Kentucky’s 82nd District Representative, Nick Wilson, recently completed his first full year in office. Looking back on all that has transpired over the past 12 months, he said that he is happy with the way things have gone for him in Frankfort.
“What I have done so far is lean on my expertise in criminal law,” Wilson explained. “As a public defender and a prosecutor, I have seen where the law has come up short in protecting victims. That has been a priority for me, because it is something that I know a lot about.”
Speaking specifically about one of the biggest victories of his freshman year as a representative, Wilson said, “Last year, I was able to pass a bill which expanded the death penalty for the first time in 30 years or so. It is called Kimber’s Law, and what it did was, if someone kills a child under the age of 12, then they are now eligible for life without parole or the death penalty.”
Looking ahead, Wilson said that he will continue to focus his efforts on making sure that victims of crimes receive just penalties.
“This year, I will have a couple of bills that further address people who abuse children,” Wilson said. “Specifically, sexual abuse. As an attorney, I understand that the hardest convictions to get are in the cases of sexual abuse of a child. It is because there is usually not a lot of evidence, and children are young. They get easily confused, and they don’t make good witnesses on their own behalf. I think there are areas in the law that will allow us to more harshly punish those who commit these crimes, and there are a couple of bills that have not been filed yet that will address some of those concerns.”
As one of only two former prosecutors currently serving in the House of Representatives, and the only former assistant commonwealth attorney, Wilson has played a major role recently in putting together a piece of legislation called the Safer in Kentucky Act. “I’ve had a lot of input on that, and has helped to craft some good legislation that we hope will not have any unintended consequences,” he said.
When asked what all would be included in the Safer in Kentucky Act, Wilson said that it deals with a broad range of issues, including harsher penalties for fleeing and evading police in a motor vehicle, making the promotion of contraband into jails a more severe offense, and continuing to address the many issues related to the deadly drug fentanyl, which is negatively affecting communities across the Commonwealth.
“One thing that is a priority for me is looking at what is considered a violent offense, and what is considered to be a non-violent offense,” Wilson added when speaking about his work on the Safer in Kentucky Act. “There are some violent actions that are not being considered as violent acts under the law.”
Wilson mentioned strangulation and certain types of assault as examples, and said that how these crimes are classified under the law can be a big determining factor in parole eligibility and how much time offenders end up actually serving.
With all of this on the horizon, Wilson and his colleagues must first focus their attention on balancing the state budget. It is a process that he will personally be a part of for the very first time, but so far, he says that everything is going smoothly.
“The big thing right now, which happens every two years, is the budget,” Wilson said. “We create a two-year budget for the whole state. That happens every even-numbered year, and that process starts in the House.”
“The budget should be released soon,” Wilson assured. “Then it will go on to the Senate, where they can make some tweaks and changes. The goal, and we are constitutionally bound to do it, is to have a budget by the time the session ends, which is in the middle of April.”
When it comes to how and where the state should be spending its money, Wilson is eager to hear the opinions of his constituents in Whitley and portions of Laurel County. Citizens residing in the 82nd District should have received a questionnaire in the mail from Wilson’s office recently, seeking their feedback on a variety of different issues, including priority areas for state spending, concerns regarding the reliability of the electrical grid, the cost of utilities, the current condition of roads and bridges, and much more.
If you did not receive a questionnaire, feel free to scan the QR code accompanying the print version of this report to be directed to an online version.
“There is no deadline,” Wilson said of the questionnaire. “You can submit it any time. It is really just my attempt to gauge what is important to the whole district. I think that I know what is important. That’s what I ran, and I think that’s why I got elected, but you can’t know where everyone stands on everything.”
Once again reflecting on the developments that have taken place since he was voted in as a state representative, Wilson said, “My first year was more successful than I could have ever imagined. That is because of the passage of Kimber’s Law. I filed that bill because I saw the need for it. I was the new kid on the block, a freshman, and I thought that maybe five years down the road maybe we could pass that law. It happened in the first year of my first term, though, and I am beyond proud of that. I am so thankful to all of the people who helped make that happen.”
“I am more curious about how I will feel 12 months from now,” Wilson continued. “Because the most important job that we have in the House of Representative, in my opinion, is creating and balancing the budget. I hope that it will be a smooth process, and I hope that I will get the same kind of respect and treatment when it comes to the input that I am hoping to give. There are things that need to be done here. There are roads and bridges that need to be fixed, and projects that I would like to see taken on.”
82nd District Representative Nick Wilson can be reached by e-mail at Nick.Wilson@lrc.ky.gov, or call and leave a message at 1-800-372-7181. Find his official Facebook page by searching for “Nick Wilson, State Representative – District 82.”
