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State Senator Gary Clemons, 700 Capital Avenue, Frankfort, KY (2026)

10/16/2026

SENATE WEEK IN REVIEW

State Senator Gary Clemons

October 16, 2026

One serious illness can wipe out savings that took a family years to build. That concern came up this week when I met with union retirees.

They felt fortunate to have the health coverage their unions fought to secure. Much of our conversation, however, focused on relatives and friends paying high premiums or going without care because they cannot afford it.

In 2024, 95 percent of union-represented workers had access to medical benefits. Among workers who were not represented by a union, that figure was 71 percent.

Coverage through an employer can still be expensive. In 2025, the average annual premium for family coverage reached nearly $27,000. Workers paid an average of $6,850 toward that cost before deductibles, prescriptions, and other medical bills.

The retirees also described the stress they see among people close to them. Housing, groceries, utilities, and insurance are taking more out of each paycheck. An unexpected medical bill can push a family that is already struggling even further behind.

I have been on the union side of the bargaining table. Wages, insurance, and retirement benefits are settled through those negotiations. A union needs the resources to represent everyone covered by the contract.

Earlier this year, I filed Senate Bill (SB) 161 to repeal Kentucky’s right-to-work law. The current law allows employees covered by a union contract to opt out of paying dues or fees, even though the union must continue negotiating for and representing them when the contract is enforced.

The Interim Joint Committee on Economic Development and Workforce Investment examined another part of Kentucky labor policy this week. Officials with the Kentucky State Building and Construction Trades Council, Kentucky Pipe Trades, and the Midwest Economic Policy Institute reviewed the effects of Kentucky’s 2017 repeal of prevailing wage.

Prevailing wage set local wage standards for skilled workers on state and local construction projects. Federal projects in Kentucky still follow similar requirements under the Davis-Bacon Act. State-funded projects do not.

Researchers examined 2,155 highway resurfacing projects completed before and after the repeal. They found no statistical evidence that repeal reduced construction costs. They also estimated that Kentucky contractors have lost $520 million in annual business as companies from outside the state gained a larger share of the market.

The report found lower earnings and worse safety outcomes for Kentucky construction workers when compared with three neighboring states that kept their prevailing-wage laws.

Public money should not be used to drive down wages. I support putting prevailing wage back in place. When taxpayers pay for a school, road, or other public project, workers should receive wages based on local standards. Kentucky contractors should also have a fair chance to compete for the work.

The committee discussed eliminating the one-week waiting period for unemployment benefits as well. When a paycheck stops, the household bills continue. Allowing eligible workers to receive benefits one week sooner could help them keep up while they search for another job.

Officials with the Northern Kentucky Chamber, Lafayette Square Institute, and TiER 1 Performance Solutions also discussed employee ownership. More than half of Kentucky businesses have an owner who is at least 55 years old, including more than 2,200 manufacturers.

Selling a business to its employees can keep the doors open when an owner retires. It can also sustain jobs in Kentucky while giving workers an ownership stake and a way to build retirement savings.

The proposal would create a state director of employee ownership and a revolving loan fund to help finance those purchases. Before public money is committed, lawmakers need to understand how the loans would work and how taxpayers would be protected. Helping employees purchase a sound business could keep both the company and its jobs here.

The Interim Joint Committee on Tourism, Small Business, and Information Technology considered a proposal to preserve Kentucky music and local history. Officials with the Commonwealth Initiative described plans to connect schools, museums, tourism groups, artists, and community organizations already doing that work.

A handcrafted Kentucky fiddle and a journal would travel through approximately 20 communities during the first year, collecting music, photographs, and local stories. The plan also includes music instruction and access to instruments for young students. A statewide effort should support the people preserving these traditions without taking over what they have built.

Officials with the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources reported that public access to land under its management has increased by 68 percent since 2015. More than 90 million pounds of invasive carp have been removed from Kentucky waters since 2018.

