By Tom Latek
Kentucky Today
Planned Parenthood stands to lose any shot it had at government funding for family planning under a bill signed into law by Gov. Matt Bevin on Tuesday.
The law will puts Planned Parenthood at the back of the line among organizations seeking family planning funding in Kentucky.
Bevin has signed more than 50 bills into law since the start of this year’s legislative session, including another on Tuesday that allows attacks on police officers and other first responders to be prosecuted as hate crimes.
Sen. Max Wise, R-Campbellsville, sponsored the Planned Parenthood legislation, which established a tiered system for distributing federal family planning dollars (LRC Public Information Photo)
While the so-called “Blue Lives Matter Law” doesn’t increase penalties against those convicted of committing a hate crime, it is considered when violaters come up law, it is included when it comes time to consider probation or parole.
Kentucky becomes only the second state, beside Louisiana, to enact such a law.
With the family planning funding law, pro-life advocates hope that, after health departments and similar organizations receive their money, none would be left for Planned Parenthood.
Sen. Max Wise, R-Campbellsville, sponsored the legislation, which established a tiered system for distributing federal family planning dollars.
“This would place Planned Parenthood, which does not provide comprehensive health services at the back of the line for federal family planning dollars,” Wise said last week.
Kentucky lawmakers have make implementation of the law dependent on Congress reversing the Obama administration’s action blocking states from withholding funds from Planned Parenthood affiliates. Wise said he included that provision to protect Kentucky against potential lawsuits.
Planned Parenthood supporters said the organization has voluntarily stopped accepting those family planning funds for its Kentucky operations. But Wise said he hopes his bill would cut off that funding source if Planned Parenthood seeks the dollars again.
Kentucky officially joins 43 other states allowing charter schools
Kentucky has officially joined 43 other states that allow publicly funded charter schools, providing an alternative that parents in some failing school districts had long sought.
Bevin signed the charter school bill into law on Tuesday, records from the secretary of state’s office show.
Lawmakers passed the legislation last week after one final push from Bevin and Education Secretary Hal Heiner.
State Rep. Bam Carney, R-Campbellsville, said last week that 90 percent of Kentucky’s schools are providing quality educations to their students, but, he said, that leaves 10 percent that are not.
“Ninety percent, for me, isn’t good enough,” he said.
The legislation had faced major opposition from the Kentucky Education Association and many public school administrators who feared that they would lose students and state funding as the charter schools open. Bevin, however, said schools will be forced to improve their performance if they have to compete for students, as has happened in other states.
“In fact, competition has heightened everyone’s game,” he told lawmakers. “Children are better for it.”
Louisville Pastor Jerry Stephenson made a strong case for lawmakers to pass the legislation, telling them only 7 percent of black students in Jefferson Country schools meet academic standards for college, and 81 percent read below grade level.
“That’s criminal,” he said.
Lawmakers return to Frankfort March 29 and 30 for the final two days of the legislative session.
