Kentucky

Senator David Williams has now been accused of shifting jurisdiction on state regulatory cases, one amendment at a time.  Last year, Sen. Williams introduced a bill in the State Senate to establish venue for filing suits against the state from Frankfort to the home county of the individual litigant.  The House did not go along.  Per the stories, Sen. Williams was accused of retaliating for rulings he did not like that came out of the Fayette Circuit Court.  The arguments go both ways with Fayette being favored by some for judicial and financial economy (eg., one location for all state agencies, centrally located for both state and claimants, expertise in a few judges on these specialized areas should render better and quicker decisions, more consistency in the legal rulings with less 'home cooking' in the counties) versus saving trips and money for the claimants and their lawyers who would have to travel to Frankfort for court.

However, the venue change for all cases in a single bill did not get out of the House last year.  Now, amendments are being tagged one bill at a time.  A political game or gambit as a tag along change is more likely to get through and signed by the governor on a bill which otherwise has a need to pass for other reasons beside the "nuisance rider".  This reminds me of the story of if you toss a frog in a pot of boiling water, it will jump out and live but be burned some.  But if you put the frog in cool water in a pot on the stove and slowly bring it to a boil, the frog stays and is boiled to death.

Here's the story by Stephanie Steitzer out of the Courier Journal.  click on heading for entire read.

Williams again trying to move cases out of Franklin County courts

Thwarted in his attempt last year to strip Franklin Circuit judges of cases, Senate President David Williams is taking a more subtle approach this year.