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From YouTube: Interim Joint Committee on State Government (7-24-23)
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B
C
D
E
Thank
you,
Mr
chairman
I'm,
Vic,
Maddox
I'm,
the
deputy
attorney
general
and
I,
appreciate
the
opportunity
to
testify
today
to
provide
you
all
with
an
update
on
on
the
operation
of
our
office,
I'd
like
to
just
give
you
sort
of
a
short
overview
of
some
of
the
major
litigation
that
we
have
been
pursuing
for
the
last
few
years,
certainly
in
the
last
18
months
and
some
of
the
successes
right
now,
we
are
defending
quite
a
few
of
the
legislative
priorities
of
the
the
general
assembly
we
are
defending
in
the
Supreme
Court
SB
3
and
hb2
the
redistricting
litigation
that
was
passed
in
the
2022
session.
E
We
are
defending
at
the
present
time
in
the
sixth
Circuit
Court
of
Appeals
the
challenge
to
SB
150
passed
in
the
most
recent
session.
That,
of
course,
is
the
doodle
harm
Act
and
some
of
its
Provisions
relating
to
the
use
of
puberty
blockers
for
minors
and
cross-sex
hormones
have
been
challenged
in
the
United
States
District
district
court
for
the
Western
District
of
Kentucky.
That
Court
issued
an
injunction
on
the
day
before
the
bill
would
have
gone
into
effect
on
June
29th.
E
The
sixth
circuit
issued
a
stay
of
a
similar
case
in
Tennessee,
involving
the
analogous
law
that
that
state
passed
Consolidated
our
case
with
the
Tennessee
case
and
in
light
of
the
six
circuits
decision
last
week,
the
district
court
issued
a
stay
of
its
own
injunction,
so
that
case
is
in
the
briefing
process.
We
are
filing
our
merits
brief
today
in
the
sixth
circuit.
On
that
case,
that
case
will
be
argued
on.
The
court
has
said
sometime
in
the
next
six
weeks
and
they
decide
the
case
should
be
decided
by
September
30th.
E
We
have
successfully
defended
the
legislature's
passage
of
the
human
life
protection
act
and
the
heartbeat
law.
We
had
a
trial
one
day,
evidentiary
hearing
in
the
Jefferson
Circuit
Court
in
June
of
2022
that
Court
issued
an
injunction
on
August
1st.
E
We
obtained
a
stay
of
that
injunction
from
the
court
of
appeals
and
before
it
was
all
said
and
done,
the
Supreme
Court
issued
an
opinion
ruling
that
the
challenges
to
that
law
did
not
have
what's
called
third
party
standings,
so
in
other
words,
the
the
abortion
providers
and
the
ACLU
could
not
bring
the
claims
of
the
women
who
might
come
to
them
for
abortions.
E
So,
with
that,
the
plaintiffs,
the
EMW
and
Planned
Parenthood
abortion
providers
voluntarily
dismissed
their
case,
so
that
law
is
now
fully
in
effect
in
the
Commonwealth
Kentucky
and
and
has
been
since
August
1
of
2022.
When
abortions
elective
abortions
effectively
were
stopped
in
Kentucky
I
want
to
give
you
just
sort
of
an
overview
of
some
of
the
other
litigation
we're
doing.
We
are
continually
defending
the
legislature's
priorities.
E
We
interviewed
intervened
in
a
variety
of
lawsuits
to
to
Stave
off
challenges
under
the
Constitution,
because
we
knew
presumably
that
the
Bashir
Administration
would
not
defend
those
laws.
So
we
are
defending
sb7
in
the
Franklin
Circuit
Court
division,
one
that
law
prevents
the
automatic
payroll
deductions
for
payment
of
labor
organization,
dues
and
political
contributions.
A
similar
challenge
to
that
law
was
brought
in
the
Jefferson
circuit
court
and
we
also
intervened.
In
that
case.
We
are
defending
the
challenge
to
the
constitutionality
of
the
Kentucky
public
charter
school
law.
E
Again
in
Franklin
Circuit
Court
division.
One.
We
intervened
to
defend
the
constitutionality
of
Senate
bill,
one
from
the
2022
session.
That
bill
has
to
do
with
the
authority
of
the
Jefferson
County
School
Board,
to
manage
the
data
day-to-day
operations
of
that
organization
and
and
that
lawsuit
is
ongoing.
We
defended
in
again
the
Jefferson.
Excuse
me
the
Franklin
Circuit
Court
division,
one,
the
challenge
to
HP
563,
which
created
the
educational
opportunity
pilot
program,
some
other
things
that
we
are
doing
right
now.
E
We
have
issued
recently
an
opinion
that
addresses
what
we
think
is
the
flawed
guidance
issued
by
the
Kentucky
Department
of
Education
regarding
the
proper
interpretation
of
SB
150,
not
only
the
state
law
Provisions,
but
also
the
notion
that
school
boards
that
follow
the
law
would
be
violating
Title.
Ix
of
the
federal
law-
we
don't
believe
that's
the
case
and
we
issued
an
opinion
to
that
effect.
E
We
are
defending
the
challenge
to
SB
126,
which
was
the
law
passed
by
the
legislature
to
allow
for
a
change
of
venue
whenever
a
challenge
to
the
constitutionality
of
a
statute
is
brought.
