News & Notes for Friday, 10/14

Here’s today’s roundup of snippets and links from across the political and government landscape.

PACs line up cash to sway races for judge, legislature, Louisville mayor.

With less than a month until Election Day, several political action committees have reported raising hundreds of thousands of dollars in recent weeks to influence races across Kentucky.

Referred to under state law as unauthorized campaign committees (UCCs), these groups can receive contributions of unlimited amounts and use them from independent expenditures supporting or opposing candidates in specific races, as long as they do not coordinate with those campaigns. (Story goes on to dig into the details, including PACs trying to influence judicial elections.) (Courier-Journal)

Louisville fundraiser supporting J.D. Vance will feature McConnell and Paul

A fundraiser supporting Hillbilly Elegy author and Ohio Republican Senate candidate J.D. Vance will take place in Louisville this Friday. The fundraiser is being held by Louisville CEO and investment manager Neil Ramsey, a former backer of Gov. Matt Bevin, according to a widely shared invitation. According to the invitation, Kentucky’s Republican home state Senators Mitch McConnell and Rand Paul will appear at the fundraiser supporting Vance. Vance is running against Democrat Tim Ryan in what national media is calling a “closer than expected” race in Ohio to replace outgoing GOP Sen. Rob Portman. (Kentucky Fried Politics)

Ky. Supreme Court hears arguments in tax-credit scholarship case

The Kentucky Supreme Court heard arguments Wednesday in a case that will decide whether a tax-credit program supporting private schools is constitutional. The initiative, called the Education Opportunity Accounts program, allows donors to contribute to a scholarship fund in lieu of paying state taxes. The initiative’s narrow passage in the state legislature last year was a major victory for advocates of K-12 privatization. Opponents, however, worry the $125 million program will drain needed resources from already underfunded public schools. A lower-court judge struck down the EOA program last year, ruling that it violates a provision in the Kentucky Constitution that forbids spending public dollars on private schools without first having a referendum. Advocates appealed to the state’s highest court. (WFPL)

Beshear wants review of Kentucky marijuana convictions following Biden's federal pardons

Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear said Thursday that he’s asking for a review of how many Kentuckians have marijuana possession convictions as he considers President Joe Biden’s request that governors issue pardons for people convicted of state marijuana offenses.

The governor said he’s seeking details from the state Administrative Office of the Courts on how many Kentuckians could be eligible for state pardons for marijuana possession-only convictions. (Courier-Journal)

And from the Twitterverse ...