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From YouTube: House BR Subcommittee on General Government (2-16-23)
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A
We'll
go
ahead
and
start
this
meeting
of
the
budget
review
subcommittee
on
General
government
and
we'll
we'll
be
waiting
for
members
as
they
kind
of
come
in
and
out
of
several
committees
going
on
right
now.
So
we
we
are
on
KET,
though
so
you
do
have
an
audience
other
than
just
myself
today,
but
ask
us
to
do
silence
your
cell
phones
and
say
we
can
call
a
roll,
but
not
much
point
in
that.
So
so
we'll
wait
on
that.
A
Also
we'll
wait
on
approving
the
minutes
from
last
meeting,
but
we
can
go
ahead
and
get
started
and
from
the
Secretary
of
State's
office.
They
want
to
come.
Take
their
seats,
I
believe
we've
got
a
Jenny
scutchfield,
the
assistant
Secretary
of
State
and
general
counsel,
and
also
Angela
Cummings,
the
executive
staff
advisor.
B
B
Usually
I
screw
everything
up:
okay,
I
kind
of
wanted
to
first
off
give
kind
of
an
overview
of
the
Secretary
of
State's
office.
Obviously
everybody
thinks
elections
I
think
when
they
think
Secretary
of
State,
but
we
obviously
do
a
lot
more.
Our
business
office,
you
know,
does
business
filings,
UCC
business
records,
trademarks,
service
marks,
notary
appointments,
as
well
as
Apostles
office
of
administration,
also
is
quite
busy
in
elections.
Obviously,
that's
what
we
probably
are
known
for
budget
summary
over
the
last
several
years.
B
I
do
want
to
pull
your
attention
to
the
fact
that
we
have
not
received
General
funds.
Since
2021
budget
year
we
did
have
federal
funds,
I
guess
administering
our
overseas
voting
portal.
Those
have
now
been
returned
to
the
federal
agency
and
we
no
longer
access
those.
Over
the
last
three
years
we
have
gone
from
using
some
of
the
general
funds
to
being
exclusively
our
restricted
funds,
so
we
are
exclusively
funded
by
funds
that
come
into
our
office
and
I.
Think
we
pride
ourselves
on
that
fact.
B
One
of
the
things
that
the
legislature
had
approached
us
with
in
the
early
2020s
was
trying
to
use
more
of
our
restricted
funds.
I
think
the
biggest
importance
here
that
I
want
to
bring
up
to
the
committee
is
that,
in
order
for
us
not
to
rely
on
any
general
funds,
the
fund
transfers
that
have
occurred
over
the
years,
we
need
to
keep
those
funds
if
we're
going
to
do
it
without
taxpayer
money
revenues.
As
you
can
see,
businesses,
although
2020
covid,
obviously
impacted
a
lot
of
things.
B
We
saw
business
filings
increase
year
over
year.
We
had
a
lot
of
inactive
businesses
in
the
2021
fiscal
year
that
reactivated
and
paid
funds
into
not
only
the
Secretary
of
State's
office,
but
into
our
income
tax
into
our
finance.
So
we're
seeing
very
good
business
filings
in
Kentucky,
which
is
which
is
healthy
and
positive.
B
Our
expenses
they've
been
pretty
steady.
We
did
ask
for
additional
funds
from
our
restrictive
funds
in
this
past
fiscal
year.
There
are
much
needed
I.T
infrastructure
upgrades
that
we
need
to
do
as
well
as
increase
our
business
Personnel
because
of
the
increased
services
that
we
are
providing.
We
currently
have
31
full-time
Personnel,
it's
a
156
000
a
pay
period
we
currently
employ
for
it
contractors
that
help
us
develop
our
integrated,
desktop
enterprise
system,
which
is
our
business
filing
system
that
allows
you
to
go
in
file.
B
Your
annual
reports
look
up
other
companies,
all
the
things
that
we
do
in
there.
Currently
there
are
over
319,
000,
active
and
in
good
standing
companies
that
are
registered
with
us
and
candidate
filings.
Obviously,
we
see
a
huge
pump
in
the
2021
fiscal
year.
That
was,
of
course,
the
year
that
you
have
all
the
local
candidates,
as
well
as
all
of
the
county
candidates
file
this
past
year
or
this
current
I
guess
it
is
this.
Past
year
we
had
36
candidates.
B
You
know
looking
forward
for
23
to
24.
Well
I'm,
sorry,
this
is
the
current
fiscal
year
from
the
budget
from
last
year.
The
things
that
we
asked
for
and
we
are
still
processing.
We
have
hired
additional
administrative
specialists
in
our
land
office
and
in
the
office
of
Business
Services.
B
We
have
we're
in
the
process
of
trying
to
find
an
I.T
contractor.
I
will
tell
you
I
think
other
agencies
will
probably
have
the
same
problem,
we're
having
a
hard
time
finding
somebody
that
will
come
work
in-house
and
because
of
the
complexity
of
the
program,
we
can't
have
a
remote
worker
for
RIT.
We
have
also
done
a
bunch
of
it
upgrades.
We
had
aging
printers
that
were
over
10
years
old,
didn't
have
service
contracts
on
them.
We
are
upgrading
our
computer
systems
for
our
staff.
B
B
Looking
forward
for
the
next
budget
year.
I
think
you
know
we.
We
are
monitoring
our
infrastructure
upgrades
to
see
what
other
things
we
may
need
right
now.
I
think
we're
we're
doing
well
with
the
funds
that
we've
been
given.
B
The
safe
at
home
program
is
going
to
hopefully
pass
girls
body,
and
it
would
increase
the
address
confidentiality
program.
We
currently
have
funds
that
are
in
our
budget
that
come
from
court
fees.
We
think
this
will
cover
it,
but
that's
the
one
thing
that
we're
looking
at
and
we'll
look
at
over
the
next
year
to
see
how
that
impacts.
Our
budget
I
will
be
glad.
I
know
it
go
fast,
but
I'll
be
glad
to
ask
answer
any
questions.
A
B
I
do
have
if
I
have
kind
of
more
of
a
breakdown
in
front
of
me
regarding
the
fees
that
we
collect
in
our
office
in
fiscal
year.
Let's
see
we
have
increased
fees
over
the
last
fiscal
year
of
of
over
almost
six
hundred
thousand
dollars.
So
that's
more
of
the
businesses
coming
in
I.
Don't
know
if
I
have
a
breakdown
of
the
other
years,
but
I'm
sure
we
have
press
releases
we've
sent
out
that
gives
this
information.
Okay,.
C
A
D
Well,
thank
you
all
for
having
us
here.
Certainly,
we
always
enjoy,
of
course,
being
a
former
member
of
the
house.
I
always
enjoy
coming
back
here.
