KY Senate advances bill to track relief funds after tornado aid went to people unaffected by the disaster

Kentucky lawmakers took an initial step Wednesday toward giving themselves oversight of relief funds like the ones the governor created to help people recover from tornadoes and flooding.

The measure, which sailed through a Senate committee, calls for an annual report of relief funds created by a government agency or elected official. The bill stems from reports that some checks supported by the tornado relief fund went to people unaffected by the tragedy.

Gov. Andy Beshear created the funds following tornadoes that tore through parts of western Kentucky in late 2021 and flooding that inundated portions of eastern Kentucky last summer.

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A bill that would give Kentucky lawmakers oversight of relief funds advanced through a state Senate committee Wednesday. 

Republican Sen. Whitney Westerfield said Wednesday that his bill seeks answers to “basic and fundamental questions” about distribution of money from the disaster relief funds.

“I think it’s fair for us to just ask questions about where the money has gone, how they made decisions about how to distribute money,” Westerfield told the committee.

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The Democratic governor has defended the funds’ transparency, including a website tracking the distribution of money. Relief money paid funeral expenses of storm victims and helped affected homeowners, renters and farmers.

“This is an open book,” Beshear said recently. “Everything here is a public record.”