Race to the Bottom

I'm deeply discouraged by the announcement of Churchill Downs and Keeneland today regarding their plans for a racetrack in Oak Grove.  As I have been since I first ran for the Senate, I am staunchly opposed to gaming – it is a regressive tax, targeting the middle and lower income earners, and in this case, the military families that live in and around Christian County, many of whom already live on meager salaries.

I believe gaming is bad for the area and the rest of the Commonwealth, and the opening of a racetrack, while adding a few jobs and bringing in some revenue, comes at too steep a price for the community.

Unfortunately, I don't have a vote on this in the legislature, but it is my sincere hope the racing commission denies their application for a license.  If I have any influence on the project I hope that I can stop it.  I'm for all the jobs and economic development we can find for Christian, Todd and Logan counties (and the rest of Kentucky), but not from gambling.  I wish there was a way to help Kentucky’s signature Thoroughbred industry thrive without it.

Sen. Westerfield Named Co-Chair

Earlier this year, the National Conference of State Legislatures named me, along with a colleague from the Nebraska Senate, as Co-Chair of a newly formed Juvenile Justice Principles Working Group.  My Co-Chair and I have been working with NCSL staff over the last few months to prepare for the group's upcoming meetings this year.  We aim to produce a report, or white paper of sorts, to guide states looking at reforming their juvenile justice systems.  Here's my release about the news:

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For Immediate Release
Contact: John Cox
859-492-2963
John.Cox@LRC.KY.GOV

SENATOR WHITNEY WESTERFIELD APPOINTED AS CO-CHAIRMAN OF NCSL JUVENILE JUSTICE PRINCIPLES WORK GROUP

FRANKFORT, Ky. (June 5, 2017) – State Senator Whitney Westerfield was recently appointed as co-chairman to the newly-established Juvenile Justice Principles Working Group, a subset of the National Conference of State Legislature’s (NCSL) Law, Criminal Justice And Public Safety Committee.

“It is easier to build strong children than to repair broken men.”

— Frederick Douglass

According to NCSL, the purpose of the juvenile justice work group is to discuss and develop a set of principles of effective juvenile justice state policy that NCSL will publish as a report to guide policy review and reform in the states. The report is intended to identify policy-making strategies that are rooted in research, reflect bipartisan/nonpartisan values, and help states invest in proven methods to put justice-involved youth back on the right track, while also keeping communities safe.  The principles and report will be an important tool that state lawmakers can apply both now and well into the future.

Senator Westerfield, the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee and a member of both the Juvenile Justice Oversight Council and Governor Matt Bevin’s Criminal Justice Policy Assessment Council, thanked NCSL for the appointment. “Our work in the juvenile justice system here in Kentucky has set a national standard, giving a template for several other states to follow, yet we still have so much to do to improve outcomes for youth and improve public safety,” said Senator Westerfield. “I thank NCSL for this opportunity and I look forward to bringing my experience to the table, working with many dedicated men and women from across the United States to shape policy that will help our children in Kentucky and across the country.”

The Juvenile Justice Principles Working Group’s first meeting is June 6-8. Senator Westerfield championed Kentucky's comprehensive juvenile justice reform in 2014, and the Commonwealth's 2017 criminal justice reform law, Senate Bill 120, and will be presiding at two of the conference’s meetings. Those meetings will focus on juvenile justice research and data and juvenile justice reform, both for which Senator Westerfield has been an advocate in Kentucky.
 

The National Conference of State Legislatures was established in 1975 and is a bipartisan, non-governmental organization dedicated to the success of state legislatures. NCSL has three main objectives: improve the quality and effectiveness of state legislatures; promote policy innovation and communication among state legislatures; and ensure state legislatures have a strong, cohesive voice in the federal system.

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SB120

After seven months of work by Governor Matt Bevin's Criminal Justice Policy Assessment Council, or "CJPAC," SB120 was filed to make changes to the criminal justice system to achieve two goals:

• Improve Public Safety
• Enhance the Administration of Criminal Justice

Below I've included the committee substitute ("SB 120 PSS1" – SB 120 Proposed Senate Substitute 1) which will be considered in committee tomorrow.  The substitute makes additional edits to the bill as it was filed, requested by various stakeholder groups.  I've also included a section-by-section summary of the contents of the committee substitute, and a brief one-page summary of the major policy highlights of the bill.

Defense

Over the course of the historic first week of the 2017 Regular Session two bills were passed that aimed to give greater information to women seeking an abortion and to restrict when abortion should be available because the unborn child can feel pain from the procedure.

House Bill 2 – The Ultrasound Informed Consent Act

HB2 require an ultrasound be performed prior to an abortion so that the mother can be fully informed about the procedure and the life she carries before making the decision to choose abortion.

Senate Bill 5 – Pain Capable Unborn Child Protection Act

SB5 prohibits abortions after the 20th week of pregnancy, except in cases of medical emergencies, because the babies can feel pain.

Both bills contained emergency clauses, making them take legal effect immediately upon the Governor's signature.  The ACLU promptly sued the Commonwealth over HB2 (ultrasound) on the grounds the bill is unconstitutional.  I disagree.

