Kentuckians for the Commonwealth


Kentuckians for the Commonwealth is a grassroots community organization founded in 1981 under the original name of the Kentuckian Fair Tax Coalition. Though statewide, KFTC has deep roots in eastern Kentucky where coal mining remains the dominant industry. KFTC is a multi-issue organization of working-class families, with a history of working for land reform, environmental justice, and low income assistance programs. In the 1980s KFTC was part of a campaign to end strip mining using the broad form deed and has since continued to provide support to the Appalachian region.
Joe Szakos was one of the founding organizers.

Notable Accomplishments

January 7, 1982, KFTC held their first meeting to develop a platform for an upcoming Kentucky General Assembly meeting, establishing a series of demands and support for legislation including an unmined mineral tax, an increase in the mining severance tax and primary support for House Bill 44. In 1988 after a series of legislative efforts pushed and supported by KFTC the broad form deed laws were amended and removed in Kentucky preventing companies from mining land without land owner's permission.
KFTC has continued to encourage growth towards its platform by helping establish an unmined coal tax that provides funding for local schools. They also worked with lawmakers to cut sales tax for residents below the poverty line and further develop safe mining regulation standards and mine safety provisions. KFTC is committed to supporting and encouraging a stronger and more accountable system for low-income areas that have been being taken advantage of by coal companies and corrupt policies.