It
was
here
13
years
and
so
very
much
enjoy
that
I
just
wanted
to
come
today
and
give
a
little
breakdown
of
what
we
do
as
auditor.
From
a
standpoint,
the
auditor
of
Public
Accounts,
as
well
as
some
of
the
funding
that
you
all
have
provided
and
those
that
we
actually
generate
ourselves
in
the
restricted
funds.
D
So
just
to
give
you
an
ideal
some
of
the
things
we
do,
we
do
approximately
600
audits
per
year
or
engagements.
We
do
everything
from
the
the
state
single
the
basically
known
as
the
swac,
the
and
the
single
audit
Statewide
single
audit
of
Kentucky.
We
also
audit
the
Commonwealth's
annual,
comprehensive
financial
report
or
what
we
call
the
act
for.
We
also
go
out
and
we
audit
County
clerks
and
shares
fiscal
courts.
We
do
special
exams
and
then
you
know
sometimes
we
also
do.
D
Of
course,
it's
kind
of
funny
when
I
first
became
auditor
I
think
a
lot
of
people
thought
of
us
as
the
IRS
and
I
have
to
tell
them
we're
not
the
IRS
we're.
Actually,
the
people's
auditor
we
make
sure
government
is
efficient,
effective
and
ethical,
and
so
we
appreciate
that
particular
role,
just
moving
forward
a
looking
at
some
of
our
current
year.
Appropriations,
you
know
from
the
standpoint.
D
Obviously,
in
fiscal
year
23
we
had
a
little
over
10
million,
almost
11
million
from
a
standpoint
of
our
restricted
funds,
the
ones
we
produce
and
a
lot
of
people
don't
realize
that
unless
you're,
actually
in
county
and
state
government,
a
lot
of
people
don't
realize
that
we
invoice
for
our
audit
work.
So,
as
you
can
see,
a
large
portion
of
our
budget
actually
comes
from
invoicing
and,
of
course
you
see
the
general
fund
Appropriations,
both
in
23
and
24.
D
and
I,
want
to
talk
just
a
minute
about
some
of
the
interaction
with
the
general
assembly
and
how
appreciative
we
are
in
working
with
you
all
and
the
most
recent
budget.
We
had
several
Appropriations
direct
general
fund
Appropriations.
We
had
a
hundred
and
fifty
thousand
dollars
to
perform
the
Kentucky
State
University
special
examination.
D
We
had
a
little
over
500
000
just
in
fiscal
year,
2023
to
support
the
establishment
of
an
outlier
audit
assistant
program
and
what
that
is.
We
we
have
found
that
there
are
some
sheriffs
and
county
clerks,
for
whatever
reason
have
some
paperwork
concerns,
and
so
you
know
we
charge
by
the
hour.
So
if
that
paperwork
concerns
it
takes
us
longer
to
do
it.
D
So
there
ends
up
being
we'll
talk
a
little
bit
more
about
that
particular
program
a
little
bit,
but
it
helps
offset
some
of
that
cost
because
in
in
the
end
it
ends
up
going
to
the
county
and
then,
of
course,
you
appropriate,
an
additional
2.250
million
to
for
replacement
cost
Revenue
related
to
audit
Billings
for
the
county
and
we'll
talk
a
little
bit
more
about
that
in
a
little
bit
and
then,
of
course,
for
24.
D
You
put
an
additional
250
000
in
that
outlier
audit
program
and
the
additional
2.250
give
you
an
ideal
of
how
we
expend
our
money.
You
can
see
in
this
particular
chart
from
the
standpoint.
We
have
salaries
and
salaries
really
are
the
the
largest
part
of
our
particular
effort
there
at
the
auditor's
office,
because
you
know
what's
different
from
us
and
some
of
the
others
is
our
our
employees
and,
of
course,
other
employees.
D
I
know
they
have
fees
and
things
like
that,
but
most
of
the
revenue
or
a
lot
of
the
revenue
that
we
have,
as
was
indicated
earlier,
is
generated
by
us
auditing
and
then
invoicing
for
those
audits.
So
it's
important
for
us
to
to
be
lean
when
it
comes
to
operating
costs,
because
when
we
have
an
auditor
they're
actually
generating
revenue
for
the
office,
so
that
we
can
continue
the
good
work
of
the
office
moving
forward
a
little
bit,
you
can
see
from
a
standpoint.
D
This
is
a
breakdown,
a
little
bit
more
detail
of
the
breakdown
of
our
expenditures.
You
know
we're
running
right
at
90
percent
plus
and
right
at
about
90
percent
or
more
of
that.
It
deals
specifically
with
our
Auditors,
so
we
have
tried
to
keep
our
operating
cost
very
low
moving
forward.
Now,
one
of
the
things
that's
interesting.
A
lot
of
people
don't
realize
this
either
our
for
the
APA.
Our
statute
actually
says
we
shall
bill
now,
there's
some
exceptions
to
that.
D
You
know,
and
we
had
historically
had
to
increase
APA
rates,
and
you
know-
and
we
had
historically
had
to
increase
APA
rates
increase
due
to
the
general
fund
Cuts
over
the
years
when
I
first
came
in
really
about
two-thirds
of
our
budget
was
generated
through
our
invoicing,
but
due
to
the
cooperation
and
the
working
with
the
general
assembly
I,
really,
we
have
not
had
to
raise
our
rates
since
2019,
and
so
we
appreciate
working
together
with
the
general
assembly.
D
This
gives
you
a
little
background
or
a
breakdown
of
how
we
what
revenues
come
in
from
the
funds
that
we
bill.
So,
as
you
can
see,
you
know
some
of
the
highest
ones,
obviously
County
clerks
and
Sheriff
audits.
They
generate
the
most
revenue
for
our
office,
state
agency
audits
or
follow
and
then,
of
course,
the
fiscal
courts
and
special
exams
most
for
the
most
time,
County
clerks
and
sheriffs.
We
will
do
all
of
those
audits,
there's
a
few
exceptions
when
it
comes
to
fiscal
courts.
D
Just
to
give
you
an
idea,
I
talked
a
little
bit
about
it
earlier,
but
some
of
the
general
fund
support
both
in
fiscal
year
2023
and
2024.
The
general
assembly
helped
provide
some
additional
2.25
million,
basically
four
and
a
half
million
for
the
two
budget
years
and
general
fund
dollars
to
apa
and
basically
what
these
did.
It
allowed
us
to
move
the
billing
for
other
County
officials
and
county
offices
to
50
percent
billing.
Prior
to
that
time,
anytime,
we
did
a
audit
of
a
Fiscal
Court.
D
We
were
actually
by
Statute
unless
that
statute
is
suspended,
which
it
did
occur
once
during
my
term
to
invoice
at
50
percent
of
our
cost.