Currently,
those
are
heard
in
the
Franklin
Circuit
Court.
The
legislature
passed
the
law
that
allows
the
attorney
general
or
any
party
within
30
days
to
file
a
notice
of
transfer
and
then
requires
the
clerk
of
the
Supreme
Court
to
randomly
select
a
a
new
circuit
court.
E
There
are
multiple
challenges
to
that
law,
most
of
which
I
believe,
both
of
which
are
are
coming
in
the
context
of
the
gray
machines
litigation,
which
is
also
being
challenges
unconstitutional,
and
we
are
also
defending
that
in
the
Franklin
circuit
court
and
the
Jefferson
Circuit
Court,
we
have
a
wide
variety
of
other
cases.
I
won't
go
through
them.
All
I
want
to
tell
you
briefly
about
our
opioid
litigation.
E
E
Many
of
those
cases
were
filed
by
the
previous
administration
attorney
general
Bashir
in
2018,
since
General
Cameron
has
been
attorney
general.
We
have
brought
at
least
three
additional
cases
we
sued
CVS
and
settled
that
case
for
a
994
million
500
thousand
dollars.
We
sued
Allergan
and
settled
that
case
for
almost
49
million
dollars,
and
we
negotiated
with
Walmart
and
without
filing
a
lawsuit
settled
that
case
for
53
and
a
half
million
dollars.
So,
together
with
the
cases
that
attorney
general
Bashir,
initially
brought,
we've
brought
nearly
900
million
dollars.
E
Much
of
that
is
being
distributed
according
to
the
law
that
the
general
assembly
passed,
creating
the
Kentucky
opioid
abatement
advisory
commission
and
that
work
is
ongoing.
There's
been
one
round
of
awards,
there'll
be
another
round,
I
believe
in
September
there
may
be
other
settlements
of
opioid
cases.
E
E
E
We
obtained
a
stay
of
the
Biden
administration's
so-called
Good
Neighbor
rule,
which
looks
at
monitoring
stations
in
Connecticut
and
Philadelphia
and
says
that
power
plants
in
Kentucky
are
causing
those
plants
to
be
those
measuring
stations
to
be
out
of
compliance
with
federal
law.
The
EPA
tried
to
impose
a
federal
law,
a
federal
rule
on
the
state
and
reject
the
state's
State
implementation
plan.
We
went
to
the
district
court
and
then
in
the
sixth
circuit
obtained
a
stay
of
that
ruling.
E
We
obtained
a
stay
of
the
bite
administration's
so-called
Waters
of
the
United
States
rule,
which
would
have
taken
away
a
dramatic
amount
of
the
power
of
of
this
body
to
pass
laws
and
provide
for
the
rules
and
regulations
governing
the
the
Waters
of
this
state,
as
well
as
all
of
the
lands
that
are
adjacent
to
those
Waters
and
feed
into
those
bodies.
So
in
our
view,
this
was
a
dramatic
overreach
by
the
federal
government
that
would
have
hamstrung,
Kentucky
farmers
and
small
businesses,
and
we
successfully
got
a
stay
of
that.
E
E
We
have
challenged
rules
in
all
of
those
agencies
and
many
others
that
all
have
the
singular
purpose
of
eliminating
the
use
of
fossil
fuels,
whether
it's
in
gasoline,
whether
it's
in
power
plants,
whether
it's
in
industrial
manufacturing
and
we
have
had
some
success
in
doing
that
all
told
we
have
either
filed
or
joined
over
25
lawsuits
against
the
bite
administration's
rules
and
regulations,
many
of
them
in
in
that
area
I
want
to
give
you
just
a
quick
overview
of
some
of
the
other
areas
of
the
office
in
our
consumer
protection
office.
E
E
We
take
each
of
those
complaints,
we
investigate
them
and
if
they
are
well
stated
or
have
a
solid
foundation,
then
we
pursue
them
and
have
on
many
occasions
been
able
to
negotiate
voluntary
compliance
by
the
perpetrators
or
to
find
that
there
was
no
no
merit
to
the
complaint.
It's
noteworthy
that
I
think
since
March
of
2020,
there
has
been
a
state
of
emergency
in
place
and
either
throughout
the
Commonwealth
or
in
selected
counties
throughout
the
Commonwealth
every
day
since
March
of
2020,
some
of
these
had
to
do
with
the
pandemic.
E
Some
of
them
had
to
do
with
the
tornadoes
some
had
to
do
with
the
floods.
The
most
recent
state
of
emergency
is
initiated
by
Governor
beshear
had
to
do
with
the
winter
storm
of
December
2022,
so
that
those
states
of
emergency
are
still
in
effect.
We
still
get
price
gouging
complaints
from
at
least
those
counties
where
those
laws
are
in
effect.
E
After
the
tornadoes
in
Western
Kentucky,
we
set
up
an
operation
in
the
affected
counties
down
there
to
create
a
contract
or
registration
program
requiring
that
count,
contractors
doing
business
who
would
then
be
doing
Roofing
work
or
tree
removal,
work
or
other
work
that
dealt
with
the
affected
properties
would
register
with
those
County
governments,
so
that
local
residents
would
be
able
to
know
that
they
were
dealing
with
a
a
An
approved
and
a
reputable
contractor,
and
that
eliminated.
