KY has two awful amendments on the ballot. We endorse this simple approach when you vote.

It’s no small thing to open up our state’s guiding document — the Kentucky Constitution — for substantial changes. Unlocking this important touchstone should happen only for the best of reasons. But in the case of the two proposed amendments you will see on your ballot this election, the Constitution would be worsened and weakened with two ideas that do more to enrich the power of the General Assembly than to help the people of Kentucky. Both amendments — which originated in the Legislature — are that body’s naked power grabs. The first, Amendment 1, would allow the General Assembly to amass more power to itself. The second, Amendment 2, would also give the legislature more power by taking determination and bodily autonomy away from one half of the population. Both amendments are dangerous and damaging to present and future Kentuckians.

We heartily urge you to vote no on both Amendments 1 and 2.

Do we want a full-time legislature?

Amendment 1 was born out of the chafing felt by the General Assembly when Gov. Andy Beshear laid out a series of emergency orders to deal with COVID, and legislators could do nothing to stop him. Currently, the legislature meets yearly with codified alternating 60-day and 30-day sessions that start in January. Only the governor can call the legislature into special session and decide what the topic of the session will be.

These parameters are the essence of a government run by checks and balances, a core tenet to our democracy. It does not matter which political party holds which branch of government; each branch is there to stop another from becoming too powerful. Currently, the Republican Party, which holds supermajorities in the House and the Senate, is plenty powerful enough; in the last session lawmakers overrode Gov. Beshear’s veto of a bill to give themselves 8 percent raises, among other things.

Yes, Kentucky is only one of 14 states that still leaves the legislature’s meeting times in the executive branch’s hands. Arguments could be made against that structure, but this lengthy and confusing amendment that you will see on the ballot is not the answer.

It would allow the General Assembly to put aside the required end dates of the regular sessions and give them the power to call themselves back into session — on any topic they wanted — for 12 days later in the year. The only stopping point would be the last day of the year.

It’s very clear how easily these new rules would allow the General Assembly to become full-time, with taxpayer-backed full-time salaries to match. This particular bill is a power grab by legislators piqued by a governor’s well-justified actions during a once in a lifetime pandemic. It’s also quite obvious that special sessions are only needed in extraordinary moments, such as the devastating floods that swept through Eastern Kentucky in July. The governor called a much-needed special session immediately; lawmakers met and voted to send $200 million in aid to the region. The system worked as it should.

The General Assembly has frequently imposed its will on the executive branch, and will continue to do so in their regular sessions, where they have plenty of time to pass laws. Vote no on Amendment 1.

No more privacy -- for women and girls

Amendment 2 picked up steam several years ago, when it became apparent that the conservative majority on the U.S. Supreme Court appeared ready to overturn Roe v. Wade, moving the authority for abortion rights from federal overview back to the states.

The Kentucky General Assembly passed the bill for the amendment in 2021, meaning it was largely forgotten until this year, when the Supreme Court did indeed overturn Roe in the Dobbs case. In the meantime, Kentucky’s GOP supermajority has passed other bills to ban abortion, including a trigger law that outlawed it as soon as that decision came down. That trigger law is currently being fought through the courts.

However, if Amendment 2 passes, courts could no longer interpret the Kentucky Constitution as protecting abortion as part of privacy and bodily autonomy. It would put the General Assembly solely in charge of legislating our reproductive rights. The judiciary would essentially be knocked out of any decisions regarding abortion challenges in our courts.

And because it would eviscerate privacy for one group of people, some legal experts believe the amendment could lead to the further erosion of privacy rights in the state, possibly affecting issues like access to birth control or rights for LGBTQ Kentuckians.

There are many opinions about abortion, how much it should be restricted or allowed. But most reasonable people believe that even the most stringent abortion restrictions should have exceptions for rape, incest and the life of the mother, and that reproductive decisions should be between families and their doctors, not elected politicians.

The GOP majority of the General Assembly has gerrymandered itself into a winning position for years to come. They will be our lawmakers for a long time, but that should not make them the unchallenged rulers of state government, the courts or women’s bodies. The legislative power grabs of Amendments #1 and #2 should not be cemented into our state Constitution, therefore we urge you to vote no on both.

This story was originally published October 14, 2022 at 9:52 AM.