FRANKFORT, Ky. (LEX 18) — It doesn’t happen very often around here, but sometimes a piece of legislation makes so much sense that it doesn’t receive a single ‘no’ vote on the House or Senate floor.
That’s what happened with House Bill 157 recently, which allows the state’s Emergency Management Division to adopt an Urban Search and Rescue program.
“With the state-of-the-art equipment we’ll be getting, with the management we’ll have, the organization, the training we can get together, we can affect positive change in the rescue world for Kentucky,” said Captain Ryan Hogsten of the Lexington Fire Department.
Captain Hogsten was one of many first responders who were invited to the Capitol on Tuesday morning for the Governor’s ceremonial bill signing. It is no small victory when the Governor here can get bipartisan support on a bill.
“What’s special to me about this piece of legislation is that it’s the very heroes who are already responding saying, ‘we can take the response to another level,’” Gov. Beshear said before signing the bill.
The Governor has had to lead the state through no shortage of calamities during his tenure.
“We have learned a lot from these events. I can look, especially to the tornadoes (in western Kentucky) and the flooding (in eastern Kentucky), in many different parts of our response and see how we did better and how we can do better,” the governor added.
It’s a bill that most believe will be invaluable to all Kentuckians, including those charged with our safety.
“This is a win for the Commonwealth of Kentucky,” said Chief Steve Alley of the Ashland Fire Department. “Being where we’re located on the eastern side of the state, a lot of times, resources might take a little more time to get to our location. This will speed up the process,” Chief Alley continued.
And it’s certain to save lives. It’s why it made so much sense.
