FRANKFORT - A house bill aimed at having the Gov. William Owsley House in Lancaster turned into a state shrine did not make it to the consent calendar, says Rep. Lonnie Napier, R-Lancaster. HB 467 would have allowed state funding to control the Owsley House, which is said to be financially floundering.
"I did my job," Napier said. "I passed it out of the house 95-3, got it out of the senate committee, never had any problems, and I'm in the minority on my side."
Napier said Sen. Tom Buford, R-Nicholasville, was not able to get the bill out of the Rules Committee. Napier said Gov. Ernie Fletcher's "people" were present, asking for the bill to pass as well.
"But it didn't, and I just don't know why," Napier said.
More than likely, it was due to the funding issue.
In a prior interview with The Advocate, Parks Commissioner J.T. Miller said he opposed the bill because it didn't include funding. He said he'd already been approached by 10 different groups that want the Parks Department to put something in the state's care, and the state simply could not afford to take the chance that funding would not be included.
