Indiana’s recently-passed “right-to-work” bill was still on the minds of many Jeffersonville residents when Governor Mitch Daniels visited this evening for a town hall meeting and book signing at the public library.

About two dozen union protestors stood outside the library holding signs during Daniels’ talk, which was briefly disrupted by chants that could be heard through a nearby window.

During a question and answer session, Daniels defended the Republican-led legislation, which he says will spur job growth. Labor unions say it will drive down wages and diminish work quality.

On another matter, Daniels said he’s comfortable with his decision not to run for president.

“Having been through this for quite a long time, it’s kind of funny to me that you should have to explain why you don’t want to run for President of the United States. I’m tempted to say ‘what sensible person would want to run for president?’” he said.

Daniels decided last year not to seek the GOP nomination after consulting with his family.

A proposal to raise Kentucky’s dropout age to 18 years old has passed a major hurdle.

The state Senate approved a bill today that allows individual school districts to decide whether to raise the dropout age and requires participating schools to have alternative education programs. The bill passed overwhelming, 35-2, with two Democratic senators voting against because of the local option. Republican Senator Julie Denton also didn’t like the local option, but she voted in favor of the measure.

“I think it is a good thing, I’m hopeful that we can go further later in the session,” Denton said. “And if not this session, then sessions to come so that we have uniformity across the state.”

A version of the bill in the House does not have the local option or alternative education provisions. Senator David Williams, once an opponent of the higher dropout age, defended the Senate version in chamber.

“If it’s important and they think they have the facilities let them do that,” Williams said. “But to say we don’t want to let local people decide, we know what’s best for them, let’s tell them how to spend their money and not send money to them, which is a typical big government argument. Let’s mandate them to do it and not pay them for it. I’m for this bill. I think it’s a reasonable offer.

Raising the dropout age has been a major goal of Governor Steve Beshear and First Lady Jane Beshear. It’s unclear if Beshear completely supports the Senate bill, though he has said it’s encouraging.

U.S. House Republicans are again attacking new environmental regulations that limit the amount of mercury and other pollution power plants can emit. The new rules were finalized in December, and were the subject of a House subcommittee meeting today.

The hearing, led by Kentucky Congressman Ed Whitfield, essentially can be summarized like this: Republicans question all of the data released by the Environmental Protection Agency, including the cost of the regulations and their effect on the economy.

Kentucky Congressman Ed Whitfield chairs the subcommittee.

“We’ve repeatedly asked, we’ve sent questions, we’ve sent letters, we’ve called, asking for the total cost,” he said. “And we still have no total cost. And we know this is the most costly regulation relating to utilities that EPA has ever submitted.”

Gina McCarthy is the EPA’s Assistant Administrator for the Office of Air. She told Whitfield that the agency estimates the rule will cost $9.6 billion to implement in its first year, 2016. But McCarthy says it will generate anywhere from $37 to $90 billion a year in benefits (mostly health benefits), and cause a net increase in jobs.

She told the committee that coal-fired power plants will still be able to operate under the rules.

“The only thing we’re doing in this rule in particular is using available cost-effective controls to minimize harmful emissions of toxic chemicals that are impacting American families,” McCarthy said. “That does not mean that we are precluding any type of energy from being utilized or constructed.”

But this was greeted with some skepticism, as members of the committee referenced other EPA rules limiting pollution from natural gas drilling.

A fourth site has been opened in Jefferson County for a program that helps immigrant families with literacy and education.

Through the National Center for Family Literacy, Jefferson County Public Schools offers classes through NCFL’s Toyota Family Literacy Program, which servers parents and students at Klondike, Rangeland and Slaughter elementary schools. Now Buechel United Methodist Church is hosting a program aimed at immigrant families from Mexico.

Recent census shows a need for the family literacy program, said Shanon Darling (pictured), president of the NCFL located in Louisville since 1989.

“From 2000 to 2010, two-thirds of the population growth in Jefferson County is from immigrant families. So that is our future,” said Darling.

The program offers parents a chance to learn alongside their JCPS student, targeting K-3 students. Classes are offered to parents both during the day and at night and data shows the program works, said JCPS Superintendent Donna Hargens.

“Children of the participants in the program improved in all eight key areas, including academic progress, motivation to learn, classroom involvement and classroom behavior,” she said.

But the partnership between NCFL and Jefferson County Public Schools has struggled to meet the demand. So far this year, the program has served 83 families, with around 45 families on the waiting list.

NCFL has offered programs in Jefferson County that previously served over 100 families a year, but money is running out. The current program is paid for through JCPS funds and a three-year-old $600,000 grant, which isn’t likely to be available next year, but the district will continue to rely on state and local funds to sustain the service, said JCPS officials.

The program has served 83 families this year and has nearly 40 families on the waiting list; but participation in NCFL programs has decreased as funding has been cut.

Efforts to redraw Kentucky’s U.S. House districts are dead in the General Assembly.

State House Speaker Greg Stumbo made that declaration after the state Senate could not agree to the latest compromise on district maps. 

“I think that ship has sailed, that bell’s rung,” Stumbo said. “I think the Secretary of State will have to certify those folks as the candidates and so the current status of law is that in my opinion they would run in the current Congressional district.”

The filing deadline for Congressional candidates passed earlier this week. Those who have filed will run in the current districts.

However, it’s possible someone will sue over the lack of new maps and let the courts handle federal redistricting.

The redrawing of state legislative lines is also in limbo. Lawmakers are likely to appeal a ruling that threw out new district maps.

Kentucky House Speaker Greg Stumbo says an appeal is likely in the ongoing court battle over redistricting.

Franklin Circuit Court Judge Phillip Shepherd declared new district maps unconstitutional Tuesday. Stumbo says he’d like to take the ruling to the state Supreme Court.

