Bill Farmer, 88th LD State Rep
I received my first call from a state legislator yesterday. Oddly enough, it was from a Republican.
Bill Farmer was calling in response to my request that he support HB 369, the bill that would prohibit discrimination against sexual orientation statewide. This bill is proposed every year, along with at least one bill that would either a) recriminalize sodomy or b) strike down the nondiscrimination ordinances that cities like Lexington and Louisville have passed. Generally, both go to the same committee and, by tacit agreement, neither one makes it to the House floor.
Farmer let me know that he would 'consider' the bill if it made it out of committee, but from his understanding this year would be no different from previous years. Naturally, he did not say whether he would support it or not, but based on his previous voting record I suspect he won't. Last year, he didn't even bother to send a form-letter response to the handwritten letter my partner sent, asking him to vote no on the anti-gay amendment.
Since I had a real live legislator on the phone, I asked about a few other issues:
He is for removing the taxes on horse feed and other portions of the KY horse industry. He thinks the breeders’ incentive fund (paid for by the taxes) only benefits a handful of mega-farms. I told him I'd heard the same thing from some farm folks and that removing the taxes sounded like a good idea.
He is for increasing UK funding. He feels that the proposed budget items are nickel-and-dime stuff, and that funding UK benefits the entire state.
The most amusing part of the phone call: he does taxes for a living, and says that he doesn’t sleep from January till April 16th.
Farmer has competition from Fred Brown in the May Republican primary. I'm not a Republican, but if I were I would find it an interesting choice. If you have other questions for Bill, you can leave messages for him toll-free at 1-800-372-7181.
Sarah G
Bill Farmer was calling in response to my request that he support HB 369, the bill that would prohibit discrimination against sexual orientation statewide. This bill is proposed every year, along with at least one bill that would either a) recriminalize sodomy or b) strike down the nondiscrimination ordinances that cities like Lexington and Louisville have passed. Generally, both go to the same committee and, by tacit agreement, neither one makes it to the House floor.
Farmer let me know that he would 'consider' the bill if it made it out of committee, but from his understanding this year would be no different from previous years. Naturally, he did not say whether he would support it or not, but based on his previous voting record I suspect he won't. Last year, he didn't even bother to send a form-letter response to the handwritten letter my partner sent, asking him to vote no on the anti-gay amendment.
Since I had a real live legislator on the phone, I asked about a few other issues:
He is for removing the taxes on horse feed and other portions of the KY horse industry. He thinks the breeders’ incentive fund (paid for by the taxes) only benefits a handful of mega-farms. I told him I'd heard the same thing from some farm folks and that removing the taxes sounded like a good idea.
He is for increasing UK funding. He feels that the proposed budget items are nickel-and-dime stuff, and that funding UK benefits the entire state.
The most amusing part of the phone call: he does taxes for a living, and says that he doesn’t sleep from January till April 16th.
Farmer has competition from Fred Brown in the May Republican primary. I'm not a Republican, but if I were I would find it an interesting choice. If you have other questions for Bill, you can leave messages for him toll-free at 1-800-372-7181.
Sarah G
posted by Sarah Glenn | 1:36 PM
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