Morgan Watkins

@morganwatkins26

A few Republican state senators want to eliminate required sexual harassment training for lawmakers and cut back on the ethics-related instruction they receive, citing concerns about the effectiveness of those initiatives.

Sen. John Schickel, R-Union, is sponsoring Senate Bill 152, which would repeal existing requirements for lawmakers to go through sexual harassment and workplace harassment training. It also would require Kentucky legislators to sit through only 30 minutes of ethics-related instruction each January instead of the three hours currently mandated by state law.

"It's nothing more than political correctness training," Schickel said. "If you don't have good manners and good values when you come to Frankfort, I can assure you Frankfort will not teach them."

But Frankfort hasn't been free of harassment cases in recent years. Former state Rep. John Arnold, a Democrat, was accused of sexual harassment by legislative employees back in 2013. Arnold denied the claims but resigned and eventually was found guilty of ethics violations. The rule requiring harassment training for legislators became law in 2014.

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Wrongdoing by lawmakers should be prosecuted, Schickel said. But sending everyone to "manners training" because one person did something wrong is "ridiculous."

The ethics training that members of the General Assembly get each year is overkill, he said. State representatives and senators typically pay more attention to their phones or laptops than the seminars.

"My ethics commission is the people who elect me every four years, not some unelected bureaucrat in Frankfort," Schickel said.

Sen. Tom Buford, R-Nicholasville, is also sponsoring the ethics bill and said he questions the efficacy of the ethics training legislators receive. "What does it accomplish for the amount of time and money we are investing in it?" he asked.

Buford said sexual harassment is an important issue but suggested there may be a better way to address it. "I don't know that it is effective," he said of the current training.

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But Rep. Mary Lou Marzian, D-Louisville, said harassment and ethics training were put in place for a reason and are still needed.

For example, some people may not realize that it isn’t OK to call a grown woman ‘Baby,’ Marzian said.

“As a woman, as a legislator, I see infractions quite often,” she said. “You do see people calling somebody ‘Baby’ or ‘Honey.’ And while it’s not malicious, it’s inappropriate."

Sen. Paul Hornback, R-Shelbyville, has sponsored the ethics bill too.

Contact reporter Morgan Watkins at (502) 875-5136 or mwatkins@courier-journal.com.