The department has also worked with partner organizations to plug abandoned oil wells near the Green River and released 117 young hellbenders through a partnership with the Louisville Zoo. The public should be able to see how the department uses its money and what those projects have accomplished.

I also spent time closer to home at the Southwest Community Festival in Sun Valley Park. I caught up with old friends, met new ones, and visited with people from across South Louisville.

Families enjoyed live music, local food, children’s activities, a car show, and programs for teenagers and seniors. Some conversations were about issues facing the community. Others were simply an opportunity to visit with someone I had not seen in a while.

The trees are beginning to change, and cooler weather has finally arrived. I hope you have an opportunity to enjoy some of it with your family this weekend.

HELPFUL INTERIM LINKS:

Interim Calendar

Interim Committees

LRC Youtube Page

Kentucky General Assembly Main Webpage

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702 Capital Avenue, Frankfort, KY 40601 502-564-8100

10/09/2026

SENATE WEEK IN REVIEW
State Senator Gary Clemons
October 9, 2026

Of the 313 health-insurance denials sent for independent review in Kentucky last year, 138 were overturned in favor of the policyholder. Nearly half of the people who continued challenging a denial eventually received a different answer.

That number stuck with me at this week’s Interim Joint Committee on Banking and Insurance meeting. A family dealing with an illness should not also have to fight through appeals process to receive coverage they already paid for.

The committee also heard difficult news about premiums. Only Anthem and WellCare will offer plans through Kentucky’s insurance exchange next year. Anthem received approval for a 16.9% rate increase, while WellCare received approval for a 20.7% increase. Molina will sell plans outside the exchange and received approval for a 21.2% increase.

Department officials said independent actuaries determined that the increases were necessary to keep the insurers financially sound. Those increases will still be difficult for families whose budgets are already stretched by everyday costs.

Department-regulated enrollment in the commercial market fell from approximately 330,000 to 290,000 over 18 months. Officials attributed much of the decline to younger and healthier people leaving after enhanced federal premium tax credits ended. With fewer choices on the exchange and premiums continuing to rise, affordability needs close attention before more Kentuckians decide they can no longer maintain coverage.

The Department of Insurance reported recovering nearly $21 million for Kentucky residents through its consumer-protection work during the previous year. That is money returned to people who filed complaints and challenged decisions involving their coverage.

Automobile and homeowners’ insurance costs were also discussed. Kentucky’s average insurance expenditures are below national averages, but household income is approximately 23% lower. That leaves Kentucky families with less room in their budgets to absorb an increase.

Witnesses disagreed about how much litigation contributes to higher premiums. They agreed that staged accidents, dishonest contractors, abusive medical billing, and other forms of fraud should be addressed. Any legislation considered in January should target proven misconduct while preserving a policyholder’s ability to challenge an unfair decision.

The Strengthen Kentucky Homes program was another important part of the discussion. The program distributed $5 million to help homeowners install fortified roofs, but demand exceeded the available funding. Thirty-four applicants are on a waiting list, and no money has been appropriated for 2027. The Department of Insurance asked lawmakers to consider using department reserves to continue the program.

Housing also came before the Interim Joint Committee on Transportation. Lawmakers heard how conflicting rules can stop a manufactured-home purchase after a buyer has already qualified for financing.

Lenders may verify a buyer’s identity using several accepted forms of documentation. Kentucky’s title-transfer process uses a narrower standard developed for motor vehicles. A buyer can therefore qualify for financing but remain unable to transfer the title, preventing the lender from recording its lien and bringing the purchase to a stop.

Federal law now allows manufactured homes to be built without a permanent chassis and placed on a conventional foundation. Kentucky statutes still use the former federal definition requiring a chassis.

State law needs to catch up with both changes. Fraud protections must remain in place. However, a buyer who lawfully qualified for financing should not be blocked by two government processes using different identification rules. Updating the law will require input from buyers, lenders, county clerks, and the manufactured-housing industry.

