Damron for 39th
The Lexington Herald Leader Endorses Robert R. Damron
October 15, 2010
It is rare for a lawmaker to garner support from conservative
think tanks, teachers unions, senior-citizen and consumer
advocates, business and agriculture groups.
Rep. Bob Damron does, because of his social conservatism and his
advocacy for the state's neediest citizens.
Since 1993, Damron, of Nicholasville, has represented District
39, which covers Jessamine County and one precinct in Fayette
County. A banker for a firm that does bond work on many public
construction projects, he works on out-of-state projects.
Damron considers constituent
services a key part of his job, but he also focuses on statewide
issues such as health care, patients rights, veterans issues and
crime fighting.
While we often disagree with him
— especially in his support for pro-gun crusades — few lawmakers
work as hard for the citizens too often forgotten. Now chairman
of the House Democratic Caucus, he is in a better position to
set priorities in the House agenda.
The Republican opponent in the
race is Peter Kerr, an Air Force veteran and assistant professor
of communications at Asbury University in Wilmore, who moved to
Kentucky about five years ago.
An engaging personality with
lots of ideas about politics and policy, Kerr could benefit from
more knowledge of and engagement in the state, the region and
the district.
It is also not clear, from his
appearances and writings, whether Kerr is offering to seek
bipartisan solutions or vowing to make uncompromising partisan
stands.
In Damron, District 39 residents
have a conservative who has a record of bipartisan success and
who is in a powerful legislative position.
That is not something to give up
lightly. Re-elect Bob Damron.
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DAMRON ANNOUNCES RE-ELECTION BID
For Immediate
Release
December 26, 2009
Nicholasville,
KY-- State Representative Bob Damron has filed for re-election
to the office of State Representative representing the citizens
of the 39th District in the Kentucky General Assembly.
"Representing
the people of Jessamine and Fayette counties has been one of the
most rewarding experiences of my life." noted Rep. Damron.
"During my tenure in the General Assembly, I have worked hard to
protect the values Kentuckians treasure most. I continue to
support family values, freedom of religion and country and I am
proud of my strong commitment to our veterans and men and women
in uniform, and especially proud of our son R.P. who is a 2nd
Lt. in the U.S. Air Force and currently in pilot training in
Columbus, MS." added Rep. Damron.
Representative
Damron's effectiveness as a legislator was rewarded this year
when his peers in the General Assembly once again elected him to
a leadership seat as Majority Caucus Chairman.
Accompanied by
his wife Paula, Representative Damron addressed a group of over
130 supporters stating, "I hope my actions in the General
Assembly have proven that I am trustworthy, qualified and
committed to providing the strong leadership that my
constituents expect and deserve from their State
Representative. I look forward to continuing to serve the
people of the 39th District."
Rep. Damron
closed the night with a heartfelt thank you to all his
supporters, "Unfortunately campaigns have become very expensive
but with your support tonight we now have over $125,000 in our
campaign fund for re-election. Thank you all very much for
making tonight such a successful event."
Representative
Damron serves in the Kentucky House Leadership as Majority
Caucus Chairman. Rep. Damron is a member of the Banking and
Insurance Committee, Committee on Committees and the Rules
Committee.
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Representative Bob Damron
Elected to Leadership Post in
Kentucky House of Representatives
For Immediate
Release
January 10, 2009
Frankfort,
KY-- Legislators from around the state have re-elected
Representative Bob Damron, Nicholasville, as the Majority Caucus
Chairman for the Kentucky House of Representatives. As House
Majority Caucus Chairman, Representative Damron, will serve on a
five-member Democratic leadership team in the Kentucky House of
Representatives. In this leadership position, Representative
Damron will play a significant role in influencing and shaping
public policy in Kentucky.
"It is truly
an honor that my peers in the State House have confidence in my
abilities to re-elect me as their Caucus Chair," said
Representative Damron. "From this leadership post, I look
forward to working with all sides to ensure that Kentucky
prospers and that the needs of our constituency are given first
consideration," added Representative Damron.
"It is my hope
that the General Assembly as a whole can work together to foster
an environment that will address the many difficult issues that
are facing Kentucky families and the Commonwealth. Good jobs,
greater development in educational technology, and health care
for our elderly and most needy, are just a few of the areas
where I believe we need to focus our energies as state
legislators," said Representative Damron.
