Lifetime Citizen Portal Access — AI Briefings, Alerts & Unlimited Follows
Committee approves wide package of staff-suggested regulatory changes across state agencies
Loading...
Summary
The regulatory review committee approved staff amendments to administrative regulations affecting pensions, medical licensure, wildlife areas, vocational rehabilitation, unemployment insurance, horse-racing licensure, public health personnel rules, and e-prescribing; most items advanced by unanimous consent after brief presentations and limited member questions.
Frankfort — A standing regulatory committee on Tuesday approved a broad series of staff-suggested amendments to administrative regulations across multiple state agencies, advancing changes on pensions, licensure, workplace programs and public-health personnel rules.
The committee approved amendments for the Kentucky Public Pensions Authority to update definitions and clarify how unused sick leave counts toward retirement service credit and health insurance months. KPPA policy specialist Carol Catellfo and staff attorney Nathan Goodrich answered members’ clarifying questions; the committee approved the staff amendments by unanimous consent.
Leanne Diakoff, general counsel for the Board of Medical Licensure, presented staff amendments on physician assistant and athletic trainer renewal and reinstatement (201 KAR 9086 and 9305); those amendments were approved without change.
The Tourism, Arts and Heritage Cabinet’s Department of Fish and Wildlife presented amendments for Otter Creek Outdoor Recreation Area and Peabody Wildlife Management Area to adjust definitions and shooting-range permit exemptions; legislative liaison Jenny Gilbert and staff attorney Steven Fields described the changes and the committee approved the package.
Representatives from the Office of Vocational Rehabilitation described changes to 781 KAR 1001–1040 to establish definitions, due-process rights, service fees and in-state preferences. Representative Gordon asked whether income is now considered in benefit determinations; staff said financial participation (cost-sharing) is included and had been suspended previously but has been reinstated in the program.
The Office of Unemployment Insurance’s amendments (787 KAR 1:370) clarify contribution and reporting when a professional employer organization elects client-level reporting and provide instructions to support accurate rate assignment; staff indicated a single staff amendment was approved by consent.
Jamie Eads, president and CEO of the Kentucky Horse Racing and Gaming Corporation, described licensing changes to add allied animal-health categories (animal chiropractor, equine dental provider), allow written waiver requests when someone qualifies for multiple categories, update license fees and remove the three-day cap for special-events licenses. Eads said the changes aim to ensure people working "on the backside" of racetracks are licensed for safety: "Anyone that's on the backside of a racetrack has to be licensed by us...that's a safety for everyone so we know who's back there." The committee approved the staff amendments.
Department for Public Health staff presented amendments affecting salary and classification rules for local health departments (including a 3–5% increase for successful completion of probation in some cases, and limits on discretionary increases to once per evaluation year); staff amendments were approved by consent.
The Office of the Inspector General presented a change to 902 KAR 55:95 to add electronic-prescription references and to remove permission to create a new prescription number for partial dispensing of schedule II prescriptions. Deputy Inspector General Peyton Sands and policy specialist Valerie Moore presented the change; the committee approved the staff amendment. During public comment, a resident urged consideration of access issues for people with chronic pain who face pharmacy-location constraints when filling prescriptions.
Most items advanced on a motion and second "without objection"; the chair ordered the changes adopted by unanimous consent. The committee adjourned and noted a tentative next meeting date of May 12 at 1 p.m.
