With a state budget behind them, Kentucky lawmakers may tackle more bills on April 13
Kentucky lawmakers may handle other major pieces of legislation in addition to considering any vetoes by Gov. Andy Beshear when they return to the Capitol April 13, a key legislative leader said Thursday.
“As long as we are in session, it’s always possible to address any bill,” said Senate Majority Leader Damon Thayer, R-Georgetown.
Lawmakers are to meet again April 13 and could meet April 14 and 15. This year’s General Assembly cannot run past April 15.
“We remain flexible with the schedule because of the coronavirus pandemic but right now we are to come back April 13,” said Thayer.
Lawmakers on Wednesday signed off on an $11.4 billion, one-year state budget and sent it to Gov. Andy Beshear. He has 10 days, excluding Sunday, to make any line-item vetoes in the bill.
Thayer said House and Senate leaders have been so busy trying to craft a budget that they have not had time to decide exactly what other legislation may be considered when lawmakers return to the Capitol.
If they pass any new bills in mid-April, the governor could veto any of them and the legislature would have no way to override his actions. The legislature could approve amendments to Kentucky’s Constitution, which the governor can’t veto.
The governor also has no say over Senate confirmation of certain appointments to various boards and commissions, which the Senate also may take up, said Thayer.
If enacted by the legislature, any constitutional amendment would be submitted to voters statewide in the November election.
It is more difficult in the House and Senate to approve a constitutional amendment than a regular bill because such amendments require 60 percent of the vote in each chamber instead of a simple majority.
A host of constitutional amendments still are in play, said Thayer. The legislature can put up to four on the ballot.
Ones remaining deal with subjects ranging from crime victims’ rights to abortion.
Sen. Whitney Westerfield, R-Hopkinsville, said Thursday he will “push hard” on April 13 for his Senate Bill 15, more commonly known as “Marsy’s Law.”
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.
Westerfield reintroduced the measure in this year’s General Assembly. It passed the Senate and now needs only a vote in the House for final passage, he said.
SB 15 would establish about a dozen constitutional rights for crime victims, many similar to rights that have existed in state law since 1986.
Westerfield said he also is holding out hope for another bill he is pushing, Senate Bill 9.
He said it is designed to protect all infants born alive, even after a botched abortion, by making it a crime for any doctor or health provider in Kentucky to not try to “preserve the life and health of a born-alive infant.”
Kentucky is one of about 22 states that don’t have this protection for infants, the lawmaker said.
The ACLU of Kentucky said it is an attempt to criminalize the work doctors do to provide safe, legal abortions.
Westerfield said SB 9 needs a House vote. He acknowledged that if the legislature approves the measure this month, the governor could veto it and lawmakers could do nothing about it.
Rep. Jason Nemes, R-Louisville, said Thursday he will push House Bill 405, a constitutional amendment that would increase the term of office for Commonwealth’s attorneys from six years to eight years in 2025 and increase the experience requirement to be a district judge from two to eight years in 2022.
Nemes said the changes need to be put in motion this year to help with judicial redistricting next year to reduce unequal caseloads in districts.
Another constitutional amendment that may be considered this month is Senate Bill 58, which would limit when a governor can issue pardons.
It is in response to former Gov. Matt Bevin’s decision to sign a flurry of controversial pardons in his last days in office last year.
The bill, sponsored by Republican Sen. Chris McDaniel of Taylor Mill, 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.
The Senate has approved the amendment and it awaits a vote in the House.
The governor so far has issued four vetoes — Senate Bill 2, House Bill 195, Senate Bill 5 and House Bill 336.
Late Friday afternoon, Beshear vetoed SB 2, a controversial measure that would require a government-issued photo ID to vote. Legislators sent it to him March 26. It was strongly pushed by Republican Secretary of State Michael Adams.
In his veto, Beshear said the measure would “create an obstacle to the ability of Kentuckians to vote.”
HB 195 says counties with populations over 80,000 persons would no longer be required to run public notice advertising in the newspaper with the largest circulation. Beshear said the bill has a “commendable premise” but it would hamper the public’s ability to receive complete information of a local government’s actions.
Lawmakers on Wednesday put a similar provision in the state’s revenue bill.
Beshear also has vetoed SB 5, which would limit the ability of any special purpose government entity, such as a public library or local health department, to increase taxes.
The most important change in the bill is that any proposed tax increases must be approved by an elected body, such as a fiscal court.
Beshear said he vetoed it because it could deprive essential services to under-served citizens.
The third bill Beshear has vetoed so far, HB 336, would allow a candidate for governor to campaign without a running mate during the primary election and then select a running mate after getting the party nomination.
Beshear said that was contrary to a 1992 constitutional amendment that said candidates for governor and lieutenant governor must run for office as a unified slate in primary elections.
This story was originally published April 3, 2020 at 11:58 AM.
