$10 million to a political action committee supporting Republican Nate Morris.

Governor Beshear spends the week in Europe.

[MUSIC] He calls his trip important.

Many Republicans criticize it.

The Kentucky legislature considers a new budget and hundreds of other proposals.

The state's largest school district considers major spending and staffing cuts, with a major winter storm heading our way.

Comment is next on KET.

Good evening.

I'm Bill Bryant, and we welcome you to comment on Kentucky, a look back at and some analysis of the week's news in the Commonwealth and the guests on our panel of working Kentucky journalists tonight are Hannah Pinski, political reporter for the Lexington Herald-Leader, Jeff Clark, education reporter for the Kentucky Center for Investigative Reporting and Laura Cullen Glasscock, editor and publisher of the Kentucky Gazette.

As we come on the air live this Friday night, Kentuckians are being urged to prepare quickly for a major winter storm.

Snow, ice and bitterly cold temperatures are all part of the mix.

And Laura, the advice is to prepare for worst case scenarios.

>> That's right.

There could be power outages, as you said, and we're looking at a lot of snow and ice.

The governor issued a state of emergency this morning and well in front of the storm.

And what that does is several things.

It gets Kentucky emergency.

Kentucky emergency management in place.

They are staging water and working with counties to set up warming centers, for example.

And it also puts in place the anti-price gouging law that the state has to prevent businesses from jacking up prices on things that people might need to deal with the storm.

>> Which, interestingly, is put in place by the governor but then is reported to the attorney general.

>> If someone does witness price gouging or is victimized by it, they should report that to the attorney General's office.

>> Well, as we said, individuals across the state are being urged to prepare themselves.

But we have also seen a lot of other signs of preparation.

>> Yeah, just driving around Louisville today, I saw a whole caravan of cherry pickers going down the highway.

I assume staging for potential power outages.

And then on the way here from my drive in from from Louisville for this.

And I saw plenty of trucks with snowplows on the front, I assume, also getting getting in position for plowing snow.

>> One of the issues is this is so widespread and involves so many states that there is fear that you will not be able to call on other states to bring people in.

>> I think it's 30 states are expected to be hit by this storm.

>> And Hannah the impact of this.

We're being told, could last because it's to be followed by bitterly cold weather.

>> That's right.

You know, depending on the amount of snow we get, those bitterly cold temperatures aren't going to help, you know, with melting it or potential ice as well.

And like Laura said, if there is widespread power outages, we don't know how long it will take for the power to come back on.

So really, people are just urged to stay at home, make sure they have enough food and water potentially for the next week, make sure their cars are filled up with gas and all.

>> That medicine and so on.

Just many school districts have already had to use NTI days.

Some have had to completely lose some school days.

Most of them have been preparing for that possibility once again.

>> Yeah, JCPS canceled all activities this weekend.

Lots of districts are looking to move towards either NTI or maybe even full true snow days, because NTI usually takes internet connection or electricity to to to run.

And so we may not have that coming up this week.

>> Another complicating factor right.

There's always talk after such events of underground utilities.

And we have more and more of that.

But it's still minuscule compared to you know, generally they're just lines all over the state.

>> Yeah, I'm no expert, but there are newer developments you see going in with the utilities built underground as the housing developments and commercial developments are put in place.

And here in Lexington, a number of years ago, the limestone corridor was redone and those utilities were put underground so little by little.

But as you say, it's expensive to do that.

Yeah.

>> Well, let's hope everybody heeds the advice and is safe and that, you know, it's not as bad as it looks like potentially it could be.

But check on your neighbors, check on the pets, and certainly take care of yourself out there.

Let's get to some politics.

With a huge investment in Kentucky's U.S.

Senate race.

Billionaire Elon Musk has given $10 million to a political action committee supporting Lexington businessman Nate Morris efforts in this race.

Hannah potentially game changing.

I guess if that money is spent effectively by those who support Morris.

>> Yeah, and, you know, I think, you know, his supporters could potentially use this money to help increase his name I.D.

help him in the polling since he is significantly, significantly behind Barr and Cameron.