E
We
think
a
lot
of
the
the
out-of-state
fly-by-night
contractors
who
come
in
and
deal
with
those
sorts
of
those
sorts
of
disasters.
This
was
in
Graves,
County,
Caldwell,
County,
Hopkins,
Muhlenberg,
County
and
a
few
others
just
want
to
mention.
Our
office
of
senior
protection
has
handled
over
8
400
cases
involving
complaints
from
consumers.
E
A
E
Very
busy
we
appreciate
the
support
of
the
administration.
Excuse
me
of
the
the
legislature.
The
our
budget
was
increased
from
2022
to
2023.
By
about
three
million
dollars,
we
used
that
to
hire
more
lawyers,
more
staff,
we
opened
offices
in
the
Bowling
Green
area.
We
opened
offices
in
London,
we
created
A
Renewed
presence
in
our
Prestonsburg
office,
and
we
have
assigned
more
people
to
our
Jefferson
County
office
as
well.
I,
don't
want
to
take
all
the
time.
Blake
is
going
to
tell
you
quickly
about
our
legislative
priorities.
F
We
received
a
request
to
Simply
set
out
a
couple
of
things
that
perhaps
this
body
could
look
at
doing
in
the
upcoming
session.
I'll
try
to
be
as
quick
as
I
can
in
moving
moving
through
them.
I
will
lay
out
a
couple
of
conditions.
First
number
one
is
that
the
folks
who
have
our
jobs
next
year
may
agree
or
disagree
with
everything
we're
about
to
say
so.
I'll
put
that
condition
there
and
the
second
is
we
leave
this
entirely
up
to
this
body
to
determine
what
Merit
or
how
to
pursue
these
proposals
going
forward.
F
With
this
body's
views,
446
says
all
statutes
of
this
state
shall
be
liberally
construed
with
the
intent
to
promote
their
objectives
and
carry
out
the
intent
of
the
legislature
for
a
lot
of
us
I
think
we
we
would
look
at
look
at
that
statute
and
say
it
would
be
better
if
the
statutes
were
strictly
construed,
and
so
so
the
text
would
govern.
You
can
always
bring
in
the
intent
of
the
legislature
through
other
means
of
statutory
interpretation
without
necessarily
having
to
have
a
you
know,
a
statute
that
sort
of
gives
that
intent
priority.
F
I
know
we
have
a
couple
legislators
who
are
sort
of
working
on
tweaking
that
language
already.
The
second
thing
is,
we
mentioned
the
the
opioid
settlement
dollars
that
have
come
in.
We
have
a
couple
of
cases
that
are
going
through
bankruptcy.
Proceeding
now
the
bankruptcy
orders
from
those
cases
will
sort
of
govern
how
those
dollars
are
dispersed.
F
But
but
now
under
the
law,
if
you're
a
utility,
you
wouldn't
so
there
may
be
an
opportunity
there
to
bring
those
two
statutes
in
Synergy
and
also
sort
of
protect
the
amount
of
Developmental
land
right
in
some
of
these
small
towns
that
that
may
become
subject
to
solar
and
wind
farms
into
the
future
and
give
local
government
control
there.
That's
all
I
have
thank
you.
D
Very
good
gentlemen,
we
have
two
two
more
presenters
and
we
asked
AG's
office
to
come
in
and
give
us
an
update
on
the
work
that
their
office
is
doing
so,
representative
bratcher
has
a
question,
but
we're
not
going
to
debate
issues
just
process
or
questions
about
where
cases
are
at.
We
could
be
here
all
day
if
we
got
into
debating
issues
so
representative
bratcher
man.
G
E
Don't
have
a
close
number
representative
I,
don't
have
a
specific
number
I
think
it's
at
least
a
dozen
cases
where
we
are
defending
laws
in
in
one
from
one
session
or
another.
We
have
I
I,
believe
four
Supreme
Court
arguments
coming
up
before
the
end
of
September.
G
Do
you
know
which
one
is
the
long
the
has
been
in
front
of
the
Supreme
Court
the
longest
I've
always
got
a
issue
with
how
long
they
take
to
make
a
decision,
and
it
just
I
just
don't
understand
why?
What
is
the
longest
one?
You
said
something
about
Senate
Bill
three
he's
been
there
since
last
session
was
that
it.
E
E
That
that
case
is
is
a
little
bit
slower
than
it
might
have
been,
because
we
tried
the
case
in
April.
The
circuit
court
judge
Wingate,
issued
his
opinion,
I
believe
in
the
second
week
of
November.
So.
E
G
Just
amazes
me
that
it
could
sit
there
that
long
without
a
decision.
I
know
that
I
mean
we
have
to
make
bills
in
60
days
and
then
the
super
legislature
over
there
comes
along
and
decides
that
they're
going
to
take
two
years
to
decide
what
what's
good
and
what's
bad
over
there.
It's
just
aggravating
I
know
you
have
nothing
to
do
with
that
and
you
don't
want
to
say
anything
about
that.
But
I
do
thank.
D
You
you're
welcome
well,
gentlemen.
Thank
you
so
much
for
being
here
today.
Thank
you
for
your
hard
work,
all
the
efforts
that
you're
protecting
the
bills
that
come
out
of
the
legislature.
