My Work

State Senator Amanda Mays Bledsoe

The 2023 General Assembly wrapped up with 189 passed pieces of legislation. For a short session, I anticipated less but there were 880 total bills filed in both the house and senate combined. Roughly 21% of those filed went into law. Interestingly, 160 bills passed with bipartisan, bicameral support representing 85% of all legislation passed. I was the primary sponsor of 6 bills which are outlined below, each of which passed with strong bipartisan support and are currently law.

  • SB 57: I worked with the Department of Defense, the Council of State Governments, and the KY Cosmetology Board to adopt the Cosmetology Licensure Compact. This is an effort to reduce the barriers to employment and improve the support system for the families of those serving in our military.
  • SB 58: Working with the various audiology organizations, this bill eliminates the requirements for over-the-counter hearing aids. This bill reflects federal changes and updates the state regulations while reducing the costs for those seeking hearing aids. 
  • SB 81: A principal in Lexington brought this issue to my attention and worked with me to change the law to allow certified private and parochial schools to adopt and operate a calendar different from the local public school district while maintaining the minimum school term and instructional year. 
  • SB 111: The Fayette County Health Department Board asked for me to work with them to expand the requirements to serve as the public health director or commissioner of local health departments. This specifically helps Fayette and Jefferson counties conform to the same requirements as those in the rest of the state. 
  • SB 141: I worked with the KY League of Cities on this bill to allow cities to list unpaid code enforcement liens on property tax bills to enable cities more efficient efforts to improve blighted areas. It was amended to include a one-year moratorium on annexations with some exceptions and created an Annexation Task Force. 
  • SB 206: Having served on the City of Lexington’s Employee Pension Board, I was aware of the limitations for increasing annuities for the remaining handful of widows still benefiting from the program. This bill increases those monthly annuities and increases the flexibility for the board to better steward the remaining funds. 
  • There are a number of ways to view all the bills including voting history and committee work here: https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/record/23rs/record.html

 

Amanda Mays Bledsoe for State Senate