Sen. Parrett to seek re-election

FRANKFORT –Senator Dennis Parrett, D-Elizabethtown, filed for re-election today in the Secretary of State’s office.

“I am honored to have served as your 10th district Kentucky state senator,” said Parrett, who has served in the Senate since 2011 representing Hardin County and a portion of Jefferson County. “I feel I have represented the citizens of the 10th District in a common sense, bi-partisan manner and I am proud of the legislation I have been fortunate to introduce and see become laws.”

 

The legislation that Parrett is most proud includes:

• the Brianna Taylor Act that expands the “look back” period in habitual drunk driving convictions;
• his bill that allows a student with disabilities to receive a high school diploma rather than the certificate of completion;
• his bill that mandates infant screening for defects that can be done with pulse oximetry monitoring the levels of oxygen in an infant’s blood, and
• his legislation that waives the concealed carry requirements for veterans with an honorable discharge.

 

With the 2017 Legislative Session approaching, Senator Parrett said one of his top priorities will be to pass a balanced state budget while preserving education, health care, and public safety. Another priority, if it does not happen in special session, is to address the public pension issue without penalizing teachers, public employees, and retirees.

 

Parrett also has re-filed legislation he has carried in the past that is aimed at helping the young people of the commonwealth and feels confident both may pass in the 2018 session. His financial literacy bill would require all high school students to pass the financial literacy program before graduating and his kinship care bill re-establishes a program to provide a more permanent placement with a qualified relative for a child, who would otherwise be placed in foster care due to abuse, neglect or the death of both parents.

 

Parrett has moved into a position of leadership in the Democratic Caucus. Earlier this year, he was elected by his colleagues to serve as its Minority Whip. This leadership position will also give him a seat at the table during the drafting of the state’s two-year spending plan, he said.

 

Parrett’s legislative committee assignments reflect his expertise and regional priorities. He is a member of the Appropriations and Revenue; Veterans, Military Affairs, and Public Protection; Agriculture; Banking and Insurance; Finance and Public Protection; Enrollment; Committee on Committees; Rules, and the Legislative Research Commission. He serves on the Budget Review Subcommittee on General Government and the Budget Review Subcommittee on Transportation.

 

He is a member of the Bourbon Trail Caucus, the Kentucky Sportsmen’s Caucus, the Louisville Metropolitan Caucus, and the Western Kentucky Caucus.

 

Parrett is a former co-owner of Cecilia Farm Service, a locally owned, regional retail fertilizer, seed and farm supply business, and served as the Hardin County Extension Agent for Agriculture from 1981-83. He is a graduate of West Hardin High School and of the University of Kentucky (1981).

 

An active member of his community, he has served as chairman of the Central Kentucky Community Foundation, KY FFA Foundation, Hardin County Conservation District and St. James School Board. He has also served on the boards of the Kentucky Retail Federation, Agribusiness Association of Kentucky, Kentucky Council on Agriculture, Hardin County Regional Farmers Market Foundation, Elizabethtown/Hardin County Chamber of Commerce, Hardin County Board of Adjustments and Hardin County Farm Bureau.

 

He and his wife, Lisa, have three adult children and two grandchildren. They reside on a farm in Hardin County.

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