Thank
you
so
much
thank.
D
H
Microphone,
okay,
very
good.
Now
it's
on
and
I'll.
Also
let
you
know:
I've
got
two
people
with
me:
I
have
my
Deputy
Treasurer
Chief
of
Staff,
Lauren,
Ferguson
and
then
I
have
my
or
sorry
on
this
side.
He
switched
nowhere.
I
thought
you're
going
to
go
and
then
I
have
my
communications
director
and
my
policy
advisor
Matt
Frye
with
me
too.
H
So
they
are
backing
me
up
I'm,
just
going
to
give
you
a
quick
overview
of
what
we've
done
in
the
treasury,
and
some
of
you
know
all
this,
because
I
talk
to
you
quite
often,
but
just
a
quick
overview
of
things
that
have
happened
while
I've
been
in
office.
You
know
the
nuts
and
bolts
of
the
job
I
always
describe
it
as
a
watchdog
roll,
and
that
is
its
core
function,
so
I
make
sure
that
the
bills
get
paid
on
the
Commonwealth
of
Kentucky
in
that
role,
I
also
deal
with
our
our
banking
relationship.
H
I.
Take
care
of
our
deposits
for
the
Commonwealth
of
Kentucky
I
also
deal
with
our
taxing
issues,
so
I
deal
with
the
IRS,
because
the
state
actually
does
pay
taxes.
So
I
deal
with
the
federal
state
and
local
withholding
taxes
for
all
state
employees.
We
also
record
Monitor
and
reconcile
all
transactions
in
the
state
depository
and
checking
account.
So
that's
actually
a
pretty
big
lift
for
the
Commonwealth
Kentucky.
H
H
In
just
a
moment,
some
things
that
were
added
while
I
was
well
I've,
been
Treasurer
are
some
things
that
worth
noting
one
thing
that's
been
here,
but
I've
really
focused
on
it
is
the
unclaimed
property
portion
of
the
treasury
and
I
always
describe
that
as
a
Statewide
lost
and
found.
That's
the
simplest
way
to
understand
it.
I'm
very
proud
of
what
I've
been
able
to
do
in
this
role
to
to
boost
that
and
get
money
out
to
people
who
are
the
rightful
owners.
H
I've
actually
returned:
168
million
dollars
of
unclaimed
property,
while
I've
been
in
office,
which
is
more
than
any
other
Treasurer.
The
record
for
a
single
term
was
my
first
term
at
89
million,
and
so
we
are
looking
to
beat
that
this
time
at
the
end
of
this
year,
so
I'm
very
proud
of
what
we
have
done
on
that
and
that's
even
in
the
midst
of
a
pandemic,
and
we
had
people
not
in
the
office
as
available.
So
we've
actually
made
it
a
lot
more
efficient.
We
updated
some
holder,
reporting
tools,
updated
them
modernized
them.
H
That
may
sound
a
little
dry
to
you
all,
but
it
really
helps
the
public
be
able
to
get
unclaimed
property
to
us,
and
then
we
also
did
what
we
call
fast
tracking.
So
we
have
sped
up
considerably.
If
it's
a
smaller
claim,
we
always
have
to
make
sure
that
we're
monitoring
for
fraud
and
problems,
but
we've
been
able
to
speed
that
up
and
get
people's
property
back
to
them
once
we
know
that
it's
simple
and
it
doesn't
require
a
lot
of
documentation.
So
that's
something
that
I'm
I'm,
proud
of
as
well.
H
We
actually
updated
unclaimed
property
during
my
term,
of
course,
there's
the
general
assembly
that
passed
the
bills
to
get
that
done.
But
one
thing
worth
noting
and
doing
that,
and
it
had
been
updated
for
the
first
time
since
I
believe
the
1980s.
H
But
one
thing
in
particular
that's
worth
noting
is
that
we
are
the
first
state
in
the
country
to
figure
out
what
to
do
with
cryptocurrency
when
it
comes
to
unclaimed
property
and
we're
now
the
model
for
the
nation
on
what
to
do
on
that
I've
had
several
from
my
office
come
and
speak
to
other
states
about
how
to
do
that.
So
we
we
were
a
trendsetter
about
how
to
handle
the
situation
I'm
very
proud
of
our
work
in
that
area,
just
speaking
of
fraud,
because
fraud
is
something
we're
always
paying
attention
to
in
unclaimed
property.
H
That
is
something
that
we
always
pay
attention
to
in
the
treasury
as
well
being
that
Watchdog
role,
it
means
that
we,
we
are
the
front
lines
to
protect
against
cyber
fraud.
We've
had
instances
where
we've
stopped
embezzlement,
a
variety
of
attacks
on
the
Commonwealth
of
Kentucky,
and
so
we're
always
mindful
of
that.
We're
always
trying
to
be
state
of
the
art
making
sure
everybody
is
trained
and
ready
to
go.
H
Our
proudest
moment
was
when
we
stopped
an
over
five
million
dollar
fraud,
attempt
that
was
very
sophisticated
and
we
actually
got
national
attention
on
being
able
to
stop
it
because,
like
I
said
it
was
sophisticated
and
our
team
handled
it
the
right
way
and
I'm
very
proud
of
what
we've
done
on
that
and,
of
course
we.
