Republican lawmakers push a flurry of bills before session halts amid COVID-19 concerns
Before Kentucky legislative leaders late Thursday adjourned this year’s session until March 27 out of concerns of the corornaviru, state lawmakers earlier in the day pushed a wide variety of bills, including one that would let the Kentucky legislature bypass the governor and bring itself back into session in Frankfort after its traditional adjournment deadline.
A House panel voted 10-4 along party lines to approve House Bill 647 and send it the full House. Republicans supported the proposal, a constitutional amendment sponsored by House Speaker David Osborne, R-Prospect.
Rep. Attica Scott, D-Louisville, wore blue plastic gloves and members spaced themselves apart during the meeting of the House Elections, Constitutional Amendments and Intergovernmental Affairs Committee.
“This bill is a little bit timely given what’s going on, but that’s not the reason that I filed it. I filed this bill long before anybody heard of COVID-19,” Osborne told the House elections committee.
If voters approve the amendment in November, the General Assembly could save days from its traditional 30-day and 60-day sessions in the winter and use them to return to the Capitol later for “extended” sessions that would last up to 10 days without pay, Osborne told the committee. Three-fifths of the House and Senate members would have to vote for an extended session, he said.
The state Constitution currently requires lawmakers to adjourn no later than March 30 in odd-numbered years and April 15 in even-numbered years unless the governor calls them into special session for a specific purpose.
But that timeline does not give the General Assembly the flexibility it needs, Osborne said. Some early days in the sessions are wasted because there isn’t enough legislative business to conduct yet, while toward the end, so many bills are backed up in the pipeline that important work is lost, he said.
“Frankly, I don’t know why that hard deadline was put into the Constitution,” Osborne said.
Kentuckians voted in 2000 for the legislature to meet annually rather than only in even-numbered years. Since then, lawmakers also have met in 13 special sessions to address specific issues, several times having to belatedly pass a state budget that they failed to address during their regular session.
The panel also approved a constitutional amendment called “Marsy’s Law” that would create a bill of rights for crime victims.
The committee, on a 13-1 vote, with one member passing, approved Senate Bill 15, sponsored by Sen. Whitney Westerfield, R-Hopkinsville.
The measure now goes to the House. If approved by the House, Kentuckians would have a second chance in two years to vote on it.
Kentucky voters approved the law in 2018, with 63 percent supporting it, but the Kentucky Supreme Court voided the vote, ruling that the question on the ballot was too vague. The entire text of the amendment should have been on the ballot, they said.
The House approved the measure 87-3 in 2018. The governor has no control over constitutional amendments but Gov. Andy Beshear, a Democrat, has said he supports more rights for crime victims “and Marsy’s Law, I think, is a good way to make sure we enshrine that.”
The bill would establish about a dozen constitutional rights for crime victims, many similar to rights that have existed in state law since 1986.
They include the right to be heard at court proceedings; for proceedings to be free from unreasonable delay; to be notified when a defendant is released or escapes custody; to have reasonable protection from the accused and those acting on behalf of the accused; to have consideration for their safety, dignity and privacy; and to consult with prosecutors
Westerfield told the House panel Thursday morning that the only change from the 2018 measure is that he added a provision dealing with a governor’s pardons. It stemmed from several controversial pardons former Gov. Matt Bevin issued before leaving office in December.
The addition would require victims to be notified if the convicted in their case is being considered for a pardon, commutation of sentence or reprieve.
Some defense attorneys and prosecutors have raised concerns about the bill, saying it would cause confusion in courts and add to their offices’ workloads without adding financial resources.
Rebecca Ballard DiLoreto, who lobbies for the Kentucky Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, told the panel that the measure should be called “The Lawyers Full Employment Bill.”
She said court rooms will have prosecutors and defense attorneys, and with SB 15, “lawyers for the complaining witness, if they can afford it.”
“It will topple the scales of justice for the wealthy,” she said.
The Lexington Herald-Leader reported in October 2018 that Henry T. Nicholas III, a California tech billionaire, spent about $5 million in Kentucky to promote the law named for his sister, who was murdered in 1983. He has spent millions in other states for the law.
The House panel also sent to the full House a constitutional amendment sponsored by Sen. Chris McDaniel, R-Taylor Mill, that would limit when a governor can issue pardons.
In presenting SB 56 to the House panel, McDaniel read newspaper headlines about former Gov. Bevin’s decision to sign a flurry of controversial pardons for convicted murderers, rapists and child pornographers in his last days in office.
His bill would prohibit a governor from granting pardons or commuting sentences beginning 30 days before a gubernatorial election and in the 30 days afterward before the next governor is sworn in.
Rep. Joni Jenkins, D-Louisville, told McDaniel, “All of us are still reeling from the events you described.” But she said she did not want to overcompensate for “irresponsible leaders.” She voted against the bill.
This story was originally published March 19, 2020 at 1:50 PM.