Legislative Update: House passes policies focused on education and underground excavation

Legislation to change the makeup of the Kentucky Board of Education also moved forward Thursday after passing through the House with a 78-16 vote.

House Bill 178, sponsored by Rep. Steve Sheldon, seeks to bring balance and stability to the Kentucky Board of Education by requiring board appointments reflect equal gender representation and proportionally reflect the Commonwealth’s political affiliation and minority racial composition.

House Bill 303, sponsored by Rep. Sal Santoro, would set up a system for proactive communications between utility companies and excavators to better plan for marking underground facilities before excavation passed through the House with a 94-0 vote Thursday.

The legislation, which has been referred to as the “dig” bill, would ensure reasonable timeframes for operators to complete normal locates and establish timeframes for large project requests, unmapped or untonable facilities, standardize requirements for locating and digging around facilities in a way that is more in line with national industry standard, establish uniform practices, and more.

Both bills now move to the Senate for consideration in committee.