Rep. Damron was
first elected to the General Assembly in 1992, where he serves
on the Banking and Insurance Committee, Capitol projects and
bond Oversight Committee, Veteran's Affairs Committee, Tobacco
Task Force Committee, Committee on Committees and the Rules
Committee, in the Kentucky General Assembly.
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Damron wins Re-Election to a Ninth
Term
November 5,
2008
By Bob Flynn, Jessamine Journal
Democrat
Bob Damron is returning to Frankfort for the ninth
consecutive time to represent residents of the 39th District in
the Kentucky House of Representatives after defeating Republican
challenger Chris Moore in a hotly-contested race.
Damron
received 11,448, or 57.58 percent of the votes cast, to Moore’s
8,496 votes in Jessamine County. Moore won the lone precinct in
southern Fayette County.
A very
relieved Damron said he was just glad it was over, after the
final totals were tabulated.
“I’m glad it’s
over with and I’m ready to go back to work tomorrow morning
representing the folks and trying to do the best job we can do
representing the people of Jessamine County,” Damron said.
“We’re very, very pleased that we won and the credit goes to all
the people who worked so hard for us.”
Moore, who
currently serves on the Nicholasville City Commission, said
though he was initially disappointed, he was satisfied with the
race.
“ There is an
immediate disappointment, but at the same time it's a time of
celebration. God has a plan for me and my family and those
around me. And in this time and age and I encourage them and as
I encourage everybody else, the state and the nation and the
community needs prayer and support,” Moore said. “ It's been
interesting, it's been a time of growth, a time of challenge.
Faith has increased, and again, God is in control, so if he is
in control, there is no sadness, there is no disappointment,
there is only a continuation of a walk. And the destination,
only God knows, and so we will continue to walk, pure and
simple.”
Damron said he
would celebrate tonight, then get back to work tomorrow.
“The main thing is that we did win reelection,
people were very generous and sent us back for two more years.
Tonight it's celebration time, we don't have to worry about
balancing the budget or the next race,” Damron said. “ Tomorrow
it’s back to work. I'm running for leadership in the House so
I'll start in the morning contacting members, especially those
who won tonight to solidify enough to win my leadership post
back.”
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Rep. Damron recognized by AARP
for his service to Seniors
Rep.
Damron was recognized for his outstanding leadership in the
passage of the Christine Talley Act during the 2008 Session. The
new law adds strong consumer protections for senior citizens who
depend on personal emergency response systems to live
independently at home. The bill was one of the AARP’s top
priorities for the 2008 Session. Jim Tally, AARP chair for
Central Kentucky said, “Rep. Damron’s leadership and passion for
the legislation was the reason the bill was able to be enacted
into law. Seniors across Kentucky are very grateful for his
efforts.”
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Rep. Damron
receives U.S. Flag flown over Camp Taji, Iraq
Sgt. Brian
Stafford presents Rep. Damron with a U.S. Flag flown over Camp
Taji, Iraq on behalf of Bravo Battery, 2nd Battalion, 138th
Field Artillery in recognition of his efforts in preparing care
packages for the Battery while they were serving in Iraq. Sgt.
Stafford is the son of Sue and Herbert Stafford of McCauley
Road.
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LIST OF WATER &
SEWER PROJECTS
IN THE 2008 STATE BUDGET
Jessamine County
Alta Avenue Parallel Sewer Project
(Nicholasville)
$200,000.
Brookview Sewer Replacement Project (Nicholasville)
$400,000.
Crenshaw Lane Waterline Extension (Nicholasville)
$150,000.
Lone Oak Sewer Extension Project (Nicholasville)
$150,000.
Asbury College Campus Water Main Replacement (Wilmore)
$200,000.
Asbury College Fletcher Early Bldg Waterline Replacement (Wilmore)
$20,000.
Wilmore City system wide Waterline Improvements (Wilmore)
$80,000.
Wilmore City Sewer System Improvements (Wilmore)
$100,000.
Catnip Hill Water Storage tank Replacement (Jess. South Elkhorn
Dist)
$1,000,000.
Total Water & Sewer Projects funded in the 2008 budget
$2,300,000.
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Capitol Report by Rep. Robert R.