This
is
a
recurring
issue.
We're
always
catching
this.
We're
always
doing
what
we
need
to
do
on
that,
and
this
will
be
with
us,
probably
for
the
the
future.
H
Just
because
that's
where
the
world
is
right
now,
some
other
initiatives
that
that
you
need
to
be
aware,
aware
of
transparency,
is
a
priority
to
me.
So
in
my
first
term,
I
worked
to
get
a
bill
launched
or
a
website
launched
called
transparency.ky.gov.
It's
very
intuitive
tells
you
exactly
what
it
is
and
it's
so
you
can
Google
your
government,
you
can
Google
All
executive
expenditure
and
the
Judiciary
on
there
and
I
think
that's
helpful
to
the
public.
H
I
also
launched
something
called
stable
Kentucky,
which
is
a
savings
and
investment
program
for
people
with
disabilities
and
I'm
very
proud
of
how
we're
able
to
figure
that
one
out
when
I
first
got
in
office
I
was
told.
This
would
be
something
that
would
be
extremely
helpful
to
kentuckians
and
I
was
all
for
it,
and
then
we
began
to
look
at
the
cost
of
it
and
like
many
things
it
looked
like
it
was
going
to
be
cost
prohibitive.
H
We
were
looking
at
upwards
of
a
million
dollars
to
be
able
to
operate
this,
so
we
had
to
be
creative
and
we
did
find
a
creative
solution
to
how
to
solve
this.
We
ended
up
doing
a
partnership
with
the
state
of
Ohio
and
they
they
needed
they
needed
people
and
we
needed
processes.
So
we
were
able
to
do
this
together
to
work
this
out
and
is
now
a
thriving,
successful
program
in
the
Commonwealth
of
Kentucky.
H
We
have
about
a
thousand
people
participating
in
it
and
I
think
it
really
does
help
people
with
disabilities
throughout
the
Commonwealth.
Another
thing
that
has
been
something
that
I
brought
to
the
table
is
financial
literacy
and
Kentucky
is
now
a
national
leader
on
financial
literacy,
I'm,
very
proud
of
the
work
that
we've
been
able
to
do
on
this
issue.
I
pushed
and
encouraged
to
get
a
high
school
requirement
passed,
and
you
all
passed
that
to
make
sure
that
people
have
training
on
financial
literacy
before
they
are
through
with
school
and
I.
H
Push
to
get
a
commission
housed
in
the
treasury
to
make
sure
that
schools
and
other
groups
had
resources
they
needed
to
be
able
to
teach
financial
literacy.
This
was
another
creative
solution.
I
didn't
want
to
cost
the
taxpayers
more
money
to
be
able
to
take
on
this
responsibility,
so
we
had
to
figure
out.
How
are
we
going
to
have
resources
available
without
a
higher
cost?
So
this
commission
is
able
to
receive
funds
from
the
private
sector
and
it
does
right
now.
H
It
is
fully
supported
by
the
private
sector
and
we
have
a
a
program
available
to
every
school
in
the
Commonwealth
of
Kentucky.
That's
at
the
high
school
level
to
teach
financial
literacy
for
free
because
of
the
work
that
we've
done
with
the
financial
empowerment
commission,
so
that
is
available.
Now
the
commission
also
provides
financial
literacy
for
other
groups,
something
that
has
really
taken
off
that
was
sort
of
unexpected,
but
it's
really
met
a
need.
Is
we've
been
providing
training
to
local
governments
throughout
Kentucky?
H
We've
had
several
cities
now
we're
starting
to
have
some
counties
offer
financial
literacy
training
because
there
are
things
available
to
public
sector
workers
that
are
just
unique
to
them
and
it's
a
wonderful
way
to
improve
government
in
a
lot
of
levels,
so
I'm,
proud
of
how
we've
been
able
to
advance
that,
among
other
things,
we
also
help
people
with
disabilities,
low-income
families,
young
adults,
aging,
kentuckians
people
who
are
a
former
military
for
time
for
the
military.
So
we
have
a
broad
mandate
on
financial
literacy
and
how
to
help
those
individuals
and
we've
been
doing
that.
H
In
addition,
as
some
of
you
may
recall,
a
major
Initiative
for
my
office
has
been
pushing
back
against
the
ESG
movement
in
order
to
protect
our
investments
in
the
Commonwealth
of
Kentucky.
I.
Do
deal
with
our
Investments
as
Treasurer,
so
I
I
asked
for
and
encouraged
to
get
a
bill
passed
and
you
all
did
it.
So
thank
you
that
we
refer
to
as
the
fossil
fuel
boycott
Bill
and
that
bill
says
if
you
are
boycotting
the
fossil
fuel
Industries.
H
And
then,
in
the
course
of
the
last
two
years,
the
attorney
general
and
I
worked
together
to
get
an
opinion
out
which
clarified
that
it
is
illegal
in
the
Commonwealth
Kentucky
to
invest
in
ESG,
we
had
some
issues
making
sure
that
that
was
being
followed
through
on
all
levels.
So
you
all
passed
a
bill
which
made
Kentucky
the
strongest
anti-esg
state
in
the
nation
and
I
think
that
it's
just
a
wonderful
example
to
the
whole
state
about
here.