What
the
additional
Appropriations
helped
us
do
is
for
other
County
officials,
primarily
sheriffs
and
county
clerks,
but
there
are
some
we've
seen
some
of
our
attorney
general
I
mean
County
attorneys
received
some
of
these
discounts
in
some
of
our
pilot
programs,
but
allows
to
invoice
those
at
50
as
well
once
again
appreciate
the
support
of
the
general
assembly.
D
D
Now,
one
of
the
things
that
we
do
like
to
do
and,
of
course,
as
I
said,
I
was
in
the
house
for
13
years,
and
so
when
I
came
to
the
auditor's
office,
I
wanted
to
look
for
good
pieces
of
legislation
that
we
could
advance
to
help.
Government
become
efficient,
effective
and
ethical,
and
one
of
the
things
we
want
to
do
is
maintain
a
solid
transparency
but
also
help
save
costs.
D
So
one
of
the
things
that
we
did
we
put
forth
and
worked
with
the
general
assembly
in
2018
to
pass
Senate
Bill
144
and
what
that
was.
It
was
a
proposal
that
basically
allowed
if
you
had
a
Sheriff
or
a
county
clerk
that
had
a
clean
financial
statement
audit
the
year
before,
then
they
could
apply
for
what's
known
as
an
AUP
or
an
agreed
upon
procedure,
and
you
know
when
we
first
looked
at
it,
we
thought
maybe
there
would
be
a
25
to
50
percent
Savings
in
the
cost.
D
What
we're
finding
after
passage
and
implementation,
we're
finding
tremendously
more
your
county
clerks
are
averaging.
Roughly
65
percent
savings.
Sheriffs
are
saving,
you
know,
roughly
68
70
we've
had
some
even
more
than
70.,
and
so
it's
been
good
over
the
last
really.
Over
the
last
four
years
we
have
seen
for
counties
roughly
a
savings
of
about
1.6
million
dollars
over
what
they
would
normally
spend
on
a
standard
financial
statement
on
it
so
or
their
previous
most
recent
ones.
So
we
feel,
like
that's,
been
a
good
and
the
other
thing
it
does.
D
It
also
allows
us.
You
know
we,
like
everybody
else.
You
know
continue
to
to
make
sure
that
we
maximize
the
ability
of
our
staff,
and
it
just
allows
us
to
take
Auditors
off
lower
risk
Audits
and
put
them
on
higher
risk
audit.
So
it's
been
a
win-win
for
everybody.
D
Now
the
other
bill
that
we
looked
at
was
the
sheriff's
tax
settlement.
You
know
a
lot
of
people
didn't
realize.
Prior
to
the
passage
of
course,
we
worked
to
pass
Hospital
265
in
2020,
but
part
of
that
a
lot
of
people
didn't
realize
that
for
tax
settlements,
sometimes
sheriffs
will
have
more
than
one
tax
settlement.
You
have
your
standard
tax
settlement,
but
some
of
them
would
have
unmined
coal.
If
they
were
material
or
gas
and
oil,
if
they're
immaterial,
but
what
happens
auditor.
D
Of
them
would
have
dirt
taxes
as
well.
Thank
you.
John
I
appreciate
that
input.
So
what
we
wanted
to
do
you
know
some
of
these
were
having
three
or
four
separate
audits
and
that
cost
you
know
there.
We
knew
that
there
was
going
to
be
some
duplication,
so
we
weren't,
but
just
kind
of
give
you
an
example
for
2020
tax
collection
in
Pike.
County
Sheriff
had
to
have
three
separate
odds
for
their
tax
collections.
D
One
was
for
regular
property
tax,
one
unmanned
coal
and
one
for
oil
and
gas,
and
this
was
due
to
the
unmined
coal
and
oil
and
gas
being
material
mount
for
their
period,
ending
at
a
different
dates
than
the
regular
tax.
So
regular
tax
is
usually
in
about
April
15th
and
on
my
coal
period,
ended
July,
15th
and
oil
and
gas
ended
May
17th.
So
this
is
all
based
on
the
dates
of
the
original
bills
that
were
sent
to
the
taxpayers.
So
what
this
does?
It
allows
us
now
to
do
one
uniform
audit
covering
those
periods.
D
You
know
so
we
worked
with
the
general
assembly
in
the
ads
and
worked
on
a
bill,
House
Bill,
2
or
189-
to
increase
transparency
for
the
area,
development
districts
and
we
all
work
together
in
cooperation
and
it
passed,
and
it's
been
a
wonderful
Bill,
basically
what
it
does
prior
to
that
we
could
actually
go
in
and
audit
because
there
was
a
Bluegrass
had
had
a
audit
from
the
auditor's
office
prior
to
my
arriving
and
we
could
audit.
But
we
didn't
have
a
you
know:
statutory
mandate.
D
We
didn't
have
a
right
of
first
refusal
for
their
normal
financial
statements,
because
what
Bluegrass
had
was
was
more
of
a
special
exam,
but
so
what
the
bill
does
it
allows
us
to
have
a
right
of
first
refusal.
It
also
allows
us
to
review
the
work
papers,
the
required
annual
audits
of
the
ads,
and
that
allows
us
to
kind
of
get
on
a
uniform
reporting,
and
we,
you
know
the
first
several
years
we
didn't
actually
do.
We
didn't
Implement
that
right
of
refusal,
we
just
went
ahead
and
let
them
get
their
CPAs.
D
We
reviewed
the
paperwork.
We
worked
together
on
that
in
the
last
couple
of
years,
we
you've
actually
been
exercising
our
authority
to
perform
some
of
those
audits.
We've
done
four
so
far:
Baron
River
Green,
River,
Penny,
rile
and
Cumberland
Valley,
and
we
feel
like
the
cooperation
between
the
ads
and,
of
course,
when
the
general
assembly
was
passed,
has
been
wonderful
and
it
just
allows
for
greater
transparency
and-
and
everybody
can
see
the
great
work
of
the
ads
as
well.
D
One
of
the
other
things
that
we've
done
it's
kind
of
interesting
when
I
first
took
office
back
in
2015
I,
can't
tell
you
the
number
of
times
that
I
had
individuals.
Ask
me:
you
know:
why
do
you
not
audit
County
attorneys?
You
know
we
audit
shares
every
year
we
audit
County
clerks
every
year.
You
know
obviously
fiscal
courts.
We
do.
D
Why
do
you
not
audit
County
attorneys,
and
the
main
reason
is
that,
yes,
we
have
the
ability
to
audit
County
attorneys,
but
we
are
not
statutorily
mandated,
like
the
others,
to
audit
them
every
year.
So
we
ended
up
doing
a
special
examination
of
certain
County
attorney
offices
and
we
we
identified
several
problems.
This
was
an
extension
of
another
audit
that
we
had
done
and
it
was.
It
was
interesting.
We
we
audited
nine.
Well,
we
did
a
survey
of
16
County
attorneys.