I think, you know, we are still months away from the May primary election, so he the supporters have time to use this money potentially effectively.

And what's also interesting, I think, is how Republicans view this donation.

You know, you have some who say this is a big deal.

Musk is an influential figure in national politics and could be in this race.

And you have others who are a bit more critical saying, you know, we Musk is an outsider.

He's not directly involved in Kentucky politics, so it'll be interesting to see if he continues to stay involved in the political scene here.

>> Laura, there's a reason we don't say that he gave $10 million to to Morris's campaign, right?

That's right.

>> He gave the money to a PAC.

And I think the PAC is an independent expenditure PAC, which means it can't coordinate with his campaign.

So they have to spend the money separately.

But to Hannah's point to speaking of of Republican critics, Andy Barr's campaign called that a $10 million.

How did they phrase it?

$10 million, $10 million for the bonfire?

So they're just throwing that money away, just burning it?

>> Well, I mean, it is interesting that Barr's campaign really did light into Morris after this happened.

>> They're going at it.

So and that kind of, I think, can work to an advantage for Daniel Cameron in a sense.

So the fact that Daniel Cameron hasn't raised a whole lot of money could end up being a blessing in disguise, in the sense that he doesn't have the money right now to get involved in this name calling and the work toward the Trump endorsement right there.

He's he's staying out of it.

He'll have money to spend later in the in the primary, I think.

And he can watch the president's approval numbers.

Right now the president is underwater.

Some polls put him at 58, 59% disapproval rate.

Right.

So so that gives Cameron the opportunity to just kind of stay back and see where things go on the national level, see where things go with the president and allow him to pivot a message, maybe later in the game a little bit closer to the primary.

>> Well, the limited polling that's out there has shown Cameron to be leading primarily, maybe because of the name identification.

He's run those statewide races.

>> Yeah, he's the one of the three of the three.

He's the one who's run statewide and won statewide.

We should say, too.

Chris has not run for office.

And then Barr, of course, in the sixth district is well known here in Lexington, but not out.

You know, maybe western Kentucky or Pike County or what have you.

>> So what Lane is open to Morris with with all three candidates.

You know, calling themselves Trump supporters and conservatives.

What, what what changes?

>> Well, to Hannah's point, they're going to have to spend the money on name I.D.

but in my view, there's so much negativity.

I think that's personally, I'm not a pollster, but that's why I think Cameron has stayed higher in the polls.

Is is the name I.D.

But also he's staying out of that fray.

I think people in general are getting tired of the contentiousness, the negativity, the anger that we're seeing in politics.

>> Okay, we're going to watch that Republican race play out.

The Democrats also have a crowded U.S.

Senate primary.

Senate candidate Dale Romans is a horse trainer making his first political run.

He calls himself an independent Democrat.

And he told me that means he is a moderate voice.

>> Or moderate Democrat.

And I can see views on both sides.

And I want to keep telling everybody, I'm not going up there.

I don't want to be a rah rah politician saying, I'm going up and fight for you.

I want you to know I'm going to go up there.

You're hiring me to do a job.

I'm going up there and work all this in fighting we have going on up there has done nothing but cause problems and keep progress from happening.

And my goal would be to go up there, take it as a job and go to work for the people of Kentucky.

>> Laura, some might say that calling yourself a moderate could be helpful in a general election in Kentucky, but does it make it harder in a primary where voters are more partizan and more dug in in their views?

>> It can.

Yeah, I think so, because the primary voter is tends for both parties tends to be more on the outer edges.

Right.

So you see more progressive Democratic voters, more right leaning Republican voters.

Turnout in the primary.

And turnout typically is low.

You're talking 12, 15%.

Right.

So that's there's going to be more weight given to those who are on the edges of the of the spectrum there.

Booker seems to be from some folks I've talked to.

Booker has the progressive message right now, and he's looking pretty good in the in the again, this is just people I've spoken with.

It's not an official poll or anything, but people are liking Booker for that very reason that he has the progressive message.

He and Amy McGrath faced off in 2020.

