Can you name this organization?
- It’s 40 years old.
- It has over 12,000 members.
- It started out focused on fair taxation, but has grown into a multi-issue organization with staff in all corners of the state.
- It lobbies our legislators constantly, working for justice and equity.
Give up? How about one more hint. Its original name was “Kentucky Fair Tax Coalition.” The name has changed, but the initials are still the same: KFTC.
Kentuckians for the Commonwealth is an organization committed to ensuring a just and equal Kentucky by empowering the individuals that call our state home. Board Chair of KFTC, Cassia Herron, spoke with us about how the organization is currently focusing their efforts in Frankfort, as well as some of their historic successes.
Some KFTC backstory
For those who might not be familiar with Kentuckians for the Commonwealth, Herron offers some background:
“KFTC is a nearly 40-year-old organization; we’re celebrating 40 years this August. The organization started around advocating for fair taxes in the state, and has grown to be a multi-issue, multicultural, intergenerational organization that has membership and represents Kentuckians across the state.”
KFTC has historically been focused around reforming energy policies throughout the state with their widespread reach to Kentuckians:
“We have up to 12,000 members … and we have 14 chapters across the state. We work on policy issues locally, across the state, and federally. A lot of people know us for our work around energy transition and saving mountains … where we really advocate for the stopping of blowing up our mountaintops so that we can continue to mine coal as a source of energy. We’ve been really adamant that Kentuckians deserve a more diversified energy economy.”
Working on energy issues
Herron stated that the work to expand our energy economy still persists today:
“We continue to fight to save the little bit of the solar industry in the state that we have. … Essentially, the Public Service Commission is the body that gets to set rates, and each year the big energy companies ask: one, for rates to be increased, and we’ve continued to fight those rate increases, and have won those; and two, the industry continues to go before the Public Service Commission asking for solar to count less.
“So for people who decide to invest in solar panels for their home, the utility companies don’t want that to be credited at the same amount as coal energy, for instance. … We continue to fight to save our solar industry, and thus far have been able to do so, and just really continue to fight for an expanded, diversified energy portfolio here in the state.”
This year in Frankfort
“That’s something that a lot of people know us for, but we’ve worked on a lot of different policies. Right now we have a few things that we’re focusing on in the legislature.” Herron continued.
One of the areas KFTC is focused on this session is ensuring the passing of a bill banning no-knock warrants.
“We are certainly paying a lot of attention to, and supporting, the banning of “No Knocks.” … There is both a House and Senate version; neither one of them totally bans no knocks, so we’ve been watching that. We’ll make a decision about supporting those bills probably next week.”
Both Senate Bill 4 and House Bill 21 have been introduced regarding “no knock” warrants. SB4, sponsored by Senate President Sen. Robert Stivers (R-25), passed the Senate floor unanimously on Thursday, February 25. However, HB21, sponsored by Rep. Attica Scott (D-41), has yet to have a hearing on the House floor.
“We’re also very concerned about our budget and how we are expecting our state government to spend the federal resources that we’re going to get from COVID-19 relief, and really paying attention to whether or not we’re going to tax the historic gaming bill that just came through. It came through without any taxes, so we’ve been working around the edges, talking to legislators about being sure that the state is going to get some tax revenue from the slots.” Herron stated.
On Monday, February 22, Governor Andy Beshear (D), signed Senate Bill 120 into law. Many have concerns about the very low tax rate charged on the “historic horse racing” slot machines, compared to taxes on similar machines in other states.
Another issue that KFTC and many other organizations are working to solve is the protection and restoration of voting rights:
“Most recently, all this conversation around access to the polls and voting has been work that Kentuckians for the Commonwealth, in collaboration with the NAACP, the Women’s League of Voters, the Urban Leagues across the state, the ACLU, and many other groups have been working on, making sure that we have good access to the polls. And people that have served their time get an opportunity to become full citizens and get their voting rights back.”
Herron stated that there has been some progress towards restoring voting rights for many Kentuckians, and reflected on Governor Andy Beshear’s executive order relating to the restoration of civil rights for convicted felons:
“At the beginning of last year, the Governor signed an executive order that gave rights back to many folks that have had felony charges in their background. There were many exceptions, but it’s a win. It’s a win that our new Governor recognized the need for that reform, and we’re still fighting in the legislature to make sure that the legislature follows through, but that was a big win.”
Here’s how to make a difference through KFTC
For Kentuckians that want to get involved with KFTC’s work throughout the Commonwealth, Herron offers some advice:
“You can go to kftc.org and learn about all the things that we’re engaged in. You can directly be engaged with a chapter in your County. If we don’t have a chapter in your County, some of those chapters have several counties that meet. So just because we don’t have a chapter in your County doesn’t mean that you can’t be engaged with us.”
In the age of Coronavirus, KFTC has worked hard to ensure that their work is able to continue:
“Particularly since COVID-19 most of everything that we do is virtual, so you can connect with one of our issue committees. We have statewide issue committees and just really connecting with folks who are interested in the issues that you’re interested in. So yes, our website is the place for most of the information, but we are very active on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook as well.”
Finally, Herron offered some words of encouragement for those who want to find ways to improve the Commonwealth for all: “I think there’s a place for anybody in our work, and I encourage people to get involved.”
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