KCAA 2014 Distinguished Legislator of the Year

LEXINGTON, KY — Third District State Senator Whitney Westerfield was selected as the 2014 Legislator of the Year by the Kentucky County Attorney Association (KCAA) on Thursday, August 21, at the annual Prosecutors Conference in Lexington. The award was made by Christian County Attorney J. Michael Foster, President of the KCAA.

Foster praised Senator Westerfield, who serves as Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, for being “sensitive and attuned to the needs of prosecutors in the state.”  During the 2014 General Assembly session, Senator Westerfield spearheaded significant revisions of the state juvenile justice code designed to reduce the number of juvenile status offenders who are incarcerated by the Commonwealth. 

Senator Westerfield’s Senate Bill 200 was the result of a two year-long study of juvenile offender issues by the Task Force on the Unified Juvenile, created by the 2012 General Assembly and reauthorized by the 2013 General Assembly.  Senate Bill 200 passed the 2014 General Assembly and was signed into law by the Governor. Foster noted that Senator Westerfield did an “amazing job” of listening to the concerns of the county attorneys as the issue was being studied and the bill was being drafted, and incorporating prosecutors’ suggestions into the substance of the bill.

Foster also praised Senator Westerfield for his work on legislation in the 2014 General Assembly impacting the traffic safety programs run by county attorneys. Fees from these programs help cover the county attorney office expenses.  Foster stated that Westerfield “went to war for us” over this legislation in order to protect this funding stream.

Senator Westerfield, a former Assistant Commonwealth's Attorney in Christian County, expressed his gratitude to the KCAA for the award and his camaraderie with the prosecutors who daily work to protect the safety of communities and families across Kentucky saying, "As a former prosecutor, I am particularly proud of this award, and thankful I can continue fighting for public safety in the Kentucky Senate.

Human Trafficking Bill Signed

Sen. Westerfield and Rep. Tilley praisenew human-trafficking law signed today

Frankfort – With Gov. Beshear’s signature this morning of House Bill 3, Kentucky now has an important new tool to tackle human trafficking, state Rep. John Tilley and Sen. Whitney Westerfield said today. As co-chairmen of the General Assembly’s Judiciary Committee, they played influential roles in getting the bill passed unanimously through the House and Senate. Both said it is considered “model” legislation nationally by experts and advocates for the issue. “As we unfortunately saw just earlier this month in a Clarksville, Tenn., case having ties to Hopkinsville, this is a crime that knows no geographic bounds,” said Rep. Tilley, D-Hopkinsville, who was a sponsor of the bill. “This law, however, will go a long way in helping us to fight back while better protecting the victims.” “We’re hearing more and more stories from law enforcement about this crime, which is often referred to as ‘modern-day slavery,’” said Rep. Westerfield, R-Hopkinsville. “With this new law, it will be a lot easier for police officers and prosecutors to go after the traffickers and, hopefully, to keep others from ever coming to Kentucky. We also call on anyone who has information about this crime to report it to the proper authorities.” House Bill 3 builds on earlier law adopted in 2007. Since then, more than 100 human-trafficking victims have been identified across the state, with more than half being children and most being female, according to the Kentucky Association of Sexual Assault Programs. Under the updated law, those charged with human trafficking will now face tougher penalties, including seizure of assets used in the crime and a $10,000 fine that will go into a fund dedicated to helping human-trafficking victims. There also will also be more training to help law enforcement be better prepared in these cases. Human-trafficking victims, meanwhile, will not be charged with crimes they were forced to commit, such as prostitution. Instead, they will be eligible for state services provided by the Cabinet for Health and Human Services. “This is one of this year’s biggest laws, and I’m proud I could play a role,” Rep. Tilley said. “I want to thank Sen. Westerfield for his work as well, because he was key to its passage in the Senate.” Sen. Westerfield said the work on this legislation “shows just what can happen when we work together in a bipartisan way. I’m proud to see it become law and stand ready to do more if we need to.”

Week In Review - March 15

FRANKFORT – The clock is ticking down the last moments of the 2013 General Assembly Session. We had two intense days in which we worked close to midnight as the Senate and the House tried to achieve compromise on legislation.

After much negotiation, House Bill 1 brings transparency and accountability to the more than 1,200 special taxing districts across the state. Most of these public library boards, fire departments, and other local taxing districts provide outstanding services to their communities, but taxpayers are sometimes left in the dark on how their money is being spent. The bill would put education and ethics rules in place for these special-purpose entities and would require them to publish their financial statements online and conduct regular audits.

As agreed upon in a free conference committee made up of Senate and House members of both parties, the bill would also require all special taxing districts to submit a budget report to their local fiscal court. If a special district wanted to impose a new fee or increase the rate of an existing tax, it would be required to hold a public meeting prior to the change. While this doesn’t provide the direct oversight many of us advocated, it is an important step in keeping taxpayers informed and government entities accountable.

Another bill that received final passage was House Bill 290 that creates a 20-person review panel for cases of child abuse and neglect-related fatalities and near-fatalities. The panel would be given access to complete records of the Cabinet for Health and Family Services, as well as information from law enforcement and other agencies involved in the case. Studying these cases will help us prevent child abuse in the future and ensure we are providing the best services possible to our youngest, most vulnerable citizens.

The General Assembly is now recessed for a ten-day veto period. During this time, we’ll continue to discuss issues still unresolved. While consensus hasn’t been reached on important bills like Senate Bill 2, public pension reform, Senate Bill 50, industrial hemp cultivation, and Senate Bill 1, military overseas absentee voting, we are still working diligently toward final agreement on these and many other measures. I maintain hope that the House will negotiate with us in good faith on these measures that are so important to the future of our Commonwealth. There is still time.

Finally, I wanted to let you know that the Governor is receiving pressure to veto House Bill 279 (follow that link to see all 67 co-sponsors in the House), the Religious Freedom Act that protects religious liberty from government overstepping its bounds. If the Governor rejects this bill that passed with such overwhelming bipartisan support in both chambers, the Senate will move to override the veto. This critical legislation does nothing more than put Kentucky back on the same legal footing it was on just last fall, and mirrors federal legislation introduced for the same reason in 1993 that similarly passed with overwhelming bipartisan support. I have urged the Governor to honor the will of the General Assembly and sign House Bill 279 into law.

We return to Frankfort on March 25 to complete the final two working days of the legislative session. We’ll consider any vetoes the Governor might enact on any of the various bills we have passed so far, as well as put a final stamp of approval on any last-minute bills still being considered. In the meantime, you can review the work of the Kentucky General Assembly by bookmarking this site or by visiting the General Assembly's website at www.lrc.ky.gov. Archived videos of meetings and proceedings from the session can be viewed at www.ket.org. To check the status of a bill, you may call the toll-free Bill Status Line at 866-840-2835.

And there’s still time to weigh in on matters important to you. If you would like to share your thoughts on any legislation, you may call my office directly at 502-564-8100, or email me here.To leave a message for me, or any legislator, call the General Assembly’s toll-free Message Line at 800-372-7181.