Excuse me?

She beat him by 15,000 votes or so out of more than a half million cast.

So that rematch is going to be interesting.

But again, to your point, the the middle of the road unfortunately doesn't work so well in primaries 2020.

>> Race was interesting a lot of ways.

That's true.

>> Covid it was Covid.

And also George Floyd was murdered that summer and that played into it as well.

>> Hannah three.

The Democrats have won statewide nominations before Amy McGrath and Charles Booker again have been Senate nominees.

Pamela Stephenson was the Democratic nominee for AG in 2023.

Will those previous campaigns provide an advantage to any of those candidates?

>> I think it when it comes to name ID, it definitely gives an advantage to those candidates as well.

As, you know, they probably still have connections from running those campaigns, potential connections for fundraising.

But I think what's also important to point out is they all three have lost races as well.

And that's a question that they're going to have to answer going into the Senate primary is, why am I the best candidate who may have previously lost some race going forward for the general election?

>> All right.

Before we leave the discussion of the Senate, of course, we've talked about the Republican candidate, Andy Barr, some who's a congressman from Central Kentucky.

Last night, Barr spoke on the House floor remembering his longtime aide, Tatum Dale, who passed away in December.

He spoke of her commitment to Kentucky and her heart for public service.

>> Kentucky lost a daughter who honored her home in everything she did.

We are.

We also in our office lost a leader.

Our communities lost a fierce advocate, and all of us lost a friend.

But her legacy lives on in the lives she helped, in, the problems she solved, and the example she set for what public service should be.

>> Barr also said, Laura, that Tatum Dale did not mind giving him tough advice, and he also said steadying him when he needed that.

>> That's what I've heard.

She had a good reputation and it's always sad to lose someone so young.

She was in her 30s, I believe, and I've.

I didn't know her that well, you know, talked with her a few times, emailed with her.

But several years ago she was one of the Kentucky Gazette's notable women in Kentucky politics and government.

She was nominated for that and accepted for that.

>> And originally from Murray, and came to UK and loved this area and also, Barr noted, had a lot of connections to Eastern Kentucky.

She loved to.

I think he specifically mentioned folks in Menifee County that had a lot of connection.

All right, let's get to the 2026 legislative session.

Some education issues are popping up, some of it aimed at the state's two largest and financially troubled districts.

Senator Chris McDaniel had some tough words for the leadership of the Fayette County school system.

>> The outcry wasn't just there.

It was immense.

It just didn't come from the very few powerful in the educational establishment who think that they're entitled to the tax dollars of everyday Kentuckians without ever being questioned.

>> So Jefferson of the legislature clearly feel an obligation to get involved in the school financial issues of Fayette and Jefferson counties.

>> Yes, both of these districts are facing budget shortfalls after the end of Covid spending.

Fayette County was also there's been some reporting about some kind of lavish spending by the Board of Education there.

And so Senate Bill 76 would make it harder for school boards to those two school boards to pass occupational taxes.

And it right now the the Fayette County Board of Education wants to increase it.

But in the future, they would have to go to the voters to be able to do that.

>> They had to move to do it.

But the attorney general said, you can't do it that way.

And they backed off.

>> Right.

So these are lawmakers kind of getting involved in that process.

>> So we'll watch that.

And then Jefferson County's school leadership is proposing some major cuts to programs and personnel.

What's going on there.

>> So the district has a $188 million budget shortfall.

It's very big.

It is bigger than was previously predicted by the the last administration under former Superintendent Marty Polio.

We have a new superintendent now, Brian Yearwood.

And so he has proposed making $142 million worth of cuts this year.

He says that those cuts are going to target Central Office, which is what he has heard that the community wants.

They don't want to see personnel taken out of schools and classrooms.

But principals who have seen kind of the details, the preliminary details of that plan, say that they are looking at cuts to school level personnel, assistant principals, security administrators, some teachers and interventionists.

And so there are concerns that even though the messaging around this this budget plan is, is is about the central office employees who we don't we don't know who those employees are.

Yet.

Those details have not been released.

