Via press release from KY 120 United - AFT
Today in Frankfort, members of KY 120 United-AFT held a press conference to announce the filing of an ethics complaint against Rep. Kim Banta and to call on the chair of the Senate Education committee, Max Wise, to remove HB9, the charter school funding bill, from the committee agenda until these complaints are investigated and resolved.
“The cloud of potential corruption surrounding the charter school funding bill needs to be lifted before any further action is taken on the measure,” said Stacy Crosslin, AFT Member. “We are asking Chairman Wise to remove HB9 from the committee agenda today so that the Legislative Ethics Commission can conduct a complete investigation and determine if Rep. Banta has violated Section 57 of the Kentucky Constitution,” Crosslin continued.
In a recent Courier Journal article, it was revealed that Rep. Banta’s husband, Tom Banta, sits on the Corporex board, the same firm that is developing a project in Northern Kentucky that has plans to include a charter school in this development project. It gives the appearance that Rep. Banta stands to gain financially from the passage of HB9, the charter school funding bill.
Rep. Banta’s connections to the owner of Corporex through her husband may be a violation of section 57 of the Kentucky Constitution, which prohibits legislators from voting on matters where they have a personal or private interest.
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