A budget review subcommittee examined another area where delays can have real consequences. The Department of Housing, Buildings and Construction is using additional spending authority to hire inspectors, plan reviewers, and support staff.

Jefferson County had accumulated approximately 600 overdue boiler and pressure-vessel inspections. Overtime and help from inspectors in other regions reduced that backlog to about 100. A new inspector began work on October 1, but training someone to perform the full range of commissioned boiler inspections can take two years or longer.

These inspections involve equipment operating in hospitals, schools, factories, and other facilities. The department is also trying to fill positions involving HVAC, plumbing, electrical systems, hazardous materials, and building-code enforcement. Finding qualified applicants is difficult because the state is competing with private employers and local governments for people with the same skilled-trade experience.

The department is developing career paths that would allow experienced workers to train toward inspector certification on the job. That could help build the workforce, but the state will need to monitor the backlogs while those employees are recruited and trained.

Transportation officials also reported that Kentucky roadway fatalities declined from 814 in 2023 to 664 in 2025. As of October 2, another 506 people had died on Kentucky roads this year. Of those deaths, 161 involved someone who was not wearing a seat belt, and 84 were associated with alcohol.

The decline is encouraging. The current numbers also show why seat-belt use, sober driving, safer roads, and faster emergency response must remain part of Kentucky’s highway-safety work.

The 44% reversal rate for reviewed health-insurance denials deserves more than a mention in a committee report. I want to know why so many decisions changed under independent review and whether people who never filed an appeal were treated fairly.

I also want the manufactured-home conflict addressed and continued oversight of the state’s inspection staffing. We can begin getting answers before the session and be prepared to act when the General Assembly returns in January.

10/02/2026

SENATE WEEK IN REVIEW
State Senator Gary Clemons
October 2, 2026

Only one committee meeting for me this week, and its agenda focused on two concerns for Kentucky agriculture: getting more Kentucky-grown food into our schools and protecting cattle producers from further pressure on prices. I also attended public meetings where Kentuckians spoke about data center costs and the risk of losing Medicaid coverage over paperwork.

We are now in October, with only two months of interim meetings remaining before the 2027 session. What legislators hear during this period will shape many of the policy decisions waiting for us in January.

The Interim Joint Committee on Agriculture reviewed Senate Bill (SB) 5, which removed a state purchasing restriction that made it harder for public schools to buy Kentucky-grown food.

Since implementation, 171 school districts have adopted the new purchasing policy. Farmers and school districts still have to navigate issues of processing, transportation, storage, kitchen capacity, and paperwork. Until those pieces are in place, changing the policy alone will not put more Kentucky food in school cafeterias.

Officials are developing group purchasing and advance-contract options to give schools a steadier supply and farmers a more dependable customer. A proposed processing facility in Rockcastle County could also prepare Kentucky-grown products for schools and other large buyers.

Kentucky tax dollars used to purchase school food should stay with Kentucky farmers whenever possible. That will take more than a change in state law. Schools need suppliers who can meet their schedules, and farmers need the processing and transportation required to reach them.

Cattle producers are facing a separate concern after the Trump administration announced that an additional 300,000 metric tons of foreign beef could enter the United States tariff-free in 2026.

Producer groups have warned that the increase could lower the prices paid for American cattle without producing much relief at the grocery store. Kentucky farmers are already dealing with high costs for feed, fuel, equipment, and other supplies. Adding more foreign beef to the market could place further pressure on them while the national cattle herd is at its lowest level in decades.

Outside the committee room, proposed data centers are drawing growing concern across Kentucky. Residents want to know how these projects will affect farmland, water supplies, local infrastructure, and electric bills before local agreements are signed.

This week, I attended a data center listening session in Frankfort with more than 60 people from around the state. Nearly every speaker expressed concern about large hyperscale data centers.

These data centers use an extraordinary amount of power. Serving them can require new power generation, substations, transmission lines, and other equipment. The companies building these facilities should pay those costs. They should not be added to the monthly bills of families and existing businesses.

