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Kentuckians for the Commonwealth
Kentuckians for the Commonwealth (KFTC) 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.

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 further develop safe mining regulation standards and mine safety provisions. Other social issues like cutting sales tax for residents below the poverty line have contributed to a stronger and more accountable system for low-income areas being taken advantage of by coal companies. In 1988 after a series of legislative efforts pushed and supported by KFTC the broad form deed laws were amended in Kentucky preventing companies from mining land without land owner's permission.