The only question is whether the Legislative Research Commission or House leadership will file the appeal.

“Our initial position will be we’ll ask the court to uphold the constitutionality and validity of House Bill 1 and lift the injunction,’” Stumbo says. “But if they don’t do that, then obviously we told our members and recommended to our members that they prepare to run in the old districts.

It’s unclear if Senate leadership will want to appeal as well.

Kentucky lawmakers held their annual celebration of Black History Month in Frankfort today, the ninth such celebration.

The program included a presentation of the book Two Centuries of Black Louisville and three new inductions into the Gallery of Great Black Kentuckians—the late higher education advocate William Blakey, the late Urban League Director Arthur Walters and current state Senator Gerald Neal

“It’s important to celebrate what we call Black History because in doing so we are actually celebrating our history,” said Governor Steve Beshear at the event. “Kentucky’s history as a commonwealth and as a people and as a human race.”

In his remarks, House Speaker Greg Stumbo agreed with Beshear’s remarks.

“[The] History of Black America and African Americans is the history ofAmerica,” he said. “It’s a struggle for freedom, for equality, for decent educational opportunities, a decent place to raise your children.”

The program was presented by the Black Legislative Caucus, which is made up of state representatives and senators.

Kentucky’s private Medicaid providers say they need immediate changes in the state Medicaid system. Kentucky turned the system over to managed care providers four months ago. And today doctors, pharmacists and hospital executives told a Senate committee how disastrous the change has been.

Kentucky currently contracts with four Managed Care Organizations, known as MCOs. Passport is based in Louisville, while Kentucky Spirit, WellCare and Coventry Cares operate statewide.

The providers say the three statewide MCOs are mismanaged and ineffective. They say their claims aren’t reimbursed on time, and the MCOs aren’t consistent about pre-authorizing treatments and medication.

Shawn Jones is a doctor in Paducah and the president of the Kentucky Medical Association. He says the pre-authorization system needs to be overhauled.

“This bureaucratic nightmare needs to change,” Jones said. “First the MCOs need to pare down the number of procedures and treatments that require pre-authorization. Second, they need more uniform and timely processes to review the pre-authorization requests, and thirdly some sort of appeals process should be established.”

Jones said in one case, he wasn’t able to get pre-authorization for a child’s birth until after the child was born.

Previously, independent pharmacists told the legislature’s program review committee that their businesses were being killed off by slow repayments.  Today, the pharmacists continued to say that MCOs are underpaying, paying late or refusing to allow medicine to be given out.

Riverdell Behavior Center CEO Janice Richardson says if that process isn’t reformed, serious incidents will occur.

“We’re not able to give them the medicines that have been proven to help them,” Richardson says. “And based on that it is a consensus from at least the psychiatric and behavioral facilities that somebody’s gonna get hurt. And it’s gonna be bad when it happens.”

Some providers said that four months in, such serious problems shouldn’t be occurring. The problems aren’t central to one MCO either. The providers said CoventryCares is the easiest to work with on dental issues, but the worst with hospitals. Many also complained about Kentucky Spirit.

The only organization not criticized was Passport, which has operated in the Louisville area for more than a decade.

The Cabinet for Health and Family Services, which oversees the managed care program, says it’s continuing to help providers and MCOs with issues. The MCOs are expected to testify in committee next week.

Kentucky Justice Secretary J. Michael Brown has named an acting deputy commissioner for the Department of Juvenile Justice.

The position has been vacant since the beginning of the year. It will now be filled by Diana McGuire.

McGuire served as division director for the department since 2001. She was responsible for overall administration of the Eastern Region Division for Juvenile Justice.

McGuire has worked with troubled youth for nearly 40 years. She began her career in 1973 and has worked in educational tutoring and in supervising roles. She later joined Morehead Youth Development Center as a juvenile counselor.

McGuire holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in corrections from Eastern Kentucky University and she served as an adjunct professor at Morehead State University for more than 10 years.

McGuire follows the appointment of Juvenile Justice Commissioner Hasan Davis last month.

Calling them “juvenile” and “petty”, Louisville Metro Councilman Jon Ackerson, R-18, is lashing out at his Republican colleagues for endorsing a Tea Party challenger in the upcoming GOP primary.

Six of the eight remaining Republican councilmen publicly support Marilyn Parker over Ackerson and have alleged he sided with Democrats on several issues after receiving preferential treatment during redistricting. Both Ackerson and Democratic leaders deny the allegation, but Republican Caucus Chairman Ken Fleming, R-7 told WFPL Ackerson can’t be trusted with fulfilling the party’s agenda.

Ackerson says he has been a lifelong Republican, but the partisanship that has created gridlock in Washington and Frankfort is now in the council.

“Ken Fleming, our leader here in Jefferson County wants a radical right Tea Party person to serve rather than someone that’s willing to work with not only Republicans but with Democrats on issues of common concern,” he says.

Ackerson says council Republicans are applying a litmus test to being a member of the party and their efforts will backfire. He denied rumors that he plans to switch parties over the endorsement.

But Republican leaders on the council have confirmed the caucus has discussed Ackerson’s activities, but Fleming says the group hasn’t made a decision if they can or will take any disciplinary action.

Ackerson says the endorsement and possible reprimand show council Republicans are more interested in litmus tests than good government.

“I’m not concerned with whatever ‘punishment’ they want to inflict on me. That’s entirely up to their petty call. I have never heard such juvenile talk amongst what’s supposed to be responsible, mature individuals as punishing someone because they don’t vote the way you dictate to them. If they want to send me to the woodshed, let them try,” he says.

Council GOP staff and leaders promise the endorsement won’t hurt their policy initiatives. The Republican caucus is scheduled to meet tomorrow (Thursday