Kentucky approved sales tax exemptions for qualifying data centers in 2025. Legislators need to review those exemptions before the state commits more public resources to these projects. We also need firm ratepayer protections and public disclosure of a project’s expected power demand, water use, environmental effects, ownership, and tax benefits. Local officials should have that information before an agreement is signed and not after construction has begun.

The week’s second listening event focused on Medicaid. At Simmons College in Louisville, I joined Democratic colleagues from the Senate and House to hear from Medicaid members, caregivers, health care providers, advocates, and state officials.

New federal rules will require more frequent eligibility reviews and additional reporting. Participants were concerned that people who still qualify could lose coverage because they missed a notice, submitted the wrong form, or could not document irregular work hours by a deadline.

A clerical mistake should not interrupt cancer treatment, access to medication, or help for a person with a disability. Before coverage is terminated, people should receive clear notice and a reasonable opportunity to correct an error.

Kentucky is also projected to lose between $17 billion and $28 billion in federal Medicaid support over the next decade. That loss would reach far beyond individual members. Hospitals, pharmacies, nursing facilities, and home-based care providers depend on Medicaid payments to continue serving their communities.

The state needs to use every federal dollar still available and prepare carefully for the new rules. It also needs to track why people lose coverage. Legislators should know whether someone was ineligible or became caught in the paperwork.

Committee work is important. It gives us the information we need before casting a vote. Even more important is hearing directly from the people we represent about how a proposal or policy affects their daily lives. That is why listening tours and town halls need to be part of the job.

We are here to serve you. Your experiences and concerns need to guide the decisions we make when the General Assembly returns in January. I hope you will stay involved and continue telling me how these decisions affect you and your community.

09/28/2026

Today, we face one of the most difficult moments an agency can endure as we announce the loss of one of our own. Trooper Hayden Phillips, Unit 369, made the ultimate sacrifice while
patrolling I-65 in Warren County. He was assigned to Post 3 Bowling Green and was a graduate of Cadet Class 103. His dedication to duty and commitment to the commonwealth will not
be forgotten.
Our hearts break for Trooper Phillips’ family, loved ones, and fellow troopers as we grieve this tremendous loss. We will carry his memory with us, honor the life he lived and the badge he wore, and stand together as an agency to support this family in the days ahead.
-Colonel Phillip Burnett, Jr.

09/25/2026

SENATE WEEK IN REVIEW
State Senator Gary Clemons
September 25, 2026

Before the General Assembly writes another budget, we need to account for what happened to the money already approved.

USA Cares received a $2 million state appropriation to help military and veteran families facing eviction, utility shutoffs, vehicle repairs, and other immediate expenses. The organization used that funding to assist 485 families, including 541 children and 197 spouses or partners.

The appropriation expired at the end of June. During July and August, 253 Kentucky veterans requested assistance. Yet, only 21 received it.

Members of the Interim Joint Committee on Veterans, Military Affairs, and Public Protection were told that the previous line item may have been moved into an agency’s base funding without a specific requirement that it reach USA Cares. We need a direct accounting of that money.

If the General Assembly intended it for emergency assistance, we need to know whether it was spent for that purpose. We also need to decide whether to restore the appropriation in the next budget.

USA Cares has reduced its maximum assistance from $10,000 to $1,500 and generally limits eligibility to post-9/11 veterans. That leaves many Kentucky veterans without help at the point when a missed rent payment or broken vehicle can cost them their housing or employment.

The committee also received an update from Kentucky VALOR, which helps service members, veterans, spouses, National Guard members, and reservists move into civilian employment.
Military experience does not always fit neatly into a civilian job application. Kentucky VALOR helps employers understand that experience while guiding applicants through licensing, education, and hiring requirements.

The program has placed nearly 250 people in Kentucky jobs with an average salary of approximately $64,000 and a 94 percent retention rate. More than half of those workers came here from another state.