H
We
make
sure
we
are
protecting
our
pensions,
we're
making
making
sure
that
our
pensioners
can
retire
and
I'm
I'm
just
encouraged
about
the
commitment
that
the
general
assembly
has
shown
on
that
and
I
think
it's
going
to
have
a
huge
payout
for
the
future.
So
those
are
things
that
have
been
happening
in
the
Commonwealth
Kentucky
in
regards
to
the
treasury.
H
Some
things
to
look
forward
for
the
future
I
have
tried
to
to
get
this
place
in
good
shape,
for
when
I
leave
I'm
only
here
for
a
few
more
months,
and
somebody
else
will
take
my
spot.
So
I've
tried
to
make
sure
that
everything
is
ready
to
go
for
the
successor,
but
there
are
a
few
things
that
I
think
do
need
to
be
addressed
and,
of
course
this
will
be
up
to
whoever
my
successor
is,
but
just
to
give
you
a
heads
up
of
some
things.
I
think
that
would
be
worthwhile.
H
The
Kentucky
Financial
Empowerment
board
right
now
it
has
a
presence
from
the
Federal
Reserve,
but
this
Commonwealth
Kentucky
is
divided
into
two
areas
and
we
actually
have
Federal
Reserve
Port
support
from
two
different
locations.
So
our
statute,
at
this
point
only
has
it
from
the
St
Louis
Federal
Reserve.
We
also
want
the
Cleveland,
Federal
Reserve,
so
I
think
that
would
be
an
improvement
to
alternate
when
one
rotates
off
get
someone
from
the
other
federal
reserves
that
we
we
have
a
presence
and
another
issue.
H
That
I
think
is
something
that
somebody
will
want
to
take
care
of
right
away,
and
this
is
probably
just
an
oversight
for
some
point
in
the
past,
but
only
unclaimed
property
has
a
regulatory
statutory
authority
to
be
able
to
issue
regulations
for
that
area,
the
rest
of
the
treasury.
No
one
can
issue
regulations
for
the
rest
of
the
treasury.
I
think
it
was
just
an
oversight
we
operate
based
on
internal
policies
at
this
point,
which
is
not
the
best
way
to
to
run
government.
H
You
need
to
have
a
notice,
an
opportunity
for
comment,
so
that
needs
to
be
addressed.
We
actually
were
unaware
of
it
because
it
hadn't
come
up
until
this
year
and
we
figured
out
that
we
needed
some
regulations
for
some
issues
in
the
treasury
portion.
That's
not
unclaimed
property
and
discover
that
there
was
no
Authority
for
doing
that.
So
that's
something
I
think
needs
to
be
addressed.
It's
probably
not
something
that
comes
up
very
often,
but
when
it
does
it's
important
and
I
think
that
needs
to
be
done
for
the
future.
H
One
thing
that
was
passed
and
it
was
something
that
we
thought
would
be
useful
when
money
was
right.
It
was
an
unclaimed
property
trust
fund
and
we
have
a
lot
of
unclean
property
money
that
comes
in
all
throughout
the
year
and
I've
always
thought
that
it
might
be
a
useful
thing
to
take
some
of
those
monies
and
invest
them.
So
that
way
the
unclaimed
property
portion
can
be
funded
on
its
own
and
doesn't
have
to
come
to
the
general
assembly
for
funds
ever
and
that's
something
that
is
in
existence.
H
If
the
general
assembly
ever
decides
that
there's
enough
funds
to
be
able
to
do
something
like
that,
it
exists
and
I
think
it
would
be
I
think
it'd
be
a
worthwhile
Endeavor
to
do
something
like
that.
Those
are
those
are
the
main
things
we
have
some
issues
with
some
records
attentions
that
we
want
to
update.
That
would
be
something
for
the
future,
but
those
are
the
highlights
of
things
that
we
have
done
while
I've
been
in
office.
H
Those
are
the
things
I
think
need
to
be
done
and
then,
just
by
way
of
a
quick
overview
too
I
just
want
to
mention
the
boards
that
I'm
on
just
so
that
way.
You
understand
that
as
well,
I
sit
on
the
Deferred
Compensation
Authority
board,
the
Kentucky
Financial
Empowerment
commission
board,
the
Kentucky
Lottery
board,
Kentucky
teachers,
retirement
system,
Kia
and
kiesley,
the
opioid
abatement
advisory
commission,
the
state
investment
commission,
as
well
as
the
Kentucky
asset
liability
commission.
So
all
of
them
are
financially
related
in
some
Port.
So
that
isn't
my
overview
for
today.
D
Thank
you
treasure
ball,
you're
very
busy,
and
we
appreciate
your
work.
We
have
a
senator
McDaniel
has
a
question.
Thank.
I
You
Mr
chairman,
just
a
brief
comment:
Madam
Treasurer,
thank
you
for
being
here
again.
One
thing
about
you
is
I,
don't
think
you
have
any
less
energy
today
than
the
first
time
you
appeared
in
front
of
one
of
our
committees,
but
certainly
this
is
the
kind
of
probably
going
to
be
one
of
the
last
time.