We
narrowed
it
down
to
nine.
We
audited.
D
Nine
most
of
those
nine
were
were
doing
a
great
job.
Maybe
a
few
minor
things.
There
was
a
lot
of
lack
of
clarity
when
it
comes
to
County
attorneys,
but
we
did
find
some
that
were
not
really
doing
what
they
should.
When
we
first
went
into
Boyd
County
the
child
support
office
manager,
well,
as
I
understand
it,
we
we
had
asked
our
people
that
asked
for
bank
statements
and
as
I
understand
it,
she
came
in
the
next
day
and
told
the
County
Attorney.
D
I,
know
why
they're
here,
I've
been
stealing
and
so
I
kind
of
I
kind
of
looked
at
that
as
our
Perry
Mason
moment,
and
it
was
funny.
I
was
telling
one
of
our
new
Auditors
a
few
months
back.
You
know
this
is
our
Perry
Mason
moment
and
she
said
now.
D
Who's
Perry,
Mason,
so
kind
of
made
me
feel
a
little
bit
older,
but
that's
all
right
and
and
then,
of
course,
the
Lawrence
County
attorney
that
one
was
very
interesting
because
well
I
guess
I
should
say
former
Lawrence
County
attorney,
but
that
one
was
interesting.
We
went
in
and
we
found
that
he
was
paying
bonuses
to
staff,
which
your
section
three
of
Kentucky
Constitution
prohibits
that,
but
but
he
was
paying
94
of
the
bonuses
to
his
wife,
and
so
those
are
bonuses.
D
Over
the
two
years
we
looked
at
equated
to
a
little
over
sixty
thousand
dollars.
Each
of
those
two
years-
and
that
was
on
top
of
her
forty
thousand
dollar
a
year
salary.
So
we
referred
that
to
the
FBI.
They
did
some
additional
investigation
that
County
attorney
and
his
wife
had
previously
pled
guilty
now,
where
they
were
indicted,
pled
guilty
and
my
they
are
already
been
sentenced
and
I
think
at
least
one
if
not
both
are
already
been
serving
have
already
reported.
D
D
One
we
passed
a
piece
of
legislation
that
helped
bring
a
little
more
uniformity
to
it,
had
a
reporting,
basically
additional
reporting,
creating
a
financial
statement
and
the
other
thing
that
we
did
with
that
partnership
is
we
started
a
pilot
program
and
in
that
pilot
program
we
took
volunteers,
County,
attorneys,
I,
think
we
had
22
if
I
remember,
21
or
22.
I.
D
Report
a
good
report
and
so
we're
doing
not
a
full
financial
statement
audit,
but
what
we
call
an
AUP,
an
agreed
upon
procedure-
and
you
know
it's
worked
out
very
well
and
we've
already
released,
as
you
indicated
several
of
those
already,
but
more
are
coming.
So
we
appreciate
that
cooperation
with
the
County
attorneys
appreciate
the
cooperation
with
the
general
assembly
helping
his
past.
The
piece
of
legislation
in
looks
like
John.
D
D
D
That
would,
for
whatever
reason,
were
having
paperwork
problems,
so
it
took
us
a
little
bit
longer
to
do
their
audits
and
what
happens
is
you
know
technically
that's
supposed
to
follow
the
cost
of
that
supposed
to
fall
on
the
shares
or
County
clerks,
but
inevitably
it
really
falls
on
the
fiscal
courts.
D
So
one
of
the
things
working
with
the
general
assembly
we
put
together
this
proposal
that
you
all
adopted
and
passed
to
put
in
over
a
two-year
period:
750
000,
500
000
the
first
year
250
and
the
others
to
do
the
outlier
assistance
program,
what
it
does
once
a
county
pays,
a
hundred
and
fifty
percent
of
the
average
cost
for
a
sheriff
or
County
clerks
audit.
D
Oh
John
said
on
this
one
I'm
a
little
sad.
This
may
not
be,
but
this
probably
will
be
the
last
time
that
I
testify.
Definitely
probably
the
subcommittee,
but
you
know
I
just
wanted
to
let
everybody
know
that
I
would
like
to
thank
my
fellow
kentuckians
for
the
opportunity
to
serve
the
Commonwealth
as
auditor
and
to
work
with
the
general
assembly.
D
D
D
G
You
Mr
chairman,
thank
you,
auditor,
I,
guess
I
would
have
to
start
off
by
saying.
If
you
professionally
audit
all
kinds
of
agencies
around
the
state
of
Kentucky,
you
might
be
a
really
good
state
auditor
yeah.
G
If
you
think
back
a
couple
of
months.
Thank
you
again
for
your
for
everything.
You
do
I
I
joke
a
little
bit
but
announcer
Ernest.
Thank
you
for
the
job
that
you've
done
in
your
this
position.
You've
helped
me
many
times
with
some
issues
and
I
appreciate
it
very
much.
I
was
just
going
to
ask.
Could
I
get
a
copy
of
your
presentation,
sent
I.
D
The
way
I
appreciate
the
compliments,
but
really
it's
not
me
I'm
blessed
to
have
great
staff,
they're,
wonderful
individuals
that
have
worked
for
me
over
the
years
and
could
not
do
it
without
them.
They.
D
They
make
me
look
real
good,
it's
kind
of
like
when
I
was
in
the
house,
the
constituent
Services
they
always
made
us
look
good.
C
No
I'm
sad
to
see
the
auditor
leave
too
and
worked
with
John,
great
and
and
Mike
for
years
and
years
and
years
and
years,
Kevin
sit
behind
me
all
those
years
in
the
house
and
I
hope
nothing,
but
the
best
for
all.
G
D
Or
just
thank
you
again
for
the
opportunity
to
be
here.
As
I
said
earlier,
it's
been
an
honor
to
serve
I've
been
truly
blessed
to
have
such
tremendous
group
around
me.
Such
a
team
around
me
I
always
said
that
I
always
hire
people
that
are
smarter
than
and
better
than
me.
That
way
you
don't
cap,
your
abilities
and
I've
been
blessed,
always
been
able
to
do
that.
Well,
thank
you.
A
Good
all
right
well,
thank
you.
So
much
thank
you
appreciate,
appreciate
you
being
here
for
sure
I
believe
we've
got
Miss
Allison
boss,
it's
our
state
treasurer
is
here
and
I
want
to
welcome
her
to
this
committee
and
appreciate
her
taking
time.
I
know
you're
busy
and
thank
you
for
making
time
to
be
here
today.
A
A
H
There
you
go.
This
is
better
all
right,
excellent,
very
good.
So
in
a
nutshell,
the
job
is
that
Watchdog
of
the
front
and
the
guard
to
make
sure
the
money
is
going
where
it's
supposed
to
and
then
it's
constitutional,
it's.
It
follows
the
law
and
it's
correct.
