Wednesday, February 20, 2019

Lobbyists and others create tracking tables that make it easier to keep up with bills; legislature also offers free 'Bill Watch' service

As the 2019 General Assembly moves into the second half of its session, it can be easy to lose track of the many health-related bills, but a contract lobbying group and a progressive media organization have bill trackers to make that easier.

A small part of the tracking table for health-care bills
(For a larger version of the image, click on it)
The Government Strategies tracking tables are broken down into several categories: education, energy/environment, general business, health care, health insurance, insurance and transportation. The bills are chosen by the lobbyists, so it's worth taking a look in every category.

For example, House Bill 11 and Senate Bill 27, the measures to make all schools tobacco-free, are in the "general business" category instead of health care or education.

Each list links to the bill number, names the sponsor, offers a short summary of the bill, and records the last action, which is updated nightly. Click here to see.

Forward Kentucky, which describes itself as a progressive "media operation," also offers a bill tracker on its website. In addition to a list of all bills, bills in committee and bills that have crossed over, this tracker offers a list of what Forward Kentucky considers key legislation. Click here to see.

Another way to track bills is to go to the Kentucky General Assembly website and click on "Bills." This will take you to a page where you can click on "Bill Watch," which will then require you to register in order to track the specific bills that interest you.

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