FRANKFORT – After spending more than three months addressing the needs of the state, the General Assembly wrapped up its work on Friday with the enactment of a $4.5 billion road plan and a new initiative to limit the sky-rocketing prescription drug abuse that Kentucky has unfortunately seen over the last decade.

For our legislative district, the road plan’s adoption is certainly good news, because tens of millions of dollars will now be available for projects that range from widening U.S. 27 to revamping the entrance to Harrison Memorial Hospital. We are also poised to get a new, and very much needed, maintenance facility.

The road fund has seen much better growth in recent months than other areas of the budget, which is making it easier for us to invest in more projects across the state. That includes easing traffic congestion in Northern Kentucky and moving forward with new bridges in Jefferson County and in Land Between the Lakes.

The new prescription drug law, meanwhile, holds a lot of promise for our state as well. The need to act is clear, because three Kentuckians a day on average die from abusing these drugs, or more than die on our highways.

Kentucky is a leader nationally in tracking the use of prescription drugs, but the program, known by its acronym, KASPER, has never met its full potential. Only about a third of physicians now use it to check their patient’s drug history, but those who do say it makes a true difference. Nearly 90 percent reported in 2010 that it caused them to change what they had planned to prescribe.

This law will now require all doctors to use KASPER if they are prescribing controlled substances like OxyContin and hydrocodone. There are some key exceptions, such as cases involving emergencies or surgeries.

All doctors will also be barred from giving out more than a 48-hour supply of these controlled substances from their office. Florida, for example, saw a steep drop in the dispensing of these drugs after a similar provision was enacted.

This law cracks down on shady pain clinics that have been cropping up, and it calls for greater cooperation among law enforcement, KASPER officials and the physician licensing boards. There will also be better data collection on overdose deaths, so we have a much clearer idea of just how many are involved.

This new law is the third major anti-drug legislation passed this year. The other two seek to limit the production of meth and to stop the sale of dangerous synthetic drugs, which are often referred to as bath salts because the manufacturers intentionally mislabel them to hide their true intent.

There were several other major laws approved this legislative session. The most prominent is a balanced budget that continues to preserve critical areas like Medicaid and the classroom without raising taxes.

We also make it tougher for thieves to sell stolen copper to recyclers, and we extended a popular tax incentive program that originally was given to Ford in 2007 to help it invest more than $1 billion in its Louisville operations and hire several thousand new workers. Now, Toyota and General Motors, as well as several large auto parts companies, can take part as well, if they are willing to invest at least $100 million.

A plan to pay off the interest on the loan needed to maintain unemployment insurance benefits during the recession is another major step forward. If we did not act, businesses could have lost a federal tax credit worth up to $600 million.

I’m especially proud of a new law that will lead to a new memorial for the Kentucky soldiers who have died while fighting in Iraq or Afghanistan. More than 110 have already perished, including six from Operation Desert Storm in the early 1990s. By the end of this year, a new task force created by my bill will decide where the memorial should be built and what it will look like.

While the legislative session is over, the legislature’s work for the year is not. Once summer approaches, the various committees – including the one I co-chair, the Agriculture and Small Business Committee – will begin meeting again to review the issues of the day and see what more may need to be done when the General Assembly starts the 2013 legislative session in January.

I want to thank all of those who have contacted me with their thoughts or concerns about state government over the last several months. You can always reach me year-round by writing to Room 332B, Capitol Annex, 702 Capitol Avenue, Frankfort, KY 40601.

You can also leave a message for me or for any legislator at 800-372-7181. For those with a hearing impairment, the number is 800-896-0305.

I hope to hear from you soon.

With the goal of permanently recognizing those Kentuckians who lost their lives fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan, state Reps. Tom McKee and Mike Denham have filed legislation that would set the stage for a permanent memorial.

“With military operations officially over in Iraq and a timetable set to wind down our presence in Afghanistan, it is more important than ever that we mark this time by paying tribute to those brave soldiers from Kentucky who gave their all,” said Rep. McKee, D-Cynthiana.

“The wars we have fought in that region of the world, both in the early 1990s and over the last decade, have taken a tremendous toll on those who serve, especially those who call Kentucky home,” said Rep. Denham, D-Maysville.  “The commonwealth has a long history of doing more than her fair share, and our work during these wars is further proof of that.  It’s vital that we never forget that.”

House Bill 256 would establish the Iraq/Afghanistan War Memorial Committee, which in turn would look for the best location in the state to honor the six Kentuckians who died in Operation Desert Storm and the 104 who have perished in Operation Iraqi Freedom and, in Afghanistan, Operation Enduring Freedom.

If the legislation becomes law, those serving on the commission would include representatives from the governor’s office; the Tourism, Arts and Heritage Cabinet; the Kentucky Department of Veterans Affairs; the Kentucky Department of Military Affairs; and the Joint Executive Council of Veterans Organizations.

After determining the best location for the memorial, the commission would then be charged with overseeing its design, construction and the funding to get it built.  The legislation calls for the preliminary work on design and location to be done by Oct. 1, 2012.

Rep. McKee credited Blue Licks State Resort Park Manager Michael Schwendau for being the inspiration for the legislation.  “Given the sacrifices these fallen soldiers have made, he thought we needed to recognize this in a permanent way, and Rep. Denham and I agreed.”