Schools are preparing to lose staff.

And so that has a lot of people in the community upset.

The the district is still negotiating with the teachers union over some of these cuts to things like stipends, equity funding and also still working through HR who they can lay off in central office.

>> How much correction would the cuts make to the situation.

>> So the even if they pass this budget and cut $142 million, they will still have a budget shortfall of about $40 million.

And so it's it's kind of a two year plan.

This is kind of taking the first big chunk out of that deficit.

And Yearwood says he believes that if the district does pass this plan this year, it will put the district on track to become financially stable in 2 to 3 years.

>> All right.

So then also over in the legislature, there is Senate Bill 114, which again is aimed at the state's two largest school districts and the makeup of their school boards, it would make it larger.

It would have a political party component.

Yes.

And members would be appointed by what?

County judges or mayors?

>> By the mayor?

Yes.

In this case.

So this this legislation, Senator Givens filed this today and it would make any school district with over 25,000 students.

It would make their boards no longer elected by the voters of that area.

And so that would right now only apply to Fayette County Public Schools and Jefferson County Public Schools.

Instead of the voters electing their school board, the school board members would be appointed by the mayor, or if it were a county that did not have a consolidated city urban government, it would be the the judge executive, and it would he would appoint or she would appoint 11 members and they would be divided by political party.

>> Yeah.

Well, we have not intermingled the, the schools and the local municipal or county governments in Kentucky, but some states do.

>> Some states do.

I mean, most notably, you know, New York, New York City schools.

The mayor is kind of the, you know, the top of the public school system there.

>> Okay.

That certainly is one to watch.

Other education legislation you're looking at.

>> Oh, there's so much this year.

SB one is another one that's the Senate priority bill.

And that would it seeks to reinstate a law that was recently overturned by the Kentucky Supreme Court that would remove authority from the Jefferson County Board of Education and give it to the superintendent.

So very, very much watching that one.

>> One that impacts all districts, lawmakers considering adjusting the law that governs how students can communicate with school personnel.

>> Yes.

So this was a this bill got a lot of buzz.

Senate Bill 181 and this went into effect this year.

It prohibited school staff from communicating with students privately electronically, because over the years, there's just been a lot of cases of educators using that.

A small number of educators using that method of communication to groom students for future sexual abuse.

And so the goal with that legislation was to make sure that communications are traceable by the district.

The teachers ended up having a lot of issues with this bill because it made it difficult to communicate in this new digital age that we're all living in.

They wanted more exemptions.

And so this bill kind of makes some adjustments to Senate Bill 181 and creates more exemptions, clarifies what's okay, what's not okay, so that teachers have more direction.

>> We'll watch to see what its final form is.

Universities have their wish lists.

EKU is pushing for a Health innovation facility.

They want to bring their 3000 health related major students into one facility, and also for funding for their proposed Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine program.

Eastern says that could significantly help with Kentucky shortage of primary care doctors.

Hannah will there be money for one time projects?

>> I think right now the general consensus is there will be money for one time projects, but it's not going to be to the spending level that the legislature had in 2024.

The GOP in the House still has yet to file their budget bills.

So the big question will be if there's less money, who gets these projects and what counties is it going to go to, more rural communities?

Is it going to go to cities like Louisville and Lexington?

I know there are a couple of representatives and senators who are really advocating that Louisville and Lexington, their respective cities, get the money, but it will be interesting to compare what the money looks like this year compared to 2024.

>> There's going to be a push to allow, conceal and carry permits for 18 to 20 year olds.

Right now, you have to be 21.

There's been some spirited debate on House Bill 312.

>> Our Second Amendment is clear.

The right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.

This legislation does not expand access, insomuch as it's already legal for individuals who are 18 through 20 years old to possess a firearm, and no aspect of this legislation changes any of the locations in which it's permissible for them to have that firearms.

>> In the military, we train 18, 19, 20 year olds extensively, extensively, and they don't get to conceal carry.

They get to use it when we tell them they can use it.

I've been talking to a lot of high school students, and their concern is not if they will be shot at, it's when.