So
we've
got
our
overview
as
I've
already
noted.
It's
that
Watchdog
of
taxpayer
spending
that
that
governs
everything
that
we
do.
We
also
deal
with
unclaimed
property
disbursements
in
accounting
falls
under
the
Watchdog
roll.
H
We
record
verify
and
pay
all
federal
state
and
local
withholding
taxes
for
state
employees.
So
we
we
deal
with
that
aspect
of
state
government.
We
also
make
deposits
of
incoming
revenues
from
State
agencies,
so
we
actually
have
a
depository
in
the
office.
The
unclaimed
property
part
actually
has
a
vault
inside
of
it
as
well.
So
it's
a
pretty
big
function
of
our
office.
We
record
Monitor
and
reconcile
all
transactions
in
the
state's
depository
and
checking
accounts.
H
So
we
balance
the
books
and
we've
got
several
accountants
who
are
on
staff,
who
are
making
sure
that
they're
always
working
on
that
and
this
isn't
on
the
list.
But
since
we're
talking
about
checks,
we
also
do
all
the
W-2s
for
the
state
as
well.
Well
and
and
this
this-
these
are
added
aspects
of
the
office
I'm
just
going
to
mention
them,
they're,
not
part
of
the
core
functions,
but
financial
literacy
is
something
that's
become.
H
A
big
part
of
my
office,
while
I've
been
in
and
stable
Kentucky,
which
is
a
savings
and
investment
program
for
people
with
disabilities,
was
something
I
added
and
then
the
general
assembly
has
tried
twice
to
give
me
the
role
of
a
position
on
government
contract
oversight,
committee
and
I'm
still
very
hopeful
that
that
that's
going
to
make
it
through
lawsuits
and
become
a
a
permanent
position
on
this
office.
So
we're
ready
to
go
on
that.
H
When
that
happens,
the
next
page
I
have
is
just
an
overview
of
the
office,
the
different
positions,
so
you
can
see
it
on
a
grid
and
it's
a
small
office.
We
usually
have
the
low
20s
of
employees.
We
do
have
turnover,
like
everybody
does
in
state
government,
but
we're
usually
low
20s.
When
I
first
started,
we
were
about
30
and
we've
trimmed
some
to
what
we
are
now
I
also
sit
on
several
boards
and
commissions
and
the
treasury.
The
executive
staff
helped
assist
with
these
I'm
on
the
Deferred
Compensation
Authority
board.
H
The
Kentucky
Financial
Empowerment
commission,
which
I'm
very
proud
of
that,
was
something
that
I
started
while
serving
in
office
Kentucky
Lottery
board,
Kentucky
teachers,
retirement
system,
Kentucky,
higher
education
assistance,
Authority
Kentucky,
higher
education,
student
loan
corporation,
that's
Kia,
keyslick,
the
opioid
abatement
advisory
commission
is
probably
going
to
be
a
short-term
part
of
this
office.
But
it's
something
that
I'm
a
part
of
right
now
and
the
state
investment
commission
I'd
share
that
that
position.
That
commission
and
Kentucky
asset
liability
commission
doesn't
meet
very
often
it's
only
at
special
times.
H
So
it's
not
listed
on
here,
because
it's
not
a
regular
part
of
what
we
do,
but
we
do
it.
On
occasion
we
had
to
meet
several
times
during
covid
unclaimed
property
is
one
of
most
people's
favorite
parts
of
the
office,
because
it's
a
it's
a
fun
part
of
the
office.
It's
basically
the
Statewide
lost
and
found
and
I'm
very
proud
that,
while
I've
been
in
office,
I've
returned
over
150
million
dollars,
which
is
more
than
any
other
Treasurer
has
in
Kentucky
history.
H
If
you
want
to
know
how
we
get
unclaimed
property,
there's
a
variety
of
ways
that
we
get
it
a
lot
of
times,
it
could
be
uncashed
payroll
checks,
we
get
safety,
deposit
boxes
from
Banks,
that's
how
we
get
our
tangible
items,
usually
old
life
insurance
policies,
vendor
checks,
a
variety
of
things
that
maybe
some
stocks
that
you
have
not
been
active
in
your
involvement
with
them
and
they
the
custody
transfers
to
the
state.
Until
it's
returned
to
you,
so
there's
a
lot
of
ways
that
you
could
get.
H
You
could
lose
your
property
and-
and
we
can
get
it
back
to
you-
we
it
consists
of
actually
over
a
half
a
billion
dollars
and
that
money
is
usually
utilized
by
by
the
state
while
it's
in
state
custody.
So
we
use
it
to
pay
our
bank
fees
and
other
and
other
things
we
do
as
well.
H
One
thing
I
just
want
to
mention:
we
we
have
updated
a
lot.
We
added
a
new
holder,
reporting
tool
and
new
online
claim
opportunities,
so
we've
streamlined
things
we're
much
faster,
which
is
one
reason
why
we've
been
able
to
return
so
many
some
new
initiatives
I've
touched
on
them
a
little
bit
but
new
initiatives
while
I've
been
in
office
transparency.ky.gov.
That
was
a
component
that
I
launched
at
the
time
with
Governor
Bevin.
So
that
way
people
could
have
greater
access
to
Executive
expenditure.
H
Since
we
did
that
and
then
just
recently
we
listed
our
restricted
financial
institutions
list
which
is
a
result
of
SB
205
or
250
from
last
year.
Sorry
205.,
it's
a
it's
a
typo,
it
was
205,
and
that
was
the
work
that
we
did
to
identify
companies
that
were
boycotting
the
fossil
fuel
industry
and
we're
tasked
with
managing
that
part
of
state
government
right
now,
any
any
organizations
that
have
done
that
the
statute
says
that
we're
supposed
to
divest
them
or
not
do
business
with
them.
H
If
we
have
a
government
contract
so
we're
in
the
process
of
upholding
that
part
of
the
law
right
now
and
then
one
thing
that
we
launched
was
the
unclaimed
property
trust
fund
and
it
it
was
there
for
a
future
opportunity.
It's
not
been
utilized,
but
we
had
a
great
idea
at
some
point
to
use
some
of
these
over
half
a
billion
dollars
of
money
to
make
unclaimed
properties
self-sufficient.
So
it
doesn't
need
to
receive
funds
from
the
general
fund.
It's
there
ready
to
be
utilized
when
the
time
is
right.
H
We
just
haven't
done
it
because
it
hasn't
been
right,
but
but
the
time
may
be
in
the
near
future,
that'll
be
a
good
opportunity
to
do
that.
I
want
to
mention
Commonwealth
Council
on
developmental
disabilities.
This
used
to
be
attached
to
the
Cabinet
for
Health
and
Family
Services,
and
they
felt
like
they
had
a
conflict
because
they
get
very
involved
in
policy
and
they
wanted
to
be
free
to
make
policy
arguments
they
felt
like
was
appropriate
for
them
to
make.
