KY lawmakers immediately override Gov. Beshear’s veto of bill restricting rental laws

The Republican-controlled Kentucky House of Representatives has overridden Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear’s veto of a controversial bill that nullifies Lexington’s recent ban on source of income discrimination.

The House voted 76-19 Wednesday to override the veto on House Bill 18, signed by Beshear just one day earlier.

The Senate did the same an hour later in a 31-7 vote.

It was the Democratic governor’s first veto of the 2024 General Assembly, and likely not his last. Similarly, Republican lawmakers hold a veto-proof supermajority and are expected to override those, too.

“Definitely not the last,” Senate President Robert Stivers, R-Manchester, said after adjournment.

Beshear called the bill, sponsored by Rep. Ryan Dotson, R-Winchester, “mean” and said it would make it harder for people in need to find homes.

The Lexington-Fayette Urban County Council voted in February to ban discrimination against people who use vouchers and other forms of income to pay for housing after months of debate and public meetings. The ban would not require landlords to take vouchers, but prevent them from including discriminating language in their advertising and listings.

The Lexington ban was supposed to take effect March 1, but lawyers for the city told the council the Lexington-Fayette Human Rights Commission would not start enforcing the ban due to the passage of HB 18.

Lexington and Louisville passed source of income bans after people with federal housing vouchers found it difficult to find landlords that would take vouchers. Louisville has had a source of income ban since 2020.

The bill contains an emergency clause, so it takes effect immediately, rendering both local ordinances null and void, Dotson said.

Beshear said these ordinances are examples of local governments doing what they believe is best for residents of their respective cities.

“So in response to these two cities trying to do the right thing for their people, in response to these two local governments governing their area and no other, we now have a bill that aims to obstruct these ordinances and prevent other locations from following their lead,” he said.

Rep. Daniel Grossberg, D-Louisville, echoed that point in opposing the veto override on the House floor.

“I find it ironic in this body that we often speak about local control, and here we are wresting local control away from the city of Louisville, which I represent, which had passed this ordinance 25-to-0, just four years ago,” he said. “I have not heard a call from the people in Louisville saying that we need to override the will people locally, and do so on the state level.

“I’m terribly concerned about the precedent we’re going to set about rolling back other local ordinances that protect people with housing and employment discrimination,” Grossberg said.

Sen. Stephen West, R-Paris, sponsored Senate Bill 25, which was similar to HB 18. Speaking after the successful override, West rejected the idea the legislation interfered with local control.

“It’s called preemption,” he said. “I think one of the city councilmen mentioned various branches of government should stay in their lane. I can’t agree more.

“The state of Kentucky has a vested interest in keeping real estate laws intact, eviction statutes, making sure that people can transact business. First and foremost, when we’re elected, we swear to uphold the Constitution of the United States, and anything passed at the lower level that we feel conflicts with the constitution, we have not only a right and obligation to counteract that.”

Sen. Reggie Thomas, D-Lexington, spoke against the bill on the Senate floor.

“Section 8 is designed to achieve two noble requirements: It’s designed primarily to assist people of color who do not have high income levels to obtain decent housing. And it’s a step up for poor people who want to rise out of poverty and have decent housing,” he said. “I support Gov. Beshear in his effort to support those noble causes. I think Gov. Beshear is right in doing so.”

This story was originally published March 6, 2024 at 2:54 PM.

Tessa Duvall

Lexington Herald-Leader

859-334-0430

Tessa has been the Herald-Leader’s Politics and Public Affairs Editor since March 2024, after acting as Frankfort Bureau Chief since joining the paper in August 2022. A native of Bowling Green and a graduate of Western Kentucky University, Tessa has also reported in Texas, Florida and Louisville, where she covered education, criminal justice and policing.