State lawmakers return to Frankfort in January for the 2021 General Assembly, but there is talk about a possible special session on several topics, including the second year of the biennial state budget and police reform.
Due to the coronavirus pandemic, lawmakers passed just a one-year spending plan earlier this year, and House Speaker David Osborne (R-Prospect) says they won’t be able to address the second year until they have a better idea on the state’s revenue situation.
“I don’t know that we’re going to have enough clarity to be able to do that with any certainty, so I would be suspect about coming into special session,” he said. “But certainly, we will be attacking it, and already are to some extent.”
Osborne adds there have been ongoing communications between legislators and the governor’s budget director.
House Minority Leader Joni Jenkins (D- Shively) agrees there’s still a lot of work to be done. “I don’t think anyone is anywhere near putting pen to paper for a budget.”
Lawmakers will convene in early January for one week, normally for leadership elections, then recess until February for the heart of the 30-day session, and Jenkins says, “We’ll have the whole month of January to work on that budget before we go back in February. I’m not concerned about the constraints of a short session.”
Senate President Pro Tem David Givens (R-Greensburg) said police reform is something that could be more easily taken care of in a special session.
“We continue to stand firm in our willingness to engage in the discussions,” Givens said. “We’ve got some policy ideas that we’d like to have the chance to amplify. A special session would be a great place to do it because the timing is so critical. There is concern and anxiety across our land, and we need to address those things. But we can’t call ourselves into special session.”
Givens says one of the measures will be sponsored by Senate President Robert Stivers, R-Manchester, that would, among other things, ban no-knock warrants. “We’ve had some discussions about that, and we’re ready to go to work if the Governor calls us in.”
Rep. Attica Scott (D-Louisville) has also proposed a bill, and Givens was asked if that could be incorporated. “Certainly. Every voice is welcome, and every voice is vital to the process,” he said. “We applaud every legislator engaging in the process. We’ll look at all those options.”
Senate Minority Leader Morgan McGarvey (D-Louisville) says he would like to see an agreement on any police reform legislation before lawmakers are called to Frankfort for a special session.
“We think those policies need to be drafted now,” McGarvey said. “We are working on them now; we’re working with some members of the majority on those policies. If those policies can get crafted and in a finalized position where everyone agrees, that’s what we’re coming in to vote on, then we should do it as quickly as possible.”
Jenkins adds they should be looking at wide-ranging reform, not just no-knock warrants. “That includes prison reform, policing reform and criminal justice reform. We need a holistic group of policies to look at.”
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Written by Tom Latek. Cross-posted from Kentucky Today.