>> It's very stark debate.

Laura, the wording of this is that it would allow for a provisional license to carry for those between 18 and 20.

>> Right.

It's interesting to note, too, that that Representative Stevenson is an Air Force veteran.

Yes.

Yeah.

So so she knows about that kind of stuff I think.

Yes it did.

It is it passed the House basically on a party line vote.

And it would allow 18, 19 and 20 year olds to get provisional permits to carry weapons.

>> Laura, what else are you watching in the legislature right now?

>> Well, a couple things I'm watching include the secretary of state came out in support of open primaries, and he said he doesn't expect the legislature to take that up this year.

But it is interesting.

There are about 400,000 Kentuckians registered outside the two major parties who do not get to vote in the primary elections.

And so that's one thing, not necessarily in the legislature that I'm watching, but it is a topic I'm keeping an eye on.

Another is the housing shortage.

There's there was talk before the session of allowing religious institutions to build housing.

And we're seeing we've seen a project like that here in Lexington.

Woodland Christian Church has built a small apartment complex on their campus near Woodland Park.

And I think there are 30 some apartment units in that building.

So I expect that the GOP majority has said they will incentivize housing, affordable housing.

>> Hannah what are you paying attention to right now in Frankfort?

>> One thing I'm paying attention to is to see if they, Republicans will push to reduce the income tax.

I know, Representative Jason Nemes said before the session started, he was he was going to be an advocate to reduce it by 0.5%, 0.5 percent, again, even though they technically did not meet the triggers.

So we'll see if we get a bill like that.

If we get a bill maybe between 0.25 and 0.5.

And another thing I'm watching and interested in is constitutional amendments.

I think we've seen over two dozen introduced in both the House and Senate combined.

>> So you can only have four.

>> You can only have four on the ballot.

And that's something that Senate President Robert Stivers had pointed out is, you know, we could have four on the ballot.

We could have two.

We could have none.

It really just depends what the appetite there is for between the House and Senate.

>> Governor Beshear made his way to Davos, Switzerland, where he has been trying to talk up doing business in Kentucky.

>> Hey everybody, it's Andy.

Brittany and I are finishing up a busy day in Helsinki.

We met with four companies that employ about 800 people in Kentucky, and a ton more that are looking to make Kentucky their new Kentucky home.

Proud to represent us on this national stage.

We're going to make sure we bring home opportunity.

>> Lara, is this an opportunity for Beshear as well to be seen on that world stage?

>> I think so, as we know, he has perhaps has presidential aspirations.

But him going to Davos does give Kentucky a national or an international stage.

Kentucky has a lot of international businesses here.

Canada is one of our biggest trading partners.

And even though Republicans criticize him going and spending taxpayer dollars, the state does have economic development offices in Hamburg, Germany and in Tokyo.

So we already fund those international economic development levels at offices at the state level.

>> But Hannah, there is a bill in the legislature to attempt to restrict beshear's travels.

>> There is and that was filed by Republican Representative TJ Roberts.

I believe Beshear would need the state Treasurer's approval to use those dollars.

This doesn't come as a surprise.

We've seen in the past the legislature sort of trying to rein in Beshear's powers as governor.

And I believe House Speaker Osborne kind of hinted he will also have a bill that would limit as to what Governor Beshear can join in terms of lawsuits.

>> The third Kentucky medical marijuana dispensary is set to open this month.

The supply of the product is limited.

I know the medical marijuana program is slowly rolling out here in Kentucky.

There was a ten month investigation leading to charges against more than two dozen people through the Department of Fish and Wildlife.

Operation River raid targeted the illegal commercial harvest and sale of catfish, apparently being transferred to lakes out of those larger lakes, a reminder that Kentucky is under a winter storm warning travel could be difficult or impossible, and utility companies are preparing for the possibility of outages.

[MUSIC] The advice is that all Kentuckians should be ready for disruptions for some hope.

We do note that the Kentucky Derby is 99 days away.

[MUSIC] That's comment on Kentucky.

Thanks for joining us.

Have a good week ahead.

[MUSIC] .