A retired Army counterintelligence officer described submitting 120 applications and receiving fewer than 10 callbacks. Kentucky VALOR helped connect him with Ford, where he now leads a security-management team made up primarily of veterans.
Kentucky employers need workers who can lead, solve problems, and accept responsibility. Veterans arrive with those abilities. The civilian hiring process should recognize what they have already earned.

Two other presentations addressed practical changes in public safety.

The Kentucky Autism Training Center is teaching first responders how autism and sensory overload may affect a person’s behavior during an emergency. Before the training, 27% of participating responders felt confident interacting with an autistic person. Afterward, 89% did.

The Kentucky Board of Emergency Medical Services is also reviewing military medical training and recognizing national credentials so qualified service members can enter Kentucky’s EMS workforce faster. Military medics should receive proper credit for their training instead of repeating coursework they have already completed.

The Interim Joint Committee on Economic Development and Workforce Investment then reviewed Kentucky’s housing shortage and a state-funded youth employment program.
Kentucky authorized about 19,000 new housing units each year before the Great Recession. Since then, the average has fallen to roughly 10,000. The statewide shortage is now estimated at more than 200,000 units.

The Kentucky Chamber proposed changes to zoning, permitting, parking requirements, and converting commercial property into housing. I am willing to review proposals that help build homes working people can afford. I am not willing to discard safety standards or assume the same policy will work in Louisville and every rural county.

Housing is part of workforce policy. Employers cannot retain workers who cannot find a reasonably priced home near their job. Families also cannot build security when rent consumes most of a paycheck.

The committee received better news from Putting Young Kentuckians to Work.

The General Assembly funded Kentucky’s 10 regional workforce boards to help graduating seniors and young adults who are not working or enrolled in school. The program has placed more than 3,600 young Kentuckians in jobs with an average starting wage of $14.78 per hour.

Here in Louisville, KentuckianaWorks and Goodwill operate The Spot. Young adults can receive career guidance, training, credentials, interview preparation, and connections to employers. State funding helped expand the program to two Louisville locations.

More than 68,000 Kentuckians between 16 and 24 remain disconnected from both work and education. Many high school seniors do not plan to attend college but still graduate without a résumé, an industry credential, or contact with an employer.

As a union president, for years I have been helping workers deal with problems that could have been prevented if someone had explained the process earlier. Young people entering the workforce deserve clear information about the jobs available, the training required, and the wages they can expect.

The legislature reduced annual funding for this initiative from $10 million to $5 million in the current budget. Before making another funding decision, I want to see how many participants remain employed, whether their wages increase, and which regional approaches are producing the strongest results.

The Interim Joint Committee on Tourism, Small Business and Information Technology received a similar example from Eastern Kentucky University.

EKU’s supply-chain management program has arranged more than 300 paid internships, generally paying around $20 per hour. At least 95% of its students complete an internship, and graduates are beginning their careers with average salaries approaching $70,000.

Manufacturing depends on far more than what happens inside one building. Materials, transportation, purchasing, maintenance, production schedules, and customer demand all have to line up. EKU is preparing students to manage that work and giving them paid experience before graduation.

The committee also reviewed Kentucky’s settlement with Meta over the company’s treatment of children and teenagers using Facebook and Instagram.

The agreement requires stronger protections for young users, including overnight limits, restrictions on notifications, school-hour controls, parental tools, and independent monitoring. Kentucky is guaranteed approximately $358 million and could receive additional funds if stronger nationwide standards take effect.

Those dollars will enter the general fund and require legislative appropriation. I support directing a meaningful portion toward youth mental health services, crisis intervention, digital literacy, and enforcement of the settlement. The legislature should connect the money to the harm addressed by the case and require public reporting on how it is spent.

January will bring another round of funding requests and legislative proposals. Our September committee presentations gave legislators specific results to continue examining before decisions are made.

