Rep. Larry Clark Files Auto Industry Jobs Creation Bill

Rep. Larry Clark (D, Okolona) today introduced House Bill 400, legislation amending the 2007 Kentucky Jobs Retention Act (KJRA) to promote the automotive industry in Kentucky.   Amendments to the act are designed to spur job creation and significant investments at Kentucky’s automotive and parts manufacturing facilities suchas Georgetown’s Toyota Motor Manufacturing facility and General Motors’ Bowling Green Assembly Plant.

The General Assembly enacted the KJRA in 2007 as the primary tool in an incentive package that helped secure a $1.2 billion investment from Ford Motor Company to upgrade production capability at its two existing plants in Louisville.  Ford now estimates that it may hire up to 3,000 new employees as a result of that legislation.

“The legislation we passed in 2007 bore fruit immediately when the incentives authorized in the act persuaded Ford to make significant investments and create thousands of new jobs at its Louisville plants,” said Clark.  “House Bill 400 could do the same thing for Toyota and Georgetown and hopefully for the GM plant in Bowling Green too.  The commercial and industrial activity that results from new investments made at any of Kentucky’s auto manufacturers has a ripple effect throughout the entire state.”

House Bill 400 amends the KJRA by allowing projects related to automobile and parts manufacturing to seek incentives regardless of their location around the state.  Current law limits the act to projects located only in cities of the first class.  To qualify under both existing law and House Bill 400, proposed projects must have at least 1,000 full time employees and invest at least $100 million.

Manufacturers of batteries and other automotive parts will be authorized to seek incentives under the amendment, provided they satisfy jobs targets and minimum investment requirements.  The legislation will not have a fiscal impact to the state budget over the upcoming 2013-2014 biennium.

Larry Clark has represented the 46th Legislative District in southern Jefferson County since 1984.  He has served the House as its Speaker Pro Tem since 1993.  Clark has maintained a 100% voting record throughout his 28 year career in the Kentucky House of Representatives.

 

Rep. Clark invites TAPP students to testify in Frankfort

WAVE TV coverage of testimony from TAPP students

(WAVE) -In Jefferson County there are young women who have been through things that many people can’t imagine before they turn 18. These young women aren’t just responsible for themselves, they are mothers. With the help of a program that’s gained national attention, many are getting a second chance.

Dozens of students and administrators with the Teenage Parent Program known as TAPP went to Frankfort to thank legislators for past grants and ask them to continue funding the Smart Grant.

“I thought my whole world revolved around me being a victim,” said Laighla Travis, a junior at South Park TAPP. ”I never thought about being free from fear or pain or never considered a future or attempted to hope for a future.”

Travis testified to lawmakers that a family member sexually abused her for 13 years.

“When I turned 14 I found myself in yet another abusive relationship,” said Travis. “Everyday I was brutally beaten by my boyfriend.”

She became pregnant with his baby when she was just 14 years old.

“Once when I was eight months pregnant, I was punched in the face and my cheek bones broken, leaving me not only with physical scars but adding to the emotional ones as well,” described Travis.

Travis is now 17. She enrolled in JCPS’s Teenage Parent Program, known as TAPP, and things have changed for her.

“Immediately they were on my side,” said Travis. “They were there for me. TAPP was a safe place for me, a place that protected me from the cold world I had once called my life.

Rep. Larry Clark, D-Louisville, invited 40 of TAPP’s best students to Frankfort to speak to the House Budget Committee. Representatives asked lawmakers to consider reissuing the Smart Grant. TAPP first got it in 2008 and has received about $250,000 each year. It focuses on math, science, and technology.

“Over the past eight years, 784 seniors have graduated from TAPP and 512 enrolled in college,” said TAPP Principal Sara York. ”That’s pretty impressive for a group of students who statistically should have dropped out.”

Instead these girls are working to be role models for their kids.

“I would have become another statistic, a high school drop out,” said Chasta May, a senior at Westport TAPP who is planning on attending the University of Louisville. “I will now make my own path and become a college graduate.”

Travis has one more year in high school.

“I am no longer nothing,” said Travis. “I am Laighla Travis, a 17-year-old loving mother of my baby boy Adian, and with Smart’s help, a future college graduate.”

Funding the Smart Grant is just one piece of the budget that starts in the House. It will fund state government for two years. No decision was made on Smart Funding, but all lawmakers who spoke reacted positively.

Click here to watch the WAVE TV news coverage.


Rep. Larry Clark Files Bill to Boost Purses at KY Racetracks

Legislation will bring in revenue from Internet wagering - Representative Larry Clark has filed legislation, aimed at generating a new revenue source to supplement purses paid at Kentucky horse racing tracks.  House Bill 229 will collect revenue from advance deposit account wagering companies that accept wagers on horse races from Kentucky residents.  The advent of ADW has contributed to a decline in racetrack attendance and wagering handle, both of which are flat-to decreasing in Kentucky and in other horse racing states around the country.

Advance deposit account wagering companies (“ADW companies”), such as TVG, Xpress Bet or TwinSpires.com, allow individuals to establish accounts from which they may place wagers on horse races run in Kentucky and around the country.

This tax of one-half of one percent (0.05%) of funds wagered by Kentucky residents will be paid by licensed advance deposit account wagering companies, with 15% of the resulting revenue paid to Kentucky’s general fund and the remainder to Kentucky racetracks.  The tracks, in turn, must devote at least 50% of their distribution to purses.  There will be no increase in fees or taxes to customers of ADW companies.

“ADW handle is the only portion of horse race wagering that is seeing significant growth,” said Clark.  “We are trying to do two things with this bill:  First, identify how much money ADW companies are accepting in wagers from Kentuckians who, 10 or 20 years ago, would have gone to the track instead of wagering from their computers; and second, place a modest tax on that revenue base to put back into purses.”

Kentucky’s racing industry faces competitive pressure from other states that support purses, as well as breeder incentive funds, with extra revenue derived from operation of slot machines.  Indiana, West Virginia, New York and Pennsylvania are primary examples.  The projected extra revenue to be derived from imposition of the ADW tax in HB 229 will boost purses.

“Even though the ADW issue is related to the issue of gaming generally, we as a legislature can still pass this bill to target one particular problem area without affecting the gaming debate,” Clark said.  “Gaming will receive its due consideration this session, but I think it is important that we pass this bill independent of that debate.”

Clark represents the 46th District in southern Jefferson County and has served in that position since 1984.  He also serves as House Speaker Pro Tempore, a House leadership position he has held since 1993, and continues to maintain a 100% voting record.  Larry Clark has sponsored legislation for job creation, economic development and education, and he has been a supporter of seniors and veterans. For more information, visit www.KeepLarryClark.com.