H
They
are
attached
to
the
treasury
because
they
have
to
be
attached
to
to
some
part
of
state
government.
They
have
a
federal
component
to
them.
We
don't
manage
them,
we're
not
directly
involved
in
what
they're
doing.
We
do
provide
a
little
bit
of
support.
We
provide
some
HR
work
and
we
provide
some
legal
assistance
if
they
need
that,
but
they're
pretty
independent,
it's
just
a
it's
just
legally.
They
had
to
be
attached
to
somebody
and
we
agreed
to
take
them
on.
They
complicate
our
budget
a
little
bit
because
their
funds
are
a
part
of
ours.
H
We
can't
touch
them,
they
have
to
keep
them
pretty
separate
because
they
receive
federal
funds.
So
if
you,
if
you
look
at
our
budget,
it
says
federal
funds,
the
treasury
doesn't
get
any
of
those
federal
funds,
that's
all
ccdd
and
then
a
portion
of
our
general
fund
is
them
as
well.
So
when
we
actually
get
to
a
budget
year,
we
usually
have
to
explain
that
a
little
bit
more
detail,
but
just
a
heads
up
it's
a
little
unusual
because
it
looks
like
the
treasury
is
getting
those
monies,
but
the
treasury
is
not.
H
It
goes
to
somebody
that
is
attached
to
us
for
the
future.
Some
things
that
you
may
want
to
think
about
the
budget
for
the
last
few
years
has
given
us
the
responsibility
of
monitoring
State
expenditure
of
the
state
plane.
Only
the
governor
can
use
it.
However,
he
wants
to
and
there's
some
restrictions
now,
if
you're,
a
cabinet,
official
or
you're
representing
a
cabinet
official,
your
cabinet
secretary,
then
you
have
to
get
approval
and
you
have
to
show
the
that
it's
a
good
use
of
State
dollars
to
do
that.
H
So
the
treasurer
is
in
charge
of
that
again,
that's
in
the
budget.
I
think
that
would
be
a
good
thing
to
add
to
actually
codify
permanently
and,
and
we
could
build
that
out
a
little
bit
more.
It's
possible
it'd
be
good
to
have
some
funds
attached
to
it
to
be
able
to
do
some
more
work
on
it,
but
that's
something
we've
been
doing
for
the
last
few
years:
unclaimed
property
trust
fund.
H
If
it
was
the
will
of
the
general
assembly
to
put
some
money
in
there
from
these
unclaimed
property
dollars
that
come
in
every
year.
That
could
start
to
make
that
self-sufficient
and
I
think
that
would
be
a
good
use
in
the
future.
H
One
thing
that
we
we
would
like
to
suggest
is
unclean
property
receives
restricted
funds,
and
we
have
to
just
be
very,
very
careful
that
whatever
we
use
for
those
funds
goes
to
unclaimed
property,
but
sometimes,
for
example,
The
General
Counsel
works
for
both
unclaimed
property
and
the
other
parts
of
the
office,
and
it
creates
some
some
challenges
for
us
because
we
figure
out
percentages.
So
if,
if
we
could
allow
some
more
usage
of
that
from
the
regular
treasury
functions,
I
think
it
would
just
usually
make
some
sense.
H
So
that
concludes
what
I've
got
on
our
budget.
I
know
this
isn't
a
budget
year,
so
we
may
not
have
any
in-depth
questions,
but
if
anybody
wants
to
ask
me
anything,
I'm
happy
to
answer
them
or
my
staff
is
happy
to
answer
them
as
well.
A
H
We
get
to
hear
a
lot
of
great
stories,
sometimes
are
very
heartwarming.
We
had
a
one
individual
one
time
we
found
he
had
I,
don't
remember
how
much
it
was
like
twenty
thousand
dollars
and
he
just
lost
his
job.
So
he
started
crying
and
saying
how
this
is
going
to
help
him
take
care
of
his
family.
So
we
do
have
those
moments
that
are
are
really
great.
Yeah.
C
A
H
A
I
believe
from
the
Attorney
General's
office,
see
Mr
Maddox
Victor
Maddox
is
here,
he's
the
deputy
Attorney
General
and
he
is
here
and
also
Stacy
Woodrum,
the
executive
director
for
the
office
of
administrative
Services,
Office
of
the
Attorney
General.
So
I'll.
Let
you
introduce
yourselves
for
the
record
and
go
ahead
and
present
your.
F
So
we
appreciate
the
opportunity
to
be
here
to
testify
to
the
committee
today
about
the
work
and
mission
of
the
Office
of
the
Attorney
General
General
Cameron
would
have
liked
to
have
been
here,
but
unfortunately
he
is
in
another
part
of
the
state
today
and
had
a
prior
commitment,
so
he
couldn't
make
it
I'll.
Just
give
you
a
little
background.
We
don't
have
a
prepared
slide
deck,
but
I'll
give
you
a
little
background.
We
have
approximately
210
overall
staff.
F
F
Some
of
the
staff
are
here
in
the
in
the
capital.
Most
of
them
are
in
the
building
over
on
Versailles
Road.
We
have
offices
in
Covington
in
Louisville,
in
Bowling,
Green
and
Prestonsburg,
and
next
week
we'll
be
opening
our
London
office
and
that
completes
the
sort
of
Statewide
expansion
that
we
had
in
mind
when,
when
the
house
and
the
Senate
agreed
to
give
us
a
few
hundred
thousand
dollars
last
year
for
the
purpose
of
opening
these
offices,
General
Cameron
believed
I.
F
as
the
chief
law
officer
of
the
Commonwealth
he's
committed
to
defending
the
laws
of
the
Commonwealth
that
this
body
passes,
protecting
kentuckians,
fighting
the
drug
epidemic,
helping
kentuckians
in
every
County
recover
from
that
epidemic
and
from
the
Scourge
that
the
fentanyl
phenomenon
is
now
presenting
and
being
a
voice
for
those
who
are
otherwise
voiceless.
So
we
do
that.
You
know
through
two
principal
divisions,
the
Criminal
Division
and
the
Civil
Division.
We
also
have
our
office
of
the
solicitor
general,
which
is
our
appellate
office.
F
I.
Think
General
Cameron
was
the
first
attorney
general
to
actually
create
an
office
of
the
solicitor
general
and
I
believe
in.
In
a
recent
interview,
former
Chief
Justice
Minton
indicated
that
he
thought
that
the
creation
of
that
office
was
one
of
the
most
important
developments
for
the
for
the
Judiciary
in
in
recent.
You
know
years.
F
I
can
tell
you
that,
with
the
additional
funding
that
the
legislature
provided
in
the
2022
session,
approximately
200
or
2.8
million
dollars,
we
have
added
21
new
staff.
