The Kentucky General Assembly adjourned sine die just before midnight on Wednesday, April 15. Before wrapping up, the two chambers overrode vetoes, passed or amended some bills, and saw some bills fail before the midnight deadline. Here is a summary of the important actions in Frankfort over the last two days of the session.
Vetoes Overridden
The governor issued a number of vetoes before the legislature returned on Tuesday. Now that these vetoes have been overridden, the bills will become law.
SB 2 – The voter photo ID bill – This bill, now become law, requires a photo ID to vote, beginning in November. Dr. Josh Douglass of UK College of Law laid out the details in this story on our site.
Budget bills – Governor Beshear used his line-item veto to strike a number of sections in the various budget bills, primarily because he said they limited his flexibility to deal with the pandemic. (For example, not being able to adjust the budget to fix the state’s unemployment system.) He also vetoed a section that prohibited him from spending unbudgeted funds without legislative approval, saying it would hamper his efforts to purchase PPE for health-care workers.
Election changes – He vetoed a phrase having to do with the ability to change election procedures because it made the Secretary of State and the Governor co-equal in making those changes, rather than the original law which said the Secretary of State would recommend and the Governor would enact.
State aircraft – Beshear vetoed was a law saying that the state treasurer had to approve use of state aircraft by cabinet secretaries (but not the governor) for out-of-state travel.
All of those vetoes were overridden by the legislature, and now become law. And, rather than take them up and vote on the override one by one, they overrode them all at once.
Bills passed
The legislature passed a number of bills over the last two days. Because the legislature has adjourned, the governor can veto these and the legislature cannot override those vetoes.
HB 387 – Rural hospitals loan fund – After the legislature overrode the budget vetoes, they added language to this bill to make it clear that the governor could use unbudgeted funds for the purchase of PPE. In addition, the bill allows the governor to tap into undesignated restricted funds, which Senate President Stivers called “flexibility I have never seen given to a governor.”
HB 351 – Anti-abortion bill – Added language to give the attorney general additional powers to block abortions during a state of emergency, and to seek injunctive relief for violations of emergency orders issued by the governor banning elective medical procedures, including but not limited to abortions.
SB 9 – The “Born-alive” bill – Designed to protect infants “born alive” after a botched abortion. Defines abortion as an elective procedure, thus making it banned during the current state of emergency. And, added the same language regarding attorney general powers as HB 35.
As noted by the Courier-Journal: “Critics of Senate Bill 9 have pointed out that health care professionals already are ethically required to try to save the life of an infant in that kind of situation, which is extremely rare. State law already bans abortion after 20 weeks of pregnancy. A fetus is not considered viable before the 20-week mark.”
HB 405 – Terms of Commonwealth’s attorneys, district judge requirements – This bill is a constitutional amendment that increases the terms of office for Commonwealth’s attorneys to eight years, and increases experience requirements for district judges to eight years (currently two years).
SB 15 – Marsy’s Law – A second attempt at getting Marsy’s Law, also known as a “crime victim’s Bill of Rights,” added to the state constitution. It passed the last time it was on the ballot, but was struck down by a judge as too vague.
SB 158 – Educational gap – Redefines how the state measures “achievement gaps” in public schools, and how those schools are graded.
State Board of Education – The Senate confirmed Beshear’s appointees to the state Board of Education, except for chairman David Karem, a former legislator who helped write the original KERA act.
Failed bills
SB 136 – Chiropractors reopen – This bill would have allowed chiropractors to reopen their practices. It passed the Senate, passed the House with amendments, but then failed to be taken back up by the Senate.
The bill also included a provision for boards and industry groups to develop guidelines for safely reopening, which would then be presented to the governor. Ultimately, the governor would still have the final say on those businesses reopening.
HB 32 – COVID task force – This bill was originally about taxing vaping products, but language was added to create a legislative task force to make recommendations on re-opening businesses from COVID-19 closures. The bill was amended and passed in the Senate, but the House did not concur with the changes.
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