Republicans Bring Audit Into Beshear’s W. KY Tornado Relief & E. KY Flood Relief Funds
A relief fund set up by the Beshear Administration to help those affected by the 2021 tornadoes will undergo a special examination as the 2023 gubernatorial election heats up. The audit was announced on Thursday from the office of former Republican gubernatorial primary candidate and two-term state Auditor Mike Harmon. The Auditor’s Office is conducting...
New state laws take effect this week
From LRC Public Information Officer Mike Wynn: New laws related to child abuse, drugs, gambling, mental health, gender services, education and dozens of other topics are set to take effect on Thursday after receiving a nod from the Kentucky General Assembly earlier this year. State lawmakers passed more than 170 bills during the 2023 legislative...
Multiple Interim Task Forces Set to Begin Meeting Next Month
Interim meetings begin next week in Frankfort, and when lawmakers return for committee meetings they’ll also be churning out recommendations on some hot topics as they convene multiple special committees in the form of task forces. Each task force will include of 10 legislative members – four each from the House and Senate majority, and...
Rep. Lamin Swann Dies Days After Being Hospitalized
Weeks after his first legislative session in Frankfort, Lexington Democratic state Rep. Lamin Swann has died, according to his family. Swann suffered a “medical emergency” requiring hospitalization on May 10, at the time his family requested prayers and privacy. “There are no words to fully describe the grief and impossible loss that others and I...
Short session adjourns after lawmakers pass bills on cannabis and sports betting
From LRC Public Information Officer Mike Wynn: While the 2023 legislative session may have opened to tempered expectations in January, it gaveled to a close this week with a stack of major bills in the books, including two breakout measures on medicinal cannabis and sports wagering that both passed in the final hours. Lawmakers returned...
Lawmakers Approve Medical Marijuana & Sports Betting
Lawmakers in the House and Senate moved at the same time on historic legislation legalizing medical marijuana and sports betting in Kentucky. Representatives in the state House passed Senate Bill 47, which would set up the regulative authority, qualifying conditions, and parameters for the use and sale of medical marijuana in the Commonwealth. The legislation...
Senate Judiciary Chair Whitney Westerfield will not seek re-election in 2024
On the final day of the 2023 legislative session, Senate Judiciary chair Whitney Westerfield announced he will not seek another term in the upper chamber. Westerfield, R-Fruit Hill, was first elected in 2012 and began representing the 3rd Senate District in 2013, where he was named the Judiciary Chair in his first term. With the...
Lawmakers Work to Override Veto of ‘Anti-Trans’ Bill
Culture warfare continued in Frankfort as lawmakers return for the final two days of the legislative session on Wednesday, wasting little time in working to override vetos from Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear. At the top of the veto override list was SB 150, which would ban gender-affirming care for minors, block teachers from using a...
Lawmakers Sprint to Veto Recess This Week
From LRC Public Information Officer Mike Wynn: Lawmakers often compare the chambers of the House or Senate to an arena. They sometimes quote Theodore Roosevelt’s famous passage about faces “marred by dust and sweat.” If ever a week in the General Assembly proved those sentiments correct, it was the one that wrapped up late Thursday night when...