09/11/2026

SENATE WEEK IN REVIEW
State Senator Gary Clemons
September 11, 2026

Sept. 11, 2001, was 25 years ago. It’s hard to believe that a child born that morning is now old enough to have a family of their own. Millions of Americans know that day only through photographs, recordings, classrooms, and stories passed down.

That is exactly why we have to remember on purpose.

The attacks took nearly 3,000 lives in New York City, at the Pentagon, and aboard Flight 93 in Pennsylvania. The people we lost were parents, children, spouses, friends, and coworkers. Many had simply reported for work or boarded a flight that morning.

That is part of what still makes September 11 so difficult to think about. It began as an ordinary workday. People left home expecting to return that evening.

Many never did.

We remember the firefighters who climbed the stairs of the towers while thousands of people were coming down. We remember the police officers, emergency medical workers, military personnel, construction workers, and ordinary citizens who stepped forward when others needed help.

Some gave their lives that morning. Others spent months working through the wreckage. Many first responders and recovery workers still live with serious illnesses caused by what they breathed and handled at the attack sites.

For their families, the passing of 25 years has not restored what was taken.

As a veteran of the Army Reserve, I also think about the men and women who served in the years that followed. Some were already wearing the uniform. Others joined after seeing our country attacked. They deployed to Afghanistan, Iraq, and other parts of the world without knowing when they would return.

Military families served alongside them. They carried the long separations, missed milestones, uncertainty, and worry that came with every deployment.

Some service members returned with injuries we could see. Others came home carrying wounds that were harder to recognize. Our obligation to them did not end when they took off the uniform.

I spent six years in the Army Reserve and have worked 30 years at American Synthetic Rubber in Rubbertown. The military, the shop floor, and the union hall taught me the same basic lesson: When something goes wrong, the person beside you matters.

You do your job. You look out for one another. You do not leave someone behind when the immediate danger has passed.

That lesson was visible throughout our country after September 11. Americans donated blood, delivered food, volunteered, checked on their neighbors, and helped strangers. They did not wait for someone to tell them that helping was their responsibility. They saw what needed to be done and went to work.

We should remember that part of the story too.

“Never forget” does not mean living in fear or remaining trapped in the pain of that day. It means telling the truth about what happened, honoring those who were killed, and caring for the people who still carry the consequences.

It means making sure first responders can receive treatment for illnesses connected to their service.

It means standing with veterans and military families. It means teaching young people about the courage shown by passengers, workers, emergency personnel, and ordinary citizens.

It also means remembering what Americans can accomplish when we stop looking for reasons to divide ourselves and start looking out for the person beside us.

We will never agree on everything.
We did not agree on everything before September 11, and we have not agreed on everything since. But disagreement should never prevent us from recognizing our shared responsibility to one another.

That responsibility begins with memory.

Here in Louisville, we have several ways to put that responsibility into action.

Today, the Kentucky Blood Center will hold a remembrance blood drive at its Louisville donor centers from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. For every donation made at a donor center that day, the organization will give $10 to the Tunnel to Towers Foundation, which supports injured veterans, first responders, and the families of those who gave their lives.

This evening, the Louisville Bats will recognize first responders during their 7:15 p.m. game at Louisville Slugger Field. First responders can receive free admission at the ticket window.

Tomorrow on September 12, the Louisville 9/11 Heroes Run will begin at 9 a.m. at Saint Xavier High School. Runners and walkers of all ages and fitness levels are welcome to participate in honor of those we lost and those who stepped forward to serve.

Whether you give blood, recognize a first responder, walk alongside your neighbors, or take a silent moment of reflection, each of us can do something.

After 25 years, a lived experience can become a chapter in a schoolbook. Our job is to make sure September 11 never becomes only that.

We must remember the people whose lives were taken, honor those who ran toward danger, care for those still carrying the burden, and tell the next generation why that morning changed our country.

A quarter-century has passed. Our promise remains.

We will never forget.

State Senator Gary Clemons

10/16/2026

10/09/2026

10/02/2026

09/28/2026

09/25/2026

09/11/2026

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