Nine
of
those
are
attorneys
three
of
those
in
our
consumer
protection,
one
in
Criminal
Appeals,
one
in
special
prosecutions,
one
in
prosecutors,
advisory
Council,
one
in
our
civil
office,
which
basically
defends
the
laws
of
of
the
legislature,
one
in
our
solicitor
General's
office
and
then
one
who
the
director
of
the
opioid
Commission
I'll.
Just
give
you
a
few
highlights
about
some
of
those
various
offices.
F
In
the
last
year,
18
months,
our
division
of
Department
of
Criminal
investigations
assisted
with
a
federal
task
force
investigation
that
resulted
in
the
arrest
of
a
gang
of
Cuban
drug
Peddlers.
Basically
in
Laurel,
County
They
seized
over
two
million
dollars
in
that
operation,
and
these
people
are
now
you
know
in
indicted
and
subject
to
prosecution.
F
I
believe
that
the
evidence
was
that
they
were
engaging
in
the
in
the
smuggling
and
dispersal
of
you
know
huge
amounts
of
illicit,
basically
fake,
prescription
drugs
and,
as
we
know,
that's
typically
how
the
whole
fentanyl
crisis
is
is
spread,
the
that
was
part
of
the
work
of
the
Appalachian
Haida
sort
of
office.
That's
the
high
intensity,
drug
trafficking
area
task
force
and
it's
focused
in
West,
Virginia,
Virginia,
Kentucky,
Appalachian,
Kentucky
and
Tennessee,
and
it
basically
pursues
the
disruption
and
the
dismantlement
of
those
sorts
of
operations.
F
So
that
was
a
very
good
development
for
that
office.
We
have
had
our
special
victims
division,
investigate
an
arrest,
multiple
in
multiple
undercover
operations,
a
variety
of
sex
trafficking
and
sexual
abuse
defendants.
There
were
three
teachers
actually
arrested
for
attempting
to
communicate
and
engage
with
minors
and
for
for
sex.
F
Our
special
prosecutions
unit,
which
basically
assists
Commonwealth
and
County
attorneys
across
the
state
with
their
prosecutions
when
they
need
particular
expertise
or
when
they
have
a
conflict
in
their
own
office,
has
indicted
multiple
defendants
for
a
variety
of
you
know,
felony
cases
we
had
one
in
Western
Kentucky,
where
an
attorney
had
stolen
money
from
a
client's
trust
fund.
In
order
to
effectively
you
know,
enrich
himself
and
his
families
so
he'll
be
facing
felony
charges
in
Wayne
County.
F
We
have
our
trafficking
and
and
Abuse
Prevention
office
that
is
engaged
in
right
now.
What
we
call
the
Hope
initiative,
it's
an
effort,
along
with
law
enforcement
agencies
to
basically
interrupt
the
human
sex
trafficking.
That's
done
through
massage
parlors
illicit,
massage
parlors
throughout
the
state,
and
we've
had
some
good
success
there.
F
The
office
of
Medicaid,
Fraud
and
Abuse
control
is
an
important
office
for
our
operation.
That
office
has
recently
indicted
an
attorney
in
McCracken
County
for
years
long
and
multiple
abuses
of
wards
of
the
state
effectively,
so
people
who
need
Guardians
and
whose
funds
are
being
administered
by
this,
this
individual
he
was
indicted
on
20
counts.
He
faces
20
years
if
convicted.
F
So
that's
sort
of
the
the
general
work
of
the
criminal
Vision.
Our
Civil
Division
has.
F
In
the
last
year
and
a
half
I
can
tell
you
settled
a
variety
of
cases
that
have
brought
in
substantial
funds
to
the
Commonwealth
I'll.
Just
give
you
a
list
of
a
few
of
them.
One
was
a
case
we
settled
only
in
the
last
few
weeks
against
a
subsidiary
of
Johnson
and
Johnson
called
ethicon
it
it
marketed.
We
believe,
deceptively
and
improperly
surgical
mesh,
a
vaginal
surgical
mesh
about
15
000
women
in
Kentucky
were
effectively
victims
of
this
operation.
G
F
Holding
out
like
we
did,
we
we
got
more
than
we
might
otherwise
have
we
had
a
consumer
protection
settlement
in
a
multi-state
operation
against
a
company
called
navient,
which
was
predatory
lending
case,
1.1
million
dollars.
We
had
a
case
involving
the
missed
marketing
of
tax
software
by
Intuit
software
company
1.7
million
dollars.
We
recently
settled
a
case
in
a
multi-state
operation
with
Google
or
alphabet.
F
If
you
will
Inc,
which
involved
the
Google
tracking
they
would
they
would
let
people
turn
off
the
tracking
function
on
their
phones,
letting
them
believe
that
they
were
no
longer
being
tracked
by
Google,
but
in
fact,
Google
had
another
operation
running
in
the
background
that
was
tracking
people.
So
we
settled
that
case
for
7.5
million
dollars.
F
We
settled
with
Jewel
Inc,
which
is
the
electronic
cigarettes
and
vaping
manufacturer.
We
settled
that
case
for
15
million
dollars
that
will
come
in
over
a
period
of
years.
I
believe
that's
a
10-year
settlement,
so
roughly
1.5
million
a
year
and
of
course
we
settled
the
opioid
litigation
in
2021.
We
announced
the
settlement
with
the
big
three
Distributors
and
Johnson
and
Johnson.
That
case
was
actually
finalized
in
February
of
22..
F
Some
of
that
money
will
come
in
over
18
years.
The
Johnson
and
Johnson
portion
of
it
will
come
in
over
approximately
10
years,
although
they
paid
the
first
four
years
up
front,
so
we
already
received
four
years
up
front,
so
we
already
received
about
40
million
dollars
of
the
Johnson
and
Johnson
settlement,
and
we've
received
I
believe
16
million
dollars
of
the
the
big
three
settlement.
F
Now,
of
course,
as
you
all
know,
I
believe
that
money
does
not
come
to
our
office,
that
money
goes
half
and
half
so
50
of
that
goes
to
this.
The
local
governments,
through
the
opioid
abatement
commission
that
was
created
by
krs-15291.,
the
other
half
I'm.
Sorry,
the
commission
funds
go
to
our
office
and
we
administer
that
the
other
half
goes
directly
to
the
counties
and
cities
and
that's
pursuant
to
a
formula
that
they
agreed
on
pursuant
to
the
multi-district
litigation
and
the
settlement
agreement
itself.
F
More
recently,
in
December
General
Cameron
announced
the
settlement
with
the
pharmacy
companies,
so
CVS
Walgreens,
who
we
had
sued
Walgreens
in
Boone,
County
CVS
in
in
in
Franklin,
County
and
Walmart,
who
we
had
not
sued
with
CVS,
we'll
receive
94
million
dollars,
Walgreens
102
million
dollars,
Walmart
53
million
dollars,
and
then
we
also
settled
with
Allergan
Teva,
which
is
a
manufacturer
of
opioids
for
114
million
dollars.
