Brandon Smith (Kentucky) (original) (raw)

Brandon Smith

Kentucky State Senate District 30

Tenure

2008 - Present

Term ends

2027

Years in position

17

Prior offices

Commissioner City of Hazard

Kentucky House of Representatives

Compensation

Elections and appointments

Personal

Contact

Brandon Smith (Republican Party) is a member of the Kentucky State Senate, representing District 30. He assumed office in 2008. His current term ends on January 1, 2027.

Smith (Republican Party) ran for re-election to the Kentucky State Senate to represent District 30. He won in the general election on November 8, 2022.

Smith served as Senate majority whip from 2013 to 2014. He served in the Kentucky House of Representatives from 2001 to 2008 and was commissioner of the City of Hazard from 1993 to 1998.

Biography

Smith's professional experience includes working as Retail Operations Director for Perry Oil Company, Vice-President of Hazard Food Mart, Inc. and Owner of Daniel Boone Investments.

Committee assignments

2023-2024

Smith was assigned to the following committees:

• Senate Banking and Insurance Committee
• Senate Natural Resources and Energy Committee, Chair
• Senate Transportation Committee
• Senate Veterans, Military Affairs, and Public Protection Committee
• Banking and Insurance Committee
• Natural Resources and Environment Committee, Co-Chair
• Transportation Committee
• Veterans, Military Affairs and Public Protection Committee

2021-2022

Smith was assigned to the following committees:

• Senate Banking and Insurance Committee
• Senate Natural Resources and Energy Committee, Chair
• Senate Transportation Committee
• Senate Veterans, Military Affairs, and Public Protection Committee

2019-2020

Smith was assigned to the following committees:

• Senate Banking and Insurance Committee
• Senate Natural Resources and Energy Committee, Chair
• Senate Veterans, Military Affairs, and Public Protection Committee

2017 legislative session

At the beginning of the 2017 legislative session, this legislator served on the following committees:

2015 legislative session

At the beginning of the 2015 legislative session, Smith served on the following committees:

2013-2014

At the beginning of the 2013 legislative session, Smith served on the following committees:

2011-2012

In the 2011-2012 legislative session, Smith served on the following committees:

2009-2010

In the 2009-2010 legislative session, Smith served on the following committees:

The following table lists bills this person sponsored as a legislator, according to BillTrack50 and sorted by action history. Bills are sorted by the date of their last action. The following list may not be comprehensive. To see all bills this legislator sponsored, click on the legislator's name in the title of the table.

Elections

2022

See also: Kentucky State Senate elections, 2022

General election

Democratic primary election

Republican primary election

The Republican primary election was canceled. Incumbent Brandon Smith advanced from the Republican primary for Kentucky State Senate District 30.

2018

See also: Kentucky State Senate elections, 2018

General election

Democratic primary election

Republican primary election

2014

See also: Kentucky State Senate elections, 2014

Elections for the Kentucky State Senate took place in 2014. A primary election took place on May 20, 2014. The general election was held on November 4, 2014. The signature filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was January 28, 2014. Jordan Bowling Palmer ran unopposed in the Democratic primary, while incumbent Brandon D. Smith ran unopposed in the Republican primary. Smith defeated Palmer in the general election.[1][2][3]

Kentucky State Senate, District 30 General Election, 2014

Party	Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Brandon D. Smith Incumbent	73.8%
	Democratic	Jordan Bowling Palmer	26.2%
Total Votes	37,180

2010

See also: Kentucky State Senate elections, 2010

Smith defeated Democratic candidate Johnnie Turner, Kentucky candidate by a margin of 20,870 to 10,180 in the November 2 general election.[4]

In the May 18 primary election, Smith ran unopposed.[5]

Kentucky State Senate, District 30 (2010) General Election
Candidates	Votes	Percent
Brandon Smith (R)	20,870	67.2%
Johnnie Turner (D)	10,180	32.8%

Campaign themes

2022

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Brandon Smith did not complete Ballotpedia's 2022 Candidate Connection survey.

Campaign finance summary

Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.