Damron
June 30, 2008 – Frankfort, KY
After a short one-week special
session, the Kentucky General Assembly passed and sent to the
Governor Steve Beshear a pension-reform bill on Friday morning that
lawmakers hope will keep the state pension system solvent for
current and future employees. Governor Beshear signed the bill into
law later Friday afternoon.
For more than a year we have
wrestled with pension reform and sought solutions that would protect
public servants and minimize the burden on our taxpayers. After the
House and Senate could not find a compromise to their differences
during the regular session, Governor Beshear called both sides back
to the table and helped hammer out a compromise, which I hope will
start the state down the road to addressing this problem.
House Bill 1 constitutes a major
break with the past. The bill primarily focuses on changes that
affect state and local government employees hired on or after
September 1, or those in the teachers’ retirement system hired on or
after July 1. With the large number of pending retirements this
summer and the resulting large number of new hires to replace those
retiring, it was critical that these changes be implemented
immediately.
Among the many changes included in
the legislation is a provision that would raise the required
retirement age for the majority of future state and local government
employees to 57 and require that an employee’s age and years of
service total 87. This so-called “Rule of 87” is expected to save
significant money for the pension system, which now allows the
majority of state and local employees to retire at any age with 27
years of service.
The retirement term “double
dipping,” refers to a state retiree’s ability to return to work
after retiring and collect not only a paycheck but start building a
second pension. HB 1 eliminates double dipping for all current and
future employees and retirees in the state, county and state police
retirement systems. This simple but major change will help bring our
pension costs down to a more manageable level.
Another significant change will
limit annual cost of living adjustments (COLAs) for current and
future state, local and state police retirees to the same 1.5
percent COLA that teachers currently receive. The COLA of 1.5
percent will be a floor and the basis of the calculations for future
system liability. The General Assembly will be able to increase this
amount on a year by year basis when the cost of inflation warrants
and the state has adequate revenues to pay for a greater increase.
The bill also includes changes in
how benefits for new hires and medical coverage eligibility criteria
changes for new employees are factored, along with a requirement
that future state and local employees in hazardous positions and new
state police hires work 25 years—up from the current 20—to retire
with full benefits. Teachers who are hired as of July 1 must have
five more years of service credit if they wish to retire at age 55
with reduced benefits, but there was no change to their retirement
age for full benefits.
As far as immediate savings go, we
knew going into the session that cities, counties and school
districts would receive one-time savings of approximately $55
million this year in their employer contributions because of changes
made by HB 1. In the long term, however, retirement system officials
indicate the state will save hundreds of millions of dollars per
year under HB 1.
Of course, we realize that these
changes - while monumental in scope - are only the beginning, and
that a number of ideas for further changes still need additional
study.
The Governor has created work groups
that will proceed with this additional analysis. Those work groups
are made up of the same folks who helped bring about the passage of
House Bill 1 including legislators, executive branch personnel,
pension experts, state retirees, and city and county
representatives.
What HB 1 will do for state
government—and ultimately every taxpayer in the Commonwealth— is
move us a step forward toward a viable pension fund that will meet
our state’s needs for decades to come. That in itself is a
considerable accomplishment in just five days.
As always, if you have
any questions about House Bill 1 or concerns about any other issues,
please feel free to contact me at (859) 229-4219 or by email thru my
website at www.bobdamron.com
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Capitol Report by Rep. Robert R.
Damron
April 25, 2008 – Frankfort, KY
FRANKFORT -- After three and half
months of lawmaking, the 2008 Regular Session of the Kentucky
General Assembly came to a close Tuesday. Dozens of bills became law
in the session's final weeks, including a $19 billion state budget
that provides some new funding for education, health care and other
needs in the midst of the state's current budget crisis.
Lawmakers have readily admitted that
the two-year budget plan is not perfect, but it will provide over
$400 million in additional funding for state programs than was
proposed at the beginning of the session by the governor. With these
dollars, we were able to protect base funding for public schools,
preserve human services and shield our state universities from
catastrophic budget cuts. We were also able to protect tried and
true education programs by providing funding for university research
and KEES merit scholarships that help thousands of Kentucky high
school students attend college.
Added to the budget through
supplemental appropriations bills were coal severance projects for
coal counties and $225 million in bonds for water and sewer projects
in coal and non-coal counties. Because these projects are necessary
to build and maintain the basic infrastructure that our citizens
need to live and work, they were an important part of House and
Senate negotiations in the session's final days.
