FAQ
1. Is Adrienne Pro-Life?
Yes. In 2020, SB 9 “Born-Alive Bill” was passed by the Senate, and handed off to the House in January. But they refused to vote on it until the last possible day April 15, knowing it would be vetoed. There was no excuse for a veto-proof majority to allow pro-life legislation to be aborted. Likewise, HB 67 “No Right to Abortion” Amendment was killed by Senate Leadership in March after passing the House 71-21. Babies’ lives should not be political tools. Legislators said we can do it next year. Some babies didn’t have a next year. With the help of a few other legislators, Adrienne made sure we passed the ballot amendment in 2021, which was placed on the 2022 ballot. Although the law in this area is far from settled, Adrienne is committed to deep-diving into the language of our current laws and addressing deficiencies so that all lives are protected as much as possible.
2. What is Adrienne’s position on guns?
Adrienne is a firm believer in the 2nd Amendment. It is really what separates us from the rest of the world, and we must not let anything get in between us and our best possible self-defense. She opposes red flag laws and looks to bring relief from existing restrictions that are likely unconstitutional. Adrienne has been endorsed in the past by both the NRA and NAGR, covering all the bases of gun rights concerns.
3. Will Adrienne protect the pensions?
YES! Keeping promises is non-negotiable. What future pension systems should look like is entirely separate from the issue of following through on our word and not spinning our wheels looking for a shortcut. We are in over our heads in pension debt and are just starting to swim furiously upstream. Funds have been disappearing. Adrienne wants to address leaks so when we put money in, it won’t drain directly out.
4. Is Adrienne Republican or Democrat?
Republican. Everybody has to be something, but Adrienne believes in the foundational principles of constitutional governance and is arguably the most independent voice for the people in the face of the political status quo in Frankfort.
Protect Life & Liberty
Adrienne has championed individual rights for the least represented, including the unborn. She firmly believes all liberty must be protected in order for any to exist. Adrienne is a staunch supporter of privacy and supports a justice system that promotes mutual respect for everyone’s life and liberty.
Defend Constitutional Rights
Whether the 1st, 2nd, 4th, 8th, 10th Amendment, or others, Adrienne believes in no infringement. She is an articulate supporter of the plethora of rights enumerated in the Constitution, including religion, speech, arms, privacy, due process, rights of the accused, and state’s rights. She also upholds the Kentucky Constitution, her favorite passages of which are school choice and Section 2 (no arbitrary power).
Stop Corruption
Government of, by, and for the people is nearly a relic for the history books. Large special interests and legal money laundering have nearly plunged us so far into the swamp that nobody can see a clear path forward. Luckily, so many problems means there is much opportunity to make a difference. Adrienne has been in front of the election security issues, and leading the charge for transparency and accountability to historic levels.
Promises Made – Promises Kept – 1st year Priorities
Redistricting Reform
1) Require districts to follow similar guidelines as Supreme Court districts: geographically consolidated and fewest cuts to counties/cities possible 2) Put new districts into effect on the following election cycle, similar to prohibiting Congress to pass itself a pay raise
Adrienne drew upwards of ten maps to prove the maps did not require wild cuts and curves. 2022 SB 2
Debt Limits
1) Place a ceiling on debt potential 2) Close loopholes around the Commonwealth’s ability to acquire new debt
Adrienne has continued to advocate for lower debt in budgets and voted no on the 2022 budget for the sole reason of debt levels being too high.
Tailored Emergency Powers
Emergency Powers are so broad as to trample the constitution and allow anything imaginable short of confiscating guns. We need to make a practical outline of more proper delegation of Emergency power, to stay in bounds of the constitution as well as confined to local jurisdictions of actual emergency.
Adrienne made many amendments to 2021 SB 1, including writing language now in law protecting property rights from seizure.
Pension Accountability
Money is walking out the door unaccounted for, so the math never adds up. The Auditor can’t get hands on records to evaluate anything. Shutting down the economy left us with a 1-year budget that still won’t be funded. And pensions have become a talking point rather than getting investigated. 1) We need to pay down our debt and tighten up the leaks with both responsibility and policy in order to scavenge funds to direct to the pension, because dumping every dime we have into the pension system will be useless if holes remain in the bottom of the pot we’re adding money to. 2) Addressing wrong practices and leaks is first priority with heavy funding being right behind that.
Adrienne has advocated for pension support, and accomplished some, but there is much more to do.
Due Process for the Unborn
HB 67 in 2020 proposed a Constitutional Amendment that clarified there is no right to abortion in Kentucky, because some courts have suggested it’s a woman’s right to liberty. However, HB 67 met sudden death in our Republican-controlled Senate, even after passing the House 71-21.
Adrienne saw 2021 HB 91 through the Senate to completion.
Education Innovation
1) Expand on districts of innovation theme to reduce the administrative burden on schools statewide. 2) Create statewide reciprocity between districts so parents can more easily move children into neighboring schools as education needs require. 3) Direct money through the web of bureaucracy straight into the classrooms for teachers to acquire materials needed for their teaching and provide general school supplies for all students.
Adrienne supported 2021 HB 563 creating statewide reciprocity between school districts. She sponsored a budget request for classroom teaching supplies in 2022 and will continue to push on all fronts for completion of these unfinished items in the future.
Police Revival
Police are supposed to enforce the law. Those who have any other intention have no place in our justice system. However, we have saddled our law enforcement with every responsibility under the sun, leaving little time to thoroughly train or maintain practice on any of the unusuals. Adrienne will 1) support justice reform measures that increase the public trust in our law enforcement, 2) create more effective training and mental health for law enforcement, and 3) protect every individual from use of arbitrary power.
