.
McDaniel told the Senate the bill would make trafficking in any amount of heroin a Class C felony, punishable by up to 10 years behind bars.
"Dealers do not deserve our sympathy, our compassion, or our charity," he told his colleagues. "These people who prey on others have proven to be some of the lowest forms of life on the planet and the only thing that they are entitled to is a lengthy prison sentence so that they can learn that Kentucky is not where they want to be."
While supportive of the bill, Louisville Sen. Morgan McGarvey questioned whether the move could unintentionally net low-level users.
"The definition of trafficking is important. We need to make sure we are catching drug dealers and drug traffickers and punishing them to the full extent of the law. We also want to make sure that we're not getting small-time users and addicts caught up under that same definition so that they're going to prison for trafficking," he cautioned.
Democrats in the House have expressed similar reservations about new mandatory sentencing provisions in the Senate bill, which passed unanimously. Attention now shifts the opposite chamber, where several heroin bills have been circulating.
Right to Work (Senate Bill 1)
As its second act of the session, the Kentucky Senate chose to reiterate its support for a bill that would prohibit mandatory membership in a union as a condition for employment. The legislation, known as Right-to-Work, passed the chamber 24 to 12 after an hour and a half of spirited floor debate.
Floor leader Damon Thayer characterized the bill as the "absolute best step" the chamber could take to stimulate job growth, adding that it also levels the playing field for workers.
"Let the union make the case for why they are beneficial and then let the employee decide for him or herself whether joining that union is right or wrong for that person," Thayer said.
In rebuttal, Sen. Ray Jones pointed to the problem of employees enjoying the benefits of union-negotiated contracts without contributing to the union. He described the Senate's chief legislative priority for the session as a thinly-veiled attempt to thwart the chamber’s minority party.
"This is nothing more than an effort to weaken unions as a way to defund Democratic candidates," he remarked on the floor. "Now if labor union members were knocking on doors for Republicans, you'd probably see a much different attitude."
Thursday’s vote sends the bill to the House, where Speaker Greg Stumbo has described its chances as “slim to none.”
