JOUR-PAC is pleased to announce our official endorsement of 12 Kentucky JOUR-PAC Reformers running for re-election in 2018. These 12 Kentucky state legislators have served their districts, state, and country honorably and have worked hard to promote Justice, Opportunity, and United Reform. We are pleased to endorse them for re-election.
Note: JOUR-PAC is focused mainly on federal Congressional races, so we do not endorse in all state legislature races, and we do not follow the bills/actions in the state legislatures as closely as we do the ones in Congress. Additionally, our support for state legislators is based on their leadership of some issue(s) that is/are important to JOUR-PAC. As always, our endorsement and reformer induction does not represent a 100% agreement with all of their views, but instead, it represents our appreciation of their leadership on important issues. State Senator Danny Carroll (R-KY SD 02): Protecting Victims of Domestic Abuse: "January 31, 2018: Bill seeks to relieve battered spouses of abuser’s legal fees: FRANKFORT -- A bill clarifying that a victim of domestic violence is not required to pay divorce costs of a spouse locked up for crimes against the petitioner passed the Senate today by a 37-0 vote. Under current state law, someone seeking a divorce against an incarcerated person can be held responsible for paying the incarcerated person’s court-appointed lawyer, even when the imprisonment is the result of spousal abuse. The measure, known as Senate Bill 68, would take away that burden, said its sponsor, Sen. Morgan McGarvey, D-Louisville. He said the bill would help with “closing a loophole” in current statutes for victims of domestic violence. Sen. Danny Carrol, R-Paducah, spoke in favor of this bill by telling of his encounters with victims of abuse when he was a law enforcement official. “Simply put, I think this bill is a way … we can break the cycle of violence,” he said. A floor amendment that was adopted states that the act will be referred to as Jeanette’s Law. It’s named after Jeanette McCue of Washington County, who testified that she had to pay her ex-husband’s divorce costs while he was imprisoned for abusing her." Follow him on Twitter: https://twitter.com/dannycarrollky State Senator Wil Schroder (R-KY SD 24): Leadership in Promoting Respect & Compassion: "State Sen. Wil Schroder, R-Wilder, remembered his first trip to the Capitol as a student. “I’m here today on behalf of those students who will one day come here and wonder why is this statue here? Why are we honoring this person? How do I explain why Kentucky continues to honor someone who, as President of the Confederacy, was responsible for the deaths of thousands of Kentuckians? There’s really no good answer as to why he is here. “Some people say the statue is a sign of history and as a historical marker belongs here,” Schroder added. “I disagree. Because of its historical context, it belongs in a museum, not in a place of honor.” Schroder went on to denounce the KKK, neo-Nazis and white supremacists, saying “your hate is not welcome here. We can make Kentucky and this Capitol a better place with the simple removal of one statue.” Protecting Victims of Domestic Violence: "Sen. Schroder (R-Wilder) was honored for his sponsorship of SB 224, allowing victims of sexual assault more time to bring civil actions against their perpetrators. The law extends the statute of limitations for cases of sexual assault and sexual abuse from one year to five years from the date of offense or criminal conviction and ten years if the victim was a juvenile." Campaign Website: http://wilschroder.com/ State Senator Ralph Alvarado (R-KY SD 28): Protecting Victims of Domestic Violence: "Sen. Alvarado sponsored SB 86, which was attached to HB 309 in the last hours of the legislative session, and replaces the 39-year old mandatory reporting law with a mandatory education and referral requirement for all survivors of intimate partner violence. The law requires a broadly defined group of professionals to provide a suspected victim of domestic or dating violence with educational materials about domestic violence, referral information for accessing the state’s 15 regional domestic violence programs and 13 rape crisis centers, and information about how to access protective orders." Campaign Website: http://ralphalvarado.com/ State Senator Julie Raque Adams (R-KY SD 36): Protecting Victims of Violence, Assault & Abuse: "Unlike a program that may inform a victim about offender information after a conviction, Marsy's Law would give victim's constitutional rights to being informed of all court proceedings during the legal process. It also gives them rights to be present in court, be heard at any plea, sentencing or other proceedings, notification of release or escape of the accused, reasonable protection from the accused and rights to fairness and due process. Since it would require a constitutional amendment, the passage in Frankfort would place the proposal on the November ballot for Kentuckians to decide. “I think it's time for us as members of the General Assembly to look at the victim component of our judicial system”, Kentucky State Senator Julie Raque-Adams said. Any attempt to alter a constitution can be a tricky proposition but the Republican State Senator from Kentucky’s 36th District points to the early organization as a sign of potential. “Kentucky is one of only 15 states that doesn't have any sort of constitutional protection for the victims and so here we are with this whole victim population and they feel as if they have no say”, Senator Raque-Adams said." Campaign Website: http://www.adamsforkentucky.com/ State Representative Melinda Gibbons Prunty (R-KY HD 15): Protecting Victims of Domestic Violence: "Rep. Melinda Gibbons Prunty, sponsored HB 309 which ensures that victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, dating violence and stalking who have a court-issued order of protection may not be evicted from their rental units solely because they are victims The new law allows victims with long-term orders of protection to terminate their leases if they give their landlords 30 days’ written notice. The law allows protected tenants to change the locks at their own expense as long as they give their landlords notice and a copy of the key. The law also gives landlords some important protections, including allowing them to bar abusers from their property and formally evict abusers based on the issuance of orders of protection." Campaign Website: https://www.facebook.com/melindagibbonsprunty/ State Representative Tim Moore (R-KY HD 18): Protecting Victims of Sexual Harassment: "A group of eight Republican House members issued a stern statement Saturday saying that representatives (JOUR-PAC Note: including the Republican House Speaker) enveloped in a sexual harassment scandal do not have the “full” support of the GOP caucus, as had been stated publicly the day before by caucus leadership. “We are shocked and angered by the allegations of sexual harassment, none of which have been denied or even disputed,” said the statement from the eight GOP House members. “Contrary to what has been reported, the Representatives at issue did not have the ‘full’ support of the entire Republican caucus. “Immediately upon becoming aware of the allegations published this week, we have worked aggressively to review all information available to us and attempted to gather additional information. Having done so, we call for the immediate resignation of all members involved in the confidential settlement of allegations of misconduct with legislative staff. We likewise call for the resignation of any house member or LRC staff that participated in, or in any way abided in the underlying conduct or sought to intimidate staff, or otherwise obstruct the reporting or publication of the alleged misconduct.” The eight GOP House members issued their statement after Gov. Matt Bevin called on those implicated in the sexual harassment scandal to resign, and after House Speaker Jeff Hoover responded by accusing the governor of “grandstanding.” Hoover said he was “more resolved than ever to continue my work as Speaker.” Bevin’s comments came after another GOP state Representative, C. Wesley Morgan of Richmond, had taken to Twitter to call on Hoover to step down. And a House GOP staffer said in an interview that she was “basically put on paid suspension” after she brought concerns about a “toxic” work environment to Hoover. Here is the full statement from the eight House Republicans, Robert J. Benvenuti, Joe Fischer, Kim King, Stan Lee, Tim Moore, Phil Moffett, Russell Webber, Addia Wuchner." Campaign Website: http://www.mooreforstaterep.info/pages/about.html State Representative Phil Moffett (R-KY HD 32): Protecting Victims of Sexual Harassment: "A group of eight Republican House members issued a stern statement Saturday saying that representatives (JOUR-PAC Note: including the Republican House Speaker) enveloped in a sexual harassment scandal do not have the “full” support of the GOP caucus, as had been stated publicly the day before by caucus leadership. “We are shocked and angered by the allegations of sexual harassment, none of which have been denied or even disputed,” said the statement from the eight GOP House members. “Contrary to what has been reported, the Representatives at issue did not have the ‘full’ support of the entire Republican caucus. “Immediately upon becoming aware of the allegations published this week, we have worked aggressively to review all information available to us and attempted to gather additional information. Having done so, we call for the immediate resignation of all members involved in the confidential settlement of allegations of misconduct with legislative staff. We likewise call for the resignation of any house member or LRC staff that participated in, or in any way abided in the underlying conduct or sought to intimidate staff, or otherwise obstruct the reporting or publication of the alleged misconduct.” The eight GOP House members issued their statement after Gov. Matt Bevin called on those implicated in the sexual harassment scandal to resign, and after House Speaker Jeff Hoover responded by accusing the governor of “grandstanding.” Hoover said he was “more resolved than ever to continue my work as Speaker.” Bevin’s comments came after another GOP state Representative, C. Wesley Morgan of Richmond, had taken to Twitter to call on Hoover to step down. And a House GOP staffer said in an interview that she was “basically put on paid suspension” after she brought concerns about a “toxic” work environment to Hoover. Here is the full statement from the eight House Republicans, Robert J. Benvenuti, Joe Fischer, Kim King, Stan Lee, Tim Moore, Phil Moffett, Russell Webber, Addia Wuchner." Campaign Website: www.philmoffett.com State Representative Chad McCoy (R-KY HD 50): Protecting Victims of Child Sex Abuse & Assault: "FRANKFORT— Bills that would more tightly secure child pornography held as part of court proceedings and further restrict communications by registered sex offenders passed the state House today. House Bill 120, sponsored by Rep. Chad McCoy, R-Bardstown, would prohibit a defendant from duplicating anything constituting child pornography or sexual performance by a minor that is part of a criminal or civil court proceeding. Both bills were approved by consent on a vote of 89-0 and now go to the Senate for consideration. Campaign Website: http://votechadmccoy.com/ State Representative Kim King (R-KY HD 55): Protecting Victims of Sexual Harassment: "A group of eight Republican House members issued a stern statement Saturday saying that representatives (JOUR-PAC Note: including the Republican House Speaker) enveloped in a sexual harassment scandal do not have the “full” support of the GOP caucus, as had been stated publicly the day before by caucus leadership. “We are shocked and angered by the allegations of sexual harassment, none of which have been denied or even disputed,” said the statement from the eight GOP House members. “Contrary to what has been reported, the Representatives at issue did not have the ‘full’ support of the entire Republican caucus. “Immediately upon becoming aware of the allegations published this week, we have worked aggressively to review all information available to us and attempted to gather additional information. Having done so, we call for the immediate resignation of all members involved in the confidential settlement of allegations of misconduct with legislative staff. We likewise call for the resignation of any house member or LRC staff that participated in, or in any way abided in the underlying conduct or sought to intimidate staff, or otherwise obstruct the reporting or publication of the alleged misconduct.” The eight GOP House members issued their statement after Gov. Matt Bevin called on those implicated in the sexual harassment scandal to resign, and after House Speaker Jeff Hoover responded by accusing the governor of “grandstanding.” Hoover said he was “more resolved than ever to continue my work as Speaker.” Bevin’s comments came after another GOP state Representative, C. Wesley Morgan of Richmond, had taken to Twitter to call on Hoover to step down. And a House GOP staffer said in an interview that she was “basically put on paid suspension” after she brought concerns about a “toxic” work environment to Hoover. Here is the full statement from the eight House Republicans, Robert J. Benvenuti, Joe Fischer, Kim King, Stan Lee, Tim Moore, Phil Moffett, Russell Webber, Addia Wuchner." Campaign Website: https://kimking.gop.com/ State Representative Diane St. Onge (R-KY HD 63): Protecting Civil Liberties: "A lawmaker from northern Kentucky is taking it a step further with a bill to prevent drones from carrying lethal payloads and also protecting citizens' rights. “Police can use drones for a search with a search warrant as issued by a judge for a particular purpose only,” State Rep. Diane St. Onge said. St. Onge said legislation would not prevent law enforcement drone flights in an emergency or used by firefighters to battle blazes." Campaign Website: http://dianestonge.com/ State Representative Kimberly Moser (R-KY HD 64): Protecting Victims of Assault & Abuse: "Reps. Ken Fleming, R-Louisville, and Rep. Kim Moser, R-Taylor Mill, filed a bill to create the Legislative Tip Line to confidentially report wrongdoing within the legislature, including harassment, discrimination, ethical or official misconduct, theft, and fraud. The tip line, created by B.R. 346, would be directly administrated by the Legislative Ethics Commission, which would have authority to investigate complaints against members of the General Assembly, employees of the legislature, legislative agents, and any other person interacting with members of the General Assembly or employees of the legislature. “The measures suggested by the firm who issued the report will take necessary steps to improve the reporting process internally, and over the long-haul,” said Rep. Moser. “But the passage of this bill to create the Legislative Tip Line will be an immediate resource for anybody who is pressed to report serious wrongdoing within the legislature. This is a starting point. Rep. Fleming and I anticipate building on this through our work on the Ethics Reform Task Force, which we will be chairing. We must take action swiftly to correct any shortcomings that currently exist in the process.” Campaign Website: http://moserforkentucky.com/ State Representative John Blanton (R-KY HD 92): Protecting Victims of Assault & Abuse: "January 24, 2018: Marsy’s Law approved by lawmakers; Ky. voters will decide on measure: FRANKFORT—A constitutional crime victims’ “bill of rights” amendment edged closer to this fall’s statewide election ballot with today’s final passage of a bill proposing the change. Senate Bill 3—widely known as Marsy’s Law—sponsored by Sen. Whitney Westerfield, R-Hopkinsville, will place the proposed amendment before voters this November. Kentucky currently has crime victims’ rights listed in statute, but not in the state’s constitution Some of the rights that would be added to the constitution with the passage of the proposed amendment are the right to notice of proceedings, the right to reasonable protection from the accused, and the right to legal “standing,” which would give victims the constitutional right to assert their rights in court. Rep. John Blanton, R-Salyersville, said the rights that crime victims now have in statute are limited. Constitutional rights for victims would help level the field between victims and accused criminals, who already have constitutional-protected rights, he said. “Senate Bill 3 would let the voters of Kentucky decide,” whether crime victims should have their own constitutional rights, said Blanton. SB 3 received final passage by a vote of 87-3 in the House after passing the Senate 34-1 earlier this month. Proposed constitutional amendments in Kentucky require approval of three-fifths of the members of the House and Senate. The proposed amendment now goes to the Office of the Secretary of State to be prepared for the November ballot. Marsy’s Law is named for Marsy Nicholas, a California college student who was stalked and killed by her ex-boyfriend in 1983. Marsy’s laws have passed in at least six states to date." Campaign Website: http://blantonforkentucky.com/ See all of our 2018 Endorsements here: JOUR-PAC 2018 Endorsements!
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