F
So
that
brings
the
the
total
amount
that
we've
recovered
so
far
from
the
opioid
cases,
to
approximately
850
million
dollars
and
of
course
again
most
of
that
will
be
distributed
to
the
counties
and
cities
over
over
the
years
and
to
the
commission
over
the
period
of
years.
Let
me
just
give
you
some
quick
highlights
about
what
the
opioid
commission
has
been
doing.
Of
course,
we
named
the
11
Commissioners
that
the
statute
calls
for.
F
We
have
had
a
series
of
of
town
hall
sessions
throughout
the
state
to
hear
from
kentuckians
who
were
affected
and
damaged
by
the
opioid
epidemic.
We
had
town
halls
in
Covington
in
Hazard,
in
Ashland,
in
Lexington,
in
Louisville,
in
Bowling,
Green,
in
Paducah
and
in
Pikeville,
and
in
believe
in
Paducah,
Lexington
and
Louisville.
We
had
two
hearings
because
of
the
interest
and
because
of
the
number
of
people.
Frankly,
who
showed
up,
we
have
awarded
10.5
million
dollars
of
the
funds.
F
The
state
has
received
to
the
behavioral
abatement
advice
to
the
behavioral
health
conditional
dismissal
pilot
program.
That's
a
mouthful
and
it's
we
did
that
pursuant
to
sb90
that
passed
the
legislature
in
2022
as
well.
We'll
do
that
again
for
the
next
three
years,
so
that
program
will
receive
a
total
of
over
40
million
dollars.
F
F
We
received
an
injunction
from
the
federal
court
here
in
Frankfurt
against
the
federal
contractor
vaccine
mandate,
a
mandate
that
basically
said
if
you
have
a
contract
with
the
federal
government
and
plenty
of
Kentucky
companies
do
all
of
your
employees
and
anybody
who
works
with
your
company.
Even
a
vendor
status
has
to
have
a
vaccine
mandate
that
was
unconstitutional
and
that
was
stopped.
We
were
part
of
the
Nationwide
multi-state
that
stopped
the
OSHA
vaccine
mandate,
which
the
president
had
announced.
You
know
he
was
basically
going
to
impose
because
people
were
not
signing
up
fast
enough.
F
F
We
have
done
other
litigation.
That
I
think
you
all
familiar
with
our
solicitor
general
argued
in
the
United
States
Supreme
Court
for
the
right
of
our
office
to
step
in
and
defend
the
laws
that
the
legislature
passes
when
the
governor's
office
chooses
to
step
aside,
and
we
did
that
in
the
case
involving
the
EMW
clinic
in
in
Louisville.
That's
a
case
that
is
now
cited
across
the
the
country
by
other
attorneys
General's
offices,
because
it
is
a
strong
endorsement
of
the
power
of
the
office
to
see
to
it
that
the
laws
are
defended.
F
Some
other
cases
that
we've
done,
we've
defended
Casey's
Law
successfully
another
statute,
this
office
passed
or
they
this
body
passed.
We
defended
the
judicial
redistricting
bill,
HB
348
from
2018
that
was
challenged,
I
believe
in
in
both
Floyd
circuit
court
and
here
in
Franklin,
Circuit
Court.
F
We
did
that
successfully
and
then
perhaps
you
know
for
me
personally,
because
I
was
one
of
the
trial
lawyers
we
successfully
in
the
trial
court
at
least
defended
the
redistricting
bill
that
this
this
body
passed,
setting
forth
the
redistricting
of
the
house
and
congressional
districts
for
the
next
10
years.
So
we're
pretty
proud
of
that.
We've
got
a
lot
of
work
going
on
in
the
ESG
area.
F
We
are
investigating
a
variety
of
banks
that
have
all
signed
on
to
something
called
The
Net,
Zero
banking,
Alliance
commitment
where
they
all
commit
to
effectively
eliminate
fossil
fuels
from
their
lending
portfolios,
first
in
2030
and
then
eventually
completely
in
2050.
F
That's
a
significant
piece
of
work
for
the
office.
I
think
it's
important
for
the
Commonwealth,
and
you
know
we're
very
pleased,
I
think
to
be
able
to
pursue
that
because
of
its
important
to
the
state.
F
F
These
are
people
who
live
in
114,
different
counties
across
the
Commonwealth.
We
increased
the
amount
of
money
returned
to
kentuckians
through
the
mediation
process
by
120
percent
in
our
office
of
rate
Intervention,
which
is
also
part
of
the
Civil
office.
F
We
intervened
in
cases
where
utilities
were
seeking
to
increase
utility
rates
and,
as
a
result
of
those
interventions
and
the
decisions
that
came
from
them,
we
saved
300
million
dollars
by
our
by
our
metrics
in
in
foregone
rate
increases
that
rate
rate
payers
would
have
faced
the
number
of
claims
or
complaints
that
our
office
there
has
seen
has
gone
up.
533
percent
from
2020
to
2022
compared
to
2016
to
2019.,
so
that
office
is
is
doing
great
work
and
we're
very
you,
know,
happy
about
what
it
is
doing.
F
Finally,
let
me
just
mention
the
the
office
of
the
solicitor
general
and,
if
I
haven't
misplaced,
that
in
addition
to
everything
else
I've
mentioned,
you
know
that
office
began
defending
the
the
legislature's
human
life
protection
act
and
the
and
the
heartbeat
bill
in
June
of
this
year.
The
day
after
Dobbs
was
decided.
The
Dobbs
case,
of
course,
overruled
Roe
versus
Wade.
F
F
We
have
been
litigating
that
ever
since
our
solicitor
general
argued
in
the
Supreme
Court
on
November
15th
I'm,
happy
to
tell
you
that
today
the
Supreme
Court
issued
its
decision
and
and
ruled
that
the
stay
should
remain
in
effect,
so
the
abortion
facilities
remain
closed.
The
case
has
been
remanded
to
the
Jefferson
circuit
court
for
further
proceedings
and
we'll
have
a
trial
at
some
point
later
this
year
or
or
next
year.
So
that's,
you
know,
obviously
a
very
a
good
good
development.
F
The
solicitor
General's
office
obtained
a
ruling
from
the
Kentucky
court
of
appeals
in
one
of
the
many
Cameron
versus
Bashir
cases.
I
I
can't
go
into
all
those,
but
this
one
allowed
for
the
reorganization
of
the
Kentucky
Fair
board
to
be
enforced
during
the
pendency
of
the
appeal
and,
and
that
is
is
ongoing.
I
can
also
tell
you
that
we
we
have
litigation
involving
the
the
pension
fund.