Kentucky lawmakers are back at work this week and appear to have resumed their political battles despite calls for bipartisan cooperation in the short legislative session.
Democratic House Speaker Greg Stumbo said Friday that buzzards would be circling most of the bills sent to the House from the GOP -controlled Senate. And Republican Senate President Robert Stivers said the Democratic-controlled House's failure to pass anti-heroin legislation last year led to more people dying from overdoses in 2014.
Reacting to Stivers’ charge that the house dragged its feet, Stumbo told reporters Thursday, "Well, he ought to go back and look at the KET films of the last night, because what he'll see is that his Republican brethren filibustered it to death on the last night of the session."
The Republican-controlled state Senate's top agenda items, including a right-to-work bill and a bill requiring women to have a face-to-face consultation with a doctor before an abortion, are likely to die in the House. Likewise, proposals form House Democrats' that would raise the minimum wage and legalize medical marijuana could have a tough time in the Senate.