I
We
see
you
in
this
capacity
in
front
of
one
of
these
committees,
so
just
wanted
to
say
fine
job,
especially
with
some
of
the
unclaimed
property
stuff
over
the
last
several
years
on
making
your
office
more
financially
independent,
which
is
the
budget
chair,
I,
always
appreciate,
and
certainly
it's
been
a
pleasure
working
together
in
your
term
as
treasure
and
I,
appreciate
you
and
hope
we
get
to
continue
to
work
together
in
the
future.
Thank.
J
J
What
is
the
total
amount
of
dollars
in
the
in
the
unclaimed
treasury
account
now
versus
when
you
came
in
and
it
seems
like
every
Treasurer
brags
about
returning
the
most
ever,
because
the
fun
just
keeps
growing
and
I.
Just
wonder
if
that
happens,
to
be
the
case
now,
yeah.
H
So
it
does
always
come
in
all
the
time,
and
so
we
have
about
800
million
right
now
in
unclaimed
property
it
does
always
grow
and
I
I
think
it
was
probably
a
little
over
half
a
billion
when
I
first
came
in
office.
So
it's
the
kind
of
thing
that
it's
just
always
growing
and
that's
one
reason
why
I
wanted
to
be
very
aggressive
about
making
sure
we
get
unclaimed
property
out
which
I've
been
able
to
do
168
million
while
I've
been
in
office
and
then
we're
looking
to
have
a
record
second
term.
H
H
J
K
J
B
Thank
you
Mr
chairman
and
Treasurer
ball.
Thank
you
for
your
hard
work.
It's
obvious
that
you
have
a
full
agenda
and
I
do
have
a
question
about
one
of
the
boards
that
you
serve
on.
You
are
one
of
the
11
members
on
the
teacher
retirement
system,
Board
of
Trustees,
that
is,
as
a
member
of
the
public
pension
oversight
board.
That's
an
area
that
I
am.
A
B
Interested
in
TRS
the
unfunded
liability
expense.
There
is
one
of
the
major
expenses
to
the
Commonwealth.
It's
going
to
continue
to
grow
for
the
next
20
some
years.
I
was
wondering
if
you,
since
you've,
been
there
for
almost
eight
years
now.
Could
you
give
us
some
perspective
on
where
you've
seen
TRS
come
from
the
time
that
you
started
to
now
and
some
insight,
and
maybe
some
ideas
and
recommendations
the
general
assembly
might
look
at
going
forward.
Thank
you.
H
Sure
that's
a
good
question
and
that
actually
would
probably
I
probably
need
more
time
to
really
go
into
a
lot
on
that
one.
But
what
I
will
say
I
think
it's
in
better
shape
now
than
it
was
when
I
first
got
there.
A
lot
of
that
is
the
work.
That's
been
done
for
the
general
assembly
just
making
sure
that
it
is
solvent
and
and
really
the
key
to
it.
H
Is
that
making
sure
the
budget
always
puts
that
money
in
there
I
know
that
it
hurts
a
little
bit
to
put
that
money
in
there,
but
that's
how
we
got
in
this
mess
to
begin
with.
You
know
when
I
first
got
there,
I
actually
spent
some
time
meeting
with
the
leadership
over
there.
H
Asking
them
give
me
an
overview
over
the
last
several
decades
and
really
since
its
inception
for
how
we
got
to
where
we
are,
and
they
spent
a
lot
of
time
with
me
and
I
talked
to
a
lot
of
other
people
just
to
try
and
figure
out.
Why
are
we
in
the
mess
that
we're
in
and,
of
course,
TRS
is
actually
the
better
funded
one
kpba
is
is
much
much
much
much
less
funded,
I
think
it's
58
percent,
or
just
slightly
over
58
for
TRS
and
I.
H
Think
it's
about
18.9
for
kppa
and
those
are
those
are
both
not
great
numbers
but
there's
a
big
difference
between
the
two
numbers,
so
obviously
ural's
commitment
to
make
sure
the
money
is.
There
is
what
stems
the
loss
and
puts
it
in
a
solvent
position.
It's
a
lot
like
paying
a
mortgage.
You
have
to
make
sure
you
have
a
plan
and
they
do
have
a
plan.
They
do
have
a
30-year
plan
by
a
little
less
than
30
years
now
and
I
I
feel
very
encouraged
about
the
work
that
you
all
have
done.
H
It
puts
them
in
strong
shape.
I
think
they
are
investing
well
right
now,
from
what
I've,
from
what
I
have
been
involved
with
I
feel
like
it's
on
it's
on
good
footing.
Investments
are
are
a
little
bit
difficult
right
now.
A
lot
of
people
are
just
an
unusual
time
in
the
investment
world.
H
So
that
is
one
reason
why
I
pushed
very
very
hard
I'm
encouraged
that
the
leadership
at
TRS
shares
that
view
that
I
have
had
that's
not
true
for
everybody
in
the
Commonwealth
of
Kentucky
I've
had
issues
with
other
people,
but
the
leadership
at
TRS
has
been
in
agreement
and,
of
course,
now
they're
legally
required.
So
it's
whether
they
agree
or
not.
This
is
the
way
it
is,
but
they
do
agree
and
they
do.
K
Yes,
thank
you.
Mr
chairman
I've
had
some
dental
work
this
morning.
I
hope
my
mouth
works.