Unfortunately, the duty of defending the law falls on the shoulders of an attorney general I have little faith will actually work hard to defend the law's constitutionality.  And General Beshear removed all doubt with the following press statement on the matter:

As attorney general, it is my duty to enforce the Constitution. It is also my duty to defend laws where the constitutionality is questionable and finality is needed. Adhering to these duties is why, after close review, my office will defend the agencies sued over House Bill 2 that seek our representation. Whether a mandatory ultrasound and explanation is constitutional has split the two federal appellate circuits that have directly addressed it. The Sixth Circuit that includes Kentucky, has not rendered a decision. I will advise that this matter has risks and potential costs, which resulted in over $1 million in legal fees to North Carolina, which lost its defense. Conversely, my office will not represent the state on any challenge to Senate Bill 5, the 20-week ban. This law is clearly unconstitutional based on our review of numerous federal appellate rulings, which state that identical statutes in other jurisdictions are illegal under numerous Supreme Court decisions. While these decisions may not please advocates on either side, my duty is to the law.

Given the AG's lukewarm support for legislation protecting human life, passed by an overwhelming bipartisan number of legislators representing the vast majority of the people of the Commonwealth, I joined with the House Judiciary Chair, Hon. Joseph Fischer; the Speaker of the House, Hon. Jeff Hoover; and the President of the Senate, Hon. Robert Stivers, in filing an amicus brief in support of HB2.

You can view the brief and other court filings right here:

Note the detail and passion of the General's response to the ACLU's motion for the temporary restraining order to temporarily stop the ultrasound requirement.  Spoiler Alert: "...the Attorney General does not take a position on the Plaintiffs' Motion for a Temporary Restraining Order." 

Here's the ACLU lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of HB2 if you care to read it:

DMC

UPDATE:  On November 28th, staff for the Department of Juvenile Justice and the Administrative Office of the Courts informed me that the data contained in this post is not statewide data, but rather specifically from Jefferson County.  I'll update this post with statewide data once the agencies have provided it.

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Over the last two years the Juvenile Justice Oversight Council (JJOC), created by Senate Bill (SB) 200's juvenile justice reforms, has overseen the implementation of that landmark legislation.  In the time since its enactment we have already seen positive outcomes with fewer kids ending up in the court system and being placed, unwisely and expensively, out of home.  This is still the early days of the reforms, but the preliminary indications are very good, and show the bill is improving outcomes for kids without diminishing public safety.

While we continue to discuss and dissect the rollout of this enormous reform bill, our work on the council also includes exploring policy areas that SB 200 didn't directly address.  At the top of that to-do list is an area of policy work that demands our attention and awareness: Disproportionate Minority Contact, or "DMC."  In Kentucky's juvenile justice system, a system Lady Justice demonstrates should be blind, is evidence that minority children are treated differently.

First, it is important to put the data in context.  Remember as you read through this column that as of 2014, Kentucky's youth population (10 to 17 year olds) roughly breaks down to 83 percent white, 10 percent black, 5 percent Hispanic and 2 percent Asian.

In 2015, statewide status offense (a status offense is not a crime but is an offense only because the person committing it is a juvenile, including truancy, possession of tobacco, running away) detentions already demonstrate a disproportionate reality, with 13 percent of those cases belonging to black youth, compared to 77 percent white youth.

With over 1,700 school complaints during the 2015-2016 school year (statewide) we see a vivid image of DMC.  Nearly 1,200 of them were complaints about black youth.  Here are a few other takeaways from this statewide data:

Black youth had nearly the same number of truancy complaints at 322 as white youth at 314 (remember the 83 percent vs. 10 percent).  Still more jarring is the difference in the disorderly conduct complaint category, wherein white youth make up 35 school complaints compared to the 226 lodged against black youth.  On the charge of Assault in the 3rd Degree (the attempted or actual assault on a teacher, law enforcement officer, first responder and other select professions; a class D felony) black youth had 92 school complaints compared to 17 for white youth.  To do the math for you, the percentage comparisons between white and black kids are grossly disproportionate relative to their respective share of the youth population: Truancy – 45 percent black, 44 percent white; Disorderly Conduct – 85 percent black, 13% white; Assault – 80 percent black, 15 percent white.

2015-2016 School Year, Complaints By Race

Complaint data provided by the Administrative Office of the Courts

I wish the data stopped there, but it does not.  Between 2014 and 2016, the likelihood that a juvenile would be deemed a "youthful offender," which means they're prosecuted in Circuit Court for felonies as an adult, has declined for white youth but has increased for black youth.  In 2014, 41 percent of youthful offenders were white, compared to 50% percent black (itself a disproportionate statistic), but the data from 2016 shows those two groups at 19 percent and 71 percent, respectively.

2014-2016 Youthful Offenders By Race (%)

Data provided by DJJ Juvenile Justice Resource Information (JORI) System

This is simply wrong.

Over the last few months the JJOC has heard hours of testimony about DMC in Kentucky and steps already underway to address it.  The September meeting of the JJOC was entirely about the subject.  Prior to the meeting I made a formal request to each member of the council to come prepared with policy recommendations, and they delivered.  I have already begun work on legislation I intend to introduce in the 2017 session to end this miscarriage of justice for minority youth and I intend to include many of these recommendations.  In the 2016 session I sponsored SB 270 that would have required the most prominent state agencies involved in the juvenile justice system to collect data on race, identify DMC in their own systems, and develop and implement plans to eliminate it to the extent they can.  That bill failed to pass, but I am not giving up.  The numbers are painfully clear that we must take steps to eliminate implicit bias in our system wherever it exists, to improve the community resources for troubled youth regardless of their skin color, and to make certain Lady Justice remains blind.