We (currently) have five legislative days between now and the veto period, y’all.
Lawmakers took Monday off to mourn Rep. Steven Rudy’s wife, who passed away last week, and will be making that day up this coming Friday. (My condolences to him and his family.)
They still haven’t said whether or not they’ll make up January’s snow day, and they really could only do that next Monday. (I think they technically can also make it up Saturday, but I can’t do Saturday, so I’m acting like that’s not an option.)
Basically, though, hundreds of bills are dead
A bill typically needs at least five — but normally six — legislative days to get through the entire legislative process.
So, if a piece of legislation hasn’t started moving yet, it is (almost certainly) dead.
With the will-they-won’t-they re: snow day makeup, I’ll give the benefit of the doubt, and say if a bill hasn’t at least gotten a committee hearing or first reading in its first chamber by Wednesday afternoon, it can’t really go anywhere.
Now, yes, this is Frankfort, so nothing is really dead until Sine Die, but if your bill has gotten zero traction all session, I’m gonna hold your hand from afar and let you know it is gone.
Yes, there are many ways to sneak in legislation.
Again, yes, nothing is really dead until session is done.
A few weeks ago, I shared my list of more than 100 potential “shell bills” that could be stuffed with whatever lawmakers needed after the bill filing deadline.
But anything can really be a shell bill if you dream big enough. I wrote a piece for Queer Kentucky about all of the different ways legislation can be swapped in or out, or quickly rushed through — particularly now, when time is short and pressure is high.
One example is House Bill 253, which now has a last-second floor amendment to require school districts to accept “moral instruction” proposals instead of allowing them to say yes or no based on the district’s needs.
So, still continue to keep an eye on KET and LRC livestreams, social media feeds from your favorite reporters, and your go-to news outlets and advocacy groups. They’ll let you know if something is up.
So, where are some of the most talked about bills?
By no means a definitive list, but here’s a status update on some of the most talked about bills this session:
Alive
- HB 500 — the main budget bill is in conference committee, where lawmakers are hashing out details.
- SB 4 — the school board switcheroo bill is likely heading to a conference committee after the Senate rejected the all of the school board-related changes the House added to it. You can read my latest on that here, but I’m expecting some changes to the bill — particularly around the proposed map — in the coming days.
- HB 2 — the big Medicaid bill is working its way through the Senate.
- HB 4 — the anti-grooming bill is waiting for a Senate floor vote.
On life support
- SB 1 — the break-up-JCPS-board-give-power-to-superintendent bill has been stalling in the House, but now has two of three required readings and is slated for a discussion-only appearance in front of a House education committee at 8:30 a.m. Wednesday.
- HB 598 — a bill on guardians ad litem some TGPers care deeply about. This has been stuck in the House for about three weeks, doesn’t look promising.
- SB 72 — the bill that would let health care providers refuse to do anything they’re opposed to never got a House committee assignment.
Dead
- HB 11 — the lets-actually-break-up-JCPS bill never went anywhere.
- SB 351 — the anti-trans teacher bill never got a committee assignment.
- HB 867 — the anti-trans bathroom bill isn’t moving.
- HB 553 — another attempt at restricting health care access for trans Kentuckians also isn’t moving.
- BUT! I’ll note both HB 867 and HB 553 are assigned to the House State Gov committee, which typically meets Thursdays, so these might have a last-second Hail Mary moment.
- HB 360 — this year’s sole drag show bill never went anywhere.
So, what am I watching this week?
As the session winds down, here’s what I’ll be keeping an eye on:
- The budget, duh.
- What lawmakers do with JCPS — including the end result of SB 4, but also if they try to sneak in pieces of SB 1 (give more power to the superintendent) or HB 11 (break up the district).
- What will be done to protect students? Looking mainly at HB 4, the anti-grooming bill, but there are also a few other measures around teacher misconduct that could still go somewhere.
- Are we really not having a culture war this year? So many of the anti-LGBTQ+ bills I’m tracking haven’t gone anywhere. What’s going on?
Tell me what to cover/watch for!
Evergreen reminder that you can always give me ideas of bills to talk about/watch, or clue me in on hot goss floating around Frankfort, or just general ideas for TGP in this survey!
It is anonymous and you can fill it out as many times as you’d like.
Bookmark these links
As a reminder!
- All of the links to bills, resolutions, votes, and more are here.
- This is the committee schedule.
- This is the session calendar.
- This is each day’s lineup of meetings, agendas and start times.
- Legislative action will be livestreamed on KET and the LRC’s YouTube page.
How to follow my work
- Subscribe to The Gallery Pass and read it religiously. (And upgrade to a paid subscription if you can!)
- Follow my social media accounts for more real-time updates:
- Read Queer Kentucky — the home to my full-length reporting this session.
- Help cover some gas or an iced coffee via Venmo. Every little bit helps!
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Follow Olivia Krauth at The Gallery Pass.
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