FRANKFORT, KY (June 14, 2023) — Senate Majority Floor Leader Damon Thayer, R-Georgetown, is the recipient of another Kentucky Chamber of Commerce MVP award for his commitment to ensuring Kentucky’s growth, creating and retaining jobs, strengthening businesses and improving competitiveness throughout the commonwealth.
Thayer is an eight-time award recipient and is this year’s only senator scoring a 100 percent business-friendly voting record. Additionally, the Kentucky Chamber has partnered with the Kentucky Distillers’ Association, Kentucky Thoroughbred Association, Kentucky Equine Education Project, Keeneland Association, and Churchill Downs Incorporated this year to recognize 2023 Kentucky “Champions for Signature Industries.”
“I value these recognitions because it reminds me that I am effectively doing my job as Senate majority floor leader to ensure we are collectively doing all we can to ensure we are making Kentucky the best state in the nation to do business and create jobs,” Thayer said.
“I will continue to work with the chamber, my colleagues in the Kentucky General Assembly, and all of our partners in the business community and our signature industries to make each year ahead of us better than the previous. Kentucky has experienced historic economic momentum since 2017, when we began implementing fiscally conservative policies in conjunction with our House Republican colleagues. Our horse racing and bourbon industries are as strong as ever. I’m proud of what we are accomplishing.”
Thayer was recognized with the MVP award alongside 13 House of Representative members.
According to the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce, this year’s MVP recipients showed strong leadership for the business community by sponsoring or carrying Kentucky Chamber priority legislation to final passage, showing leadership on the passage of critical legislation to improve Kentucky, or by taking hard votes in defense of business. Regarding the Champion for Signature Industries award, the chamber says the 2023 session saw substantial policy changes to enhance and protect Kentucky’s signature bourbon and equine industries. The recognition is for the legislators who took the bold steps to phase out the bourbon barrel tax, ban the gray machines, and legalize sports wagering.
Thayer’s top priorities for the 2023 session included important policy goals backed by the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce, including further reduction of working Kentuckians’ income taxes, passing sports betting legislation, a ban on ‘gray machines,’ and much more.
A long-time supporter of sports betting, Thayer carried House Bill 551 to final passage in the Senate. The measure was sponsored by Rep. Michael Meredith, R-Oakland, and previously championed by former northern Kentucky state Rep. Adam Koenig. As a member of Senate leadership, Thayer was instrumental in securing support for House Bill 551 and supporting tax reform legislation such as House Bill 1 and Kentucky’s signature horse and bourbon industries. He also contributed to defeating legislation that would be costly for job creators.
“Leader Thayer once again delivered in a big way for the business community, helping to shepherd sports betting, opposing a harmful data privacy bill, and helping to drive down our personal income tax among several other victories over the course of the session,” said Ashli Watts, president and CEO of the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce. “His tireless commitment to our signature bourbon and equine industries is critical to the success we have seen in recent years, and we applaud him once again for going to bat for Kentucky businesses.”
Visit THIS LINK to learn more about the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce’s 2023 results for Kentucky businesses, and CLICK HERE for more details on MVP award recipients.
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Senator Damon Thayer, R-Georgetown, represents the 17th Senate District, including Grant and Scott Counties, southern Kenton County, and northwestern Fayette County. He is Senate majority floor leader. Thayer is the longest-serving Republican Senate majority floor leader in Kentucky history. He serves as a member of the Senate committees on Agriculture, Licensing and Occupations, and State and Local Government. As Senate majority floor leader, Thayer is a member of the Legislative Research Commission, the Committee on Committees and the Rules Committee. Additionally, he is an Administrative Regulation Review Subcommittee member.
Please visit https://legislature.ky.gov/Legislators%20Full%20Res%20Images/senate117.jpg for a high-resolution JPEG file of Thayer.
