2015 session gets underway, Right to Work will be Senate Bill 1

With the first day of the 2015 General Assembly complete, a number of bills have been filed which are top priorities for the Kentucky Chamber.

Senate Bill 1 (Stivers), the Senate’s top priority, is legislation that would make Kentucky a Right to Work State, which would prohibit requiring any worker to join a union as a condition of employment.  The Chamber believes union membership should be a matter of personal choice, and the freedom not to affiliate with a labor union is no less deserving of protection that the freedom to affiliate.  As Kentucky struggles to recruit new businesses and retain existing ones, the failure to pass Right to Work legislation has greatly hindered our competitive edge.  Kentucky is the only southern state not to have enacted this legislation.

Senate Bill 3 (Hornback), modernizes Kentucky’s telecommunications law.  This bill has passed the Senate the past two years but has never received a floor vote in the House.  The Chamber supports Senate Bill 3 as it would eliminate unnecessary and outdated retail based regulatory burdens that serve only to stifle investment in the technology infrastructure upon which jobs of the future will depend.

Senate Bill 5, sponsored by Sen. Chris McDaniel, addresses the rising heroin epidemic in Kentucky by strengthening penalties for heroin dealers and increasing treatment resources. There is bipartisan support to address the heroin issue and lawmakers had pre-filed seven different bills related to the topic before the start of the session. The Chamber supports legislation to address this epidemic. In addition to families, an alarming number of businesses are greatly affected by this addiction.

The House announced their top priority on December 19.  House Bill 1 (Stumbo) would create a constitutional amendment to give local communities the option to place an additional sales tax of up to one cent on the ballot for voter approval. The Kentucky Chamber supports this initiative as it allows cities and counties the choice and flexibility to invest in their own community.

It is critical for success of these important business issues that you let your legislators know you support these initiatives.  Call 1-800-372-7181 and let your legislator know of your support.