Last week, the Governor signed into law the Incentives for a New Kentucky act, providing a major overhaul of Kentucky’s incentive programs.
The sweeping legislation does the following:
The How to Get a Job employability fair was a HUGE success! More than 380 people attended the fair aimed at helping job seekers learn the best ways to find that new job.
It included sessions that provided updates and tips to help job seekers know what options were available to them. Session titles included:
Recently, I posted information on the groups that had formed as a part of the Henderson County Education Advocacy Team. Today, I am posting an update on the groups formed in Union County. As always, additional information can be found at www.rally4education.com.
The Academic Emphasis Group is planning a Job Shadowing program for incoming high school freshmen July 21st-23rd. Job shadowing is an Read more…
By overwhelming majorities, the House passed HB 3 and HB 4 today sending these bills on to the Senate for consideration.
The bills could be heard in committee as early as tomorrow.
A technology-driven company is considering locating a facility in Northwest Kentucky. The company is currently conducting a workforce survey to confirm the availability of skilled labor.
Potentially, these are excellent jobs with an outstanding organization.
If you are a software developer or are completing classes to design customized software solutions, please register at the www.northwestkyworks.com. It’s quick, easy and free and it may open up a terrific career opportunity for you.
HB 3 passed out of the House A&R Committee this afternoon with a committee substitute. The substitute amended the minimum wage for incentives in non-enhanced counties from 175% of federal minimum wage to 150%. This is a change that we endorsed and are pleased to see included in the approved legislation.
The amended bill now goes to the full House for consideration tomorrow.
Also, HB 4 easily passed through the House A&R Committee. This bill, which would create infrastructure authorities to help fund mega transportation projects, will soon be heard by the full House.
The House Appropriations and Revenue Committee will hear testimony today at noon CDT on HB 3 (economic development incentives) and HB 4 (infrastructure authorities). The committee will hear testimony tomorrow on HB 1 (budget) and HB 2 (video lottery terminal).
The hearings will be webcast through KET at http://www.ket.org/legislature/.
I had the privilege several months ago to serve on a task force that reviewed Kentucky’s current incentive programs and made a series of recommendations regarding changes, enhancements, and new programs.
In late January, the Governor unveiled a bill that encompassed nearly all of our suggestions. While the bill received wide spread support during the Spring Session and passed by houses by wide margins, it died as a result of “timing issues.”
The Governor has again included this important legislation in the Special Session scheduled to begin 15 June. The bill, like its predecessor, is all encompassing; however, here are some of the highlights from a Northwest Kentucky Forward perspective:
A special session of the Kentucky General Assembly will begin this Monday, 15 June. The Governor has placed four items on the agenda:
It is doubtful any region of the Commonwealth will follow these issues more closely, or has more potentially at stake, than Northwest Kentucky. I will blog more about the incentives legislation and will provide updates as the session progresses.
I was in a meeting yesterday with Greg Pritchett, who runs the Henderson Riverport. Greg and I often work together on projects and the multi-modal Henderson Riverport Industrial Park is a popular choice of companies as it combines river, rail, and road with the general aviation airport adjacent as well.
Greg was sharing information on the port and included one of my favorite statistics.
The typical Ohio River barge includes 15 barges (3 wide, 5 deep) pushed by a towboat. Each barge carries the equivalent of 65 truck loads. This means that the typical Ohio River barge is pushing the equivalent of 975 truckloads!!
Photo by Tim Kiser, Wikimedia