Here’s a short list of twelve bad bills in this year’s General Assembly. We could write an editorial about each one, but we’re just going to give you the list and a summary of what the bill does. Post it on your computer monitor (or your refrigerator, if you’re old school) so you can track how each is doing. If we can make it to sine die with none of these passing, it will be a good year in Frankfort.
Our “Twelve Crappy Bills” List
HB 4 – Infinite General Assembly
- Constitutional Amendment: delete required ending dates for legislative sessions; allow lawmakers to extend working days by 10 with 3/5s vote in each chamber
SB 83 – No healthcare if you offend me
- Allow healthcare providers and insurers to refuse to provide or pay for healthcare services that violate their conscience
HB 149 / SB 25 – Vouchers for private schools
- Create tax credit for donations to fund private school attendance through “account-granting organizations”; allows for hit to state budget to expand every year, infinitely
HB 10 / SB 5 – COVID liability protection
- Grant immunity to people and businesses from ordinary negligence for a personal injury resulting from exposure to COVID-19, as long as they take “reasonable precautions”
HB 217 – Limit emergency orders, including elections
- Emergency powers pushback: limit emergency orders by Governor to 15 days unless approved by General Assembly; remove ability to change manner of election
SB 106 – Anti trans athletes
- Require schools to designate athletic teams, activities, and sports based upon “biological sex”
HB 207 – Anti renewable energy
- Strip ability of localities to prioritize access to sustainable energy in new construction; bar “discrimination” against fossil-based utilities
HB 91 – Anti-abortion
- Constitutional amendment: state that Kentucky’s Constitution does not secure or protect a right to abortion or funding of abortion
SB 37 / SB 98– Anti-vaccinations
- Prohibit required immunization of any person by state agency or employer
- Prohibit employers from discriminating against an individual who declines immunization or from requiring immunization as a condition of employment
And yes, we’re also going to do a list of good bills that should pass, and other good bills that are DOA but shouldn’t be.
–30–