Scorecards

See also: State legislative scorecards and State legislative scorecards in Kentucky

A scorecard evaluates a legislator’s voting record. Its purpose is to inform voters about the legislator’s political positions. Because scorecards have varying purposes and methodologies, each report should be considered on its own merits. For example, an advocacy group’s scorecard may assess a legislator’s voting record on one issue while a state newspaper’s scorecard may evaluate the voting record in its entirety.

Ballotpedia is in the process of developing an encyclopedic list of published scorecards. Some states have a limited number of available scorecards or scorecards produced only by select groups. It is Ballotpedia’s goal to incorporate all available scorecards regardless of ideology or number.

Click here for an overview of legislative scorecards in all 50 states. To contribute to the list of Kentucky scorecards, email suggestions to editor@ballotpedia.org.

2023

2022

2021

2020

2019

2018

2017

2016

2015

2014

2013

2012

Personal

Note: Please contact us if the personal information below requires an update.
Smith and his wife, Jamie, have three children.

Noteworthy events

In a meeting of the Interim Joint Committee on Natural Resources and Environment held on July 2, 2014, Smith, a coal company owner speaking in opposition to federal regulations on carbon emissions, stated: "In academia we all agree that the temperature on Mars is exactly as it is here. Nobody will dispute that. Yet there are no coal mines on Mars. There’s no factories on Mars that I’m aware of." At the time of the comments, Earth's average temperature was 57 degrees Fahrenheit, while Mars' was -81 degrees Fahrenheit.[6][7]

DUI arrest

See also: Politicians convicted of DUI

In January 2015, Smith was charged with speeding and DUI after allegedly having a 0.16 blood-alcohol level on the night of January 6. Bill Johnson, Smith's attorney, filed a motion to dismiss his client's charges, saying that a constitutional provision dating back to 1891 should have prevented his arrest.[8] Section 43 of the Kentucky Constitution reads: "The members of the General Assembly shall, in all cases except treason, felony, breach or surety of the peace, be privileged from arrest during their attendance on the sessions of their respective Houses, and in going to and returning from the same; and for any speech or debate in either House they shall not be questioned in any other place." Johnson said that the language was added to "keep legislators from being bothered by people who would arrest them during sessions."[9] He concluded, "If you can't arrest them, you can't try them."[10] Assistant Franklin County Attorney David Garnett told The State Journal that Smith's position is "an interesting argument," but posited that "the 1891 constitution did not intend to give legislators blanket immunity for any act committed during the legislative session." The court will decide on the motion when Smith appears for his postponed arraignment on February 12.[8]

On May 22, a jury found Smith guilty of speeding but not guilty of DUI. His lawyer withdrew the "privileged from arrest" motion.[11]

See also

External links

• Search Google News for this topic

Footnotes

1. ↑ Kentucky Secretary of State, "Election: 2014 General Election," accessed October 29, 2014
2. ↑ Kentucky Secretary of State, "Official 2014 Primary Election Results," accessed October 29, 2014
3. ↑ Kentucky Secretary of State, "Official 2014 General Election Results," accessed December 5, 2014
4. ↑ Kentucky Secretary of State, "Official 2010 General Election Results," accessed July 10, 2014
5. ↑ Kentucky Secretary of State, "Official 2010 Primary Election Results," accessed July 10, 2014
6. ↑ WKMS, "Kentucky Lawmakers Attack Climate Change Science In Discussion on Carbon Regulations," July 4, 2014
7. ↑ The Raw Story, "Kentucky GOP lawmaker defends coal: ‘We all agree’ Mars is the same temperature as Earth," July 8, 2014
8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 The State Journal, "Attorney Wants Senator's DUI Charge Dismissed, Says His Client Is 'Privileged from Arrest' During Session," January 22, 2015
9. ↑ WKYT, "State senator wants DUI charge dismissed based on 1891 rule," January 22, 2015
10. ↑ Associated Press, "Attorney: Lawmaker can't be charged with DUI during session," January 22, 2015
11. ↑ Lexington Herald Leader, "Jury finds state Sen. Brandon Smith not guilty of DUI but guilty on speeding charge," May 22, 2015

Leadership

Senate President:Robert Stivers

Majority Leader:Max Wise

Minority Leader:Gerald Neal

Senators

Republican Party (30)

Democratic Party (7)

Independent (1)

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