A wide array of bills were heard in committees and voted out of the Senate in a busy and exciting third week of the 2017 Session. Because this year’s 30-day meeting of the Kentucky General Assembly is considered a “short session,” we make sure we maximize our time here in Frankfort.
Senate Bill 14, which strengthens penalties for trafficking in heroin, is a bill I have been working on for years. It unanimously passed the Senate this year with bipartisan support for the first time ever. Since 2011, when the Kentucky General Assembly went soft on heroin dealers, our county has been ravaged by a heroin scourge. I hope this year the House will pass this legislation and the governor will sign it, finally bringing justice to those who deal death to our young people.
Sen. John Schickel
Another important piece of legislation the Senate passed this week was SB 1, which is comprehensive education reform that is desperately needed to help our schools. With approval from teachers, administrators, and other education stakeholders from across the commonwealth, SB 1 allows teachers to teach and returns control to our local districts. I am happy to report this bill passed the Senate with bipartisan support and is now heading to the House for consideration.
We also passed SB 117, which would allow a veteran with a bachelor’s degree in any area to be issued a provisional teaching certificate if other criteria are met. This legislation would ultimately make it easier for veterans to teach in a classroom. I am dedicated to helping our veterans easily integrate back into the workplace, and this bill is one tool in the toolbox to do just that.
The Senate has already started to receive House bills, and we have sent Senate bills to the House for its approval. Many of you have already reached out to me regarding certain pieces of legislation, and I appreciate your input and concerns.
I urge you to continue making your voices heard in Frankfort.
It was great to have so many visitors in Frankfort this past week, including the Florence Rotary; the newly-formed Boone County Federation of Republican Women, many of whom are county officials; and fellow bus driver Jim Holland, whose daughter paged for me.
If you have any questions or comments about these issues or any other public policy issue, please call me toll-free at 1-800-372-7181 or email me at John.Schickel@LRC.ky.gov. You can also review the Legislature’s work online at www.lrc.ky.gov.
Senator John Schickel (R-Union) represents the 11th District in Boone County. He serves as chairman of the Senate Licensing, Occupations and Administrative Regulations Committee; as well as a member of the Senate Banking and Insurance Committee; Judiciary Committee; Natural Resources and Energy Committee; and the Budget Review Subcommittee on Justice and Judiciary.
Legalization of Cannabis is your solution to the Heroin epidemic. Check the reduction rate of Heroin users in Legal states. Please hear our bills. Senator Schickel. We have been waiting for years now. Lives could be saved and pain alleviated. The War on Drugs has failed. Giving stronger sentences is not the solution.
http://m.maysville-online.com/news/local/medical-cannabis-bills-filed-in-house-and-senate/article_daf049d7-5632-52bd-b653-2536c0152a4c.html
I suffer from a debilitating genetic condition called Ehlers Danlos Syndrome. I Suffer and wait for Cannabis reform. Please don’t punish patients a moment longer. Patients are suffering while waiting for our representation to move. Legalize Cannabis
Cannabis legalization is the step this state needs to take. Not only for the medicinal benefits, but the economic ones as well. Until recently kentucky was the number 2 producer of cannabis in the country. It’s been here, it’s going to stay here legal or not. There’s billions to be made and countless lives could be made better with cannabis consumption as opposed to a pill for everything. It’s been proven that overdose deaths in states with recreational cannabis have fallen. Teen use has fallen in those states as well. And those states economies are growing at amazing rates. It’s time America grew up and stop the reefer madness. It’s here to stay.