Currently, the majority of Kentucky's tax burden rests on the shoulders of the working and middle class. In fact, the top 1% of earners in Kentucky pay the least amount of taxes as a share of their income. Kentucky must rebalance the tax scales and stop  favoring the wealthiest among us. The top 1% need to pay their fair share.

Kentucky women still make, on average, 73 cents for every dollar a man makes, far exceeding the national average. This wage gap is significantly larger for women of color. Legislation must be filed to finally codify that women — all women —  deserve to be paid equally for their work.

Kentucky is long overdue for an increase in the minimum wage. Kentucky workers deserve to make a living wage, and instituting a $15 an hour minimum wage is the first step to that. After the minimum wage is raised, it should be tied to increase as inflation increases so that Kentuckians can keep their heads above water.

If the COVID-19 pandemic has taught us anything, it is that a person's health is the most important thing they have. There is currently no state law on the books that require employers to provide sick leave for employees. This must change.

In order to skirt having to pay employee benefits, many corporations use outside staffing firms or deem their workers as subcontractors. This is a predatory practice that limits worker protections, diminishes the dignity of work, provides substandard pay, and makes it nearly impossible for workers to form a union. This practice must be stopped.

Kentucky needs laws that will hold employers accountable for injuries and deaths on the job. We have witnessed the detrimental effects to workers when companies cut corners to increase their profits — my own family has been tragically effected by this outrageous behavior by an employer. Companies must be required to provide a safe workplace for their employees and be held accountable when they fail to do so.

In the 2021 Regular Session, the legislature passed SB 120 that legalized historical horse racing. This measure was critical in protecting the equine industry from out-of-state competitors. More bills should be passed that encourage the growth of Kentucky-specific industries, like how the General Assembly finally took up and passed Sports Betting,  that provide hundreds of thousands of jobs and contribute to our commonwealth's culture.