Where there were no new dollars to
work with, the General Assembly was still able to make improvements
in most areas by improving public safety, tightening criminal
penalties, expanding educational opportunities, and even bolstering
health care in the state.
New laws to improve cancer treatment
and prevention in Kentucky and establish a statewide trauma care
system are among those health care improvements we made that will
lead to better care in communities across the Commonwealth. Rural
citizens especially will benefit from the trauma care legislation (HB
371) which we hope will lead to life-saving care in underserved
areas.
In education, we took steps to
increase the number of math and science teachers in our public
schools, increase the number of students taking advanced math and
science courses and increase eligibility for KEES scholarships to
keep us on track for progress at the secondary and postsecondary
levels. And we passed an anti-"bullying bill" to ensure that our
children feel safe enough at school that they can learn.
Safety in the classroom is always a
concern, but it is only part of the General Assembly's commitment to
protect our citizens. Passage last session of SB 120, which creates
a booster seat requirement for youngsters riding in cars, along with
legislation to improve amusement park safety, will also ensure the
welfare of citizens both young and old.
Changes to criminal law are made
during each annual session, and this session was no exception. Most
notably we passed HB 211, which broadens the state's child sex abuse
laws while increasing penalties for abusers and those who fail to
report abuse. The law will also ensure that older children have
better protection from sexual abuse under the law.
For our military, we passed several
measures to honor their sacrifice to our nation including new laws
that will ease their transition back into everyday life when they
return home, provide for burial of indigent veterans and create a
state medal to honor those who have died in recent conflicts. And to
prepare for an influx of thousands of military and civilian
personnel at Fort Knox as part of the federal government's BRAC
(base realignment and closure) activities, we authorized $50 million
in bond funds and provided debt service funding in the budget to
expedite infrastructure improvements at and near the base.
Agriculture--which comprises a
whopping $2.4 billion of the state's Gross Domestic Product--also
received legislative support this session. Among the new laws passed
to benefit this sector of Kentucky's economy were HB 484, which
promotes the use of locally-grown produce and other food products by
state colleges and universities; HB 495, which establishes state
guidelines for handling a national animal ID system for livestock
and poultry if one becomes mandatory at the federal level; and SB
53, which will improve how eggs are handled to ensure a steady
supply at our local groceries.
In the area of elections,
legislation that would streamline the absentee voting process and
eliminate runoff primaries in gubernatorial races were two bills we
passed to modernize the elections system. HB 479 will give citizens
greater access to the voting process by allowing them to request
absentee ballot applications by e-mail. HB 370, which is awaiting
the governor's signature, would eliminate the runoff election in
gubernatorial primaries.
Helping those who face foreclosure
in the current national housing debacle was another focus of
lawmakers in the last weeks of the session. To stave off predatory
lending and other problems that led to the mortgage crisis, we
passed HB 552, which includes several enforcement and consumer
protection provisions that we hope will allow more people to keep
their homes.
Some notable bills that made it
through the legislative process on the session's final day and are
awaiting the governor's signature are:
Senate Bill 58. This animal cruelty
prevention bill will increase penalties for those who torture dogs
or cats. Causing physical injury to a dog or cat by torture would be
a Class A misdemeanor that carries up to a year in jail, while
causing serious physical injury or death would be a Class D felony
punishable by 1-5 years in prison. Currently, all torture cases
involving dogs and cats are Class A misdemeanors for a first
offense.
House Bill 2. Another step toward
improving Kentucky's energy policy, this bill creates incentives for
homeowners to use solar and wind energy and other energy efficient
devices. It also requires the state and local schools to build or
lease energy-efficient buildings and creates a low-interest loan
program to help businesses and public agencies operate with less
energy.
House Joint Resolution 6. This
measure will require the Department of Education to develop a
curriculum guide for schools that may be used to teach about the
Holocaust as an example of genocide.
The end of a legislative session is
always a time to reflect on what was accomplished and what we must
do in the future to take care of the needs of our citizens.
Certainly, the current budget crisis severely limited our efforts to
increase funding in many areas that desperately need it, and we are
hopeful that the economy will rebound so more money can be put into
those areas next session.
Budget limitations aside, the 2008
Regular Session did allow us to make improvements in education,
health care and other areas that we believe will make a positive
difference in the lives of Kentuckians both now and in the future.
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