Adrienne supported 2021 SB 80 to remove bad apples from law enforcement for good. Adrienne also sponsored SB 159 and voted for multiple bills relating to mental health for first responders. In 2022, Adrienne supported increased funding to the police pension deficit with a goal of reducing civil asset forfeiture.
Open Records Reform
1) Hold agencies accountable for failing to timely provide required records 2) Expand access to the public by recognizing modern technology
Adrienne sponsored and passed accountability legislation to allow appeals to the Attorney General against agencies who fail to provide records in the timeframe allowed by law. There is more to do, and other issues stacking up continually in the attack on transparency culture pervading Frankfort.
2nd Year Priorities
Vaccine Mandates
Adrienne sponsored 3 bills in this field during 2021, but only one passed (2021 SB 8, which she was ultimately able to negotiate as a leadership priority bill). SB 8 removed language in our law that allowed public health departments to issue vaccine mandates with no exceptions in place, and instead required all sorts of exceptions to be provided along with any attempted mandate. The second bill which had many other senators’ support but did not pass was 2021 SB 117 adding these same exceptions to other vaccine mandates, such as from employers, hospitals, and universities. The third bill Adrienne developed was 2021 SB 98 to provide civil rights protection to employees based on vaccine status similar to pregnancy protections and of all things, smokers. In 2022, similar bills were advanced, SB 246 and SB 358, along with a new bill SB 336 to copy all federal protections against forced Emergency drugs to be enforceable by Kentucky. While Adrienne started as the primary negotiator for the group of senate members primarily moving these issues, she ultimately picked up the pieces when the group’s mission failed, and has since become the coordinator of the unofficial and growing group of senators interested in moving the needle on vaccine mandate issues..
Election Security
When Adrienne was first elected she knew elections needed attention, particularly voter rolls. However, after 2020, she first focused on machines with her original 2021 SB 244 which passed with SB 63. Starting in 2022, after last-second veto of SB 63 and admission that the machines could connect to the internet, Adrienne switched gears to ballot accountability and audits regardless of machines and their connections. 2022 SB 62 was recognized by national election experts as the best bill in the country for closing the gaps in our election security. It required reconciliation of the number of voters with the number of votes, hand-counting the ballots for verifying the vote totals for certification, and allowed local boards the choice of a paper-only system. Ultimately, 3 more senators joined her bill in whole, but negotiations ultimately favored parts of it over others with some practices are being incorporated into Board procedures and other bills instead. In 2024, there will be sample counts of paper ballots in all 120 counties.
3rd Year Priorities
CPS Reform
Two repetitive stories caused Adrienne to fully dive into the child welfare system to make systemic reforms. First, families were being harassed for seemingly nothing, and children taken away unnecessarily from parents. Second, families were calling for help in dire situations such as a boy held at gunpoint by a boyfriend, yet they did not get so much as a call back for 4 days. These opposite experiences converged to expose the problem: that our system is not focused on helping families and needs to hit a reset button. Adrienne has met with individuals, focus groups, and others representing all aspects of the system in place to help address child abuse situations. Although her work has yet to move fully forward, it has caught the attention of many in the field and sparked interest across the state. Her most recent suite of bills include: 2024 SB 206 to require considerations of the best interests of the child in removals, SB 207 to require clear and convincing proof for temporary removals so kids cannot be removed and bounced around for years just to be ultimately returned to parents, and SB 208 to separate the definitions of abuse and neglect and create separate responses to each as well as preserving parents’ constitutional rights to privacy and preservation of elusive evidence such as audio interviews.
The “A” FACTOR
Adrienne started reading legislation in 2007, started speaking to legislators in 2009, and by 2010 was looking at all of the bills every year in both the Senate and the House. Beginning in 2013, she provided formal training to private citizens in groups around the state who were looking to learn about being proactively involved in the civic process. Adrienne continually encouraged citizens to go beyond voting and make their voices heard throughout the year on specific issues of interest or concern to them. Working with citizens throughout the state opened the door to educating legislators on issues important to the people that were not getting attention of the media or well-known advocacy groups.
One of the most common questions Adrienne received in training sessions was, “How do you know that?” Usually the answer required a timeline of various years’ proposed legislation, as well as the background quilt of lobbying efforts, money trails, and associated agency findings, which was difficult to infuse into a verbal exchange. Practice most certainly helps perfect, and Adrienne has 16 years absorbed into her bird’s-eye view of what is going on in Frankfort. There is simply no replacement for intuition from a knowledge base of experience.
In 2015, Adrienne was asked to accept employment in the executive branch. Throughout her four years of service with the Lt. Governor, she became exponentially more familiar with state agencies and programs, some of which she had previously been aware of through legislative efforts. However, the inside perspective shed much light on her outside perspective, just as much as her outside perspective shone into agencies needing serious reform based on real-world experience.
Adrienne brings a rare combination of both outside and inside perspective to any of the three branches of government. As a former designer, she can see something out of nothing to assess problems and create solutions. As a lawmaker, she excels at locating the details which can make or break any given legislation, often including what is invisible in a bill rather than analyzing only the written page.
Just as in any other field of work, Adrienne sharpens her skills further every year and takes on more and more complex issues as she becomes familiar with the previous efforts. Ultimately, she believes understanding the labyrinth of state government is the first key to unwinding it. The second is speed and agility, which she also maintains at least comparative as the youngest senator currently serving in Kentucky.
“Adrienne’s ability to quickly read and understand bills is LEGENDARY.”
– former Lt. Governor Jenean Hampton