All
right,
I
just
wanted
to
actually
report
and
comment
on
last
year.
I
was
when
I
was
at
Eric
treasure
ball.
Invited
me
to
come
to
a
meeting
of
the
Association
of
State,
treasurers
and
I
was
delighted
to
see
she
was
giving
a
speech
there
and
I
was
not
surprised,
but
I
was
pleased
that
they
could
recognized
her
as
a
superstar
among
the
state
treasurer.
L
K
I
just
wanted
this
body
to
know
that
she
is
a
superstar.
Of
course
we
already
knew
that,
but
it
was
good
to
see
it
confirmed
by
others.
Thank
you.
D
D
I
filled
quite
a
few
questions
from
folks
that
come
to
Frankfurt
about
scaffolding
and
things
like
that
and
things
parked
on
the
and
wanting
to
know
what's
what's
going
on
with
our
Annex
and
capital
and
I
know
we're
about
ready
to
embark
on
or
even
more
work.
So,
thank
you
all
for
being
here
to
give
us
a
review
on
on
these
projects.
M
M
Thank
you
for
having
us
here,
Mr
chairman,
just
a
little
background.
It's
a
287
million
dollar
project
to
renovate
our
state
capital,
260
million
of
which
was
appropriated
in
the
budget,
we're
currently
implementing.
So
from
the
22
session.
Earlier
elements
began
with
the
design
of
a
mechanical
and
electrical
upgrades
and
some
exterior
Renovations
I.E,
the
Dome.
M
You
see
the
scaffolding
there,
so
that
was
from
earlier
funds
in
Prior
budgets,
the
architect
and
engineering
firm
has
been
selected
for
the
project,
our
EOP
and
in
PDP,
or
the
name
of
the
firms
that
we're
working
with
the
design
of
the
full
project
is
well
underway
and
expected
to
be
completed
by
on
February
of
2024..
M
So
the
concerns
is
so.
There
have
been
Communications
from
The
Architects
working
with
commissioner
Ruth
and
secretary
Johnson
with
all
of
the
branches
of
government
and
all
of
the
occupants
of
the
of
the
Capitol
building,
in
terms
of
contending
with
the
sequence
of
events
that
will
ultimately
play
out
in
renovating
this
facility.
So
I
turn
it
over
to
secretary
Johnson.
Sure.
L
As
the
plans
got
underway,
the
finance
Administration
cabinet
began
preliminary
discussions
earlier
this
year
with
current
occupants
of
the
Capitol
building
the
governor's
office,
the
Secretary
of
State,
the
Attorney
General,
the
court
of
justice
and
lrc
about
the
process
and
timing
of
relocating
during
the
Project's
Construction.
These
discussions
will
continue
as
the
construction
plans
are
finalized.
The
financing
Administration
cabinet
is
examining
relocation
options
that
will
meet
the
space
needs
of
the
Capitol
building's
occupants.
This
will
likely
involve
the
leasing
of
privately
owned
space.
L
M
And
Mr
chairman
I'll
make
everyone
aware
that
the
affected
agency
budgets,
those
who
are
occupying
the
capital
now
they
will
be
held
harmless
because
the
Project's
budget
will
pick
up
the
additional
cost,
as
secretary
Johnson
just
referred
to
in
terms
of
if
we
have
additional
lease
space
and
occupying
that
space.
So
so
in
terms
of
preparing
for
the
next
budget,
the
Project's
going
to
take
care
of
those
costs
for
those
respective
entities,
so
they
don't
need
additional
resources
for
that
purpose.
That's
to
the
as
to
the
legislative
branch.
M
The
architectural
firm
and
the
finance
Administration
cabinet
have
had
several
discussions
and
are
considering
various
options
to
accommodate
url's
needs
and
and
just
to
add
to
secretary
Johnson's
comments.
Discussions
have
been
held
with
the
judicial
branch
and
they're,
considering
various
options
to
accommodate
their
needs
for
the
court
of
justice
during
the
Project's
constructions.
D
I
just
have
a
couple
questions
you,
the
you
said
it
was
a
three
and
a
half
year
project.
When
did
the
clock
start
or
like?
When
does
it
start.
M
D
Right
so
we're
we're
not
in
that
three
and
a
half
years
yet
right,
right,
okay
and
then
just
a
question
about
the
contractor
that
was
chosen.
How
was
the
contractor
Chosen
and
was
there
multiple
bids
received
or
how
was
that?
What
was
that
process
like
the
EOP
and
the
PDP
companies.
C
We
followed
our
normal
processes
for
selecting
EOP
Architects
architect,
firms
submit
their
proposal,
we
evaluate
them
and
select.
One
was.
D
That's
one
of
the
luxuries
of
going
third
in
the
meeting.
Sometimes
so,
thank
you
so
much.
We
at
least
know
who
we
can
contact
and
call.
We
know
the
face
as
far
as
questions
moving
forward
in
the
next
several
years.
So
thank
you
all
for
the
very
quick
update
and
if
you
could
report
that
back
I'd
appreciate
it.
Thank
you.
Thank
you.
So
much.
The
the
last
thing
is
just
to
announce
the
our
next
meeting
is
August
the
24th
that's
going
to
be
at
the
state,
fair
and
that
that
is
on
a
Thursday.