Wilson settling in to life as state legislator

Public defender, prosecutor, Survivor, legislator—Nick Wilson has now done it all. 

Elected in November to serve as the 82nd House District Representative, which covers Whitley County and a small portion of southern Laurel County, Wilson is currently in the midst of his first session as a state legislator. With both the Kentucky House of Representatives and Kentucky Senate having convened on Jan. 3, the session is now in full swing.

Wilson, while still a freshman legislator, hasn’t been too rattled by all the recent changes in his life. Having previously interned under former 86th House District Representative Jim Stewart out of Knox County in 2012, Wilson said he got a pretty good idea of what went on in the House back then, noting that not much has changed in a little over 10 years. 

So, what has been the biggest issue Wilson has faced thus far?

“The traveling. I’ve been driving quite a bit,” said Wilson. “I miss being home in Whitley County. I miss my wife and dogs.”

Despite the many hours of driving between Whitley County and Frankfort, Wilson said it was something he knew to expect, calling the sacrifice “worth it to try to help our area.”

Just a few days after convening in Frankfort with other members of the House, Wilson had the opportunity to make his first vote as a lawmaker. HB 1, which will lower the Kentucky individual income tax by a half percent this year and another half percent next year, received majority support in the House, passing 79-19. Wilson, who voted to pass the bill, said it was a moment he “will never forget.”

That bill has since moved through the Kentucky Senate and was passed into law last month.

Wilson has also already co-sponsored a number of bills and has even seen one he introduced pass the House and move on to the Senate to possibly become law. The bill, HB 165, was passed by a unanimous vote of 92-0 late last month and will make a few tweaks to the Employee Child Care Assistance Program.

That program was created through legislation passed by the Kentucky General Assembly during last year’s session and is set to begin in July. The program allows private employers to partner with the state to provide financial assistance to employees above the poverty line who need help with childcare costs. 

Wilson described the program as a contract between the employer, the employee, the state and the chosen childcare facility. With the existing statute, only the employer, the employee or the state can terminate the contract, leaving out the childcare facility, which Wilson said he felt was unfair. One of the changes would amend the statute to include the childcare facility as able to terminate the contract. The other adds a requirement for the Cabinet for Health and Family Services to provide a report on the program in December 2023. The current reporting date is set for December 2024. 

“Next year is the budget year and if we’re looking at maybe continuing this or ending it or expanding it, we need to know if it’s working or not,” said Wilson. 

The bill still has to pass the Senate before becoming law. Wilson said he expects it to be received favorably. As of Tuesday evening, it was still awaiting a vote.

While Wilson described the House’s passage of HB 165 a “milestone,” he still has his sights set on getting another bill passed that has a great personal meaning to him. 

Under existing state law, there are eight aggravating circumstances relating to murder that can allow prosecutors to seek the death penalty in a case, such as if the defendant committed the crime while also committing another violent act (robbery, rape, etc.) or the defendant killed or created a great risk of death to more than one person. Without one of those aggravating circumstances, prosecutors cannot even attempt to seek a possible sentence of life without parole.

HB 249 would amend state law to include the intentional killing of a child under 12 years old as an aggravating circumstance for which the death penalty may be authorized by a prosecutor. 

The bill, also known as Kimber’s Law, stems from a case Wilson worked on in McCreary County as an Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney. That case involved the murder of two-year-old Kimber Collins, the namesake of the bill, who was killed by a man who had been babysitting her. 

“The guy got 35 years, but that’s not enough. People should never leave prison if they intentionally murder a child,” said Wilson. “It is truly disgraceful that we do not offer the most severe punishment for somebody that murders the most innocent among us.”

Wilson introduced the bill to the House on Feb. 10 and it was sent to the House Judiciary Committee last week. 

He said he hopes to see it go through the committee in the next two weeks and receive a vote in the House. However, if it doesn’t make it through during this session, Wilson said that he “wasn’t going to stop” until he sees HB 249 become law.

“I didn’t really have a lot of goals coming into this job. I just wanted to be an effective legislator that could help our community. I think that’s a good goal, but it’s just a general, broad type of idea. And this is the first specific thing that I felt led to really try to get done,” said Wilson. 

Helping his community is something that Wilson stated multiple times to be his driving force as a lawmaker. 

Being able to do what is best for his community is more than just a one-person job, though. His expertise in law has been an advantage in Frankfort, but Wilson acknowledged that there are other areas he is lacking in. 

What is important is how Wilson chooses to attempt to close the gap on those deficiencies: turning to the aid of his community.

“You’ve got to learn a lot about a lot of different things. I think it’s important to understand what you don’t know. That’s why I rely on people that are in those other areas,” said Wilson. “When I meet with teachers from home, for instance, I tell them ‘Look, if an education bill comes up, please, email me. Let me know what your stance is.’ Because I’m not an educator.”

Wilson encouraged his constituents to contact him with questions, comments or concerns regarding his legislative actions. Anyone who wishes to, can do so by calling his Frankfort office at (502) 564-8100 or by email at nick.wilson@lrc.ky.gov.