It was a relatively muted end to the 60-day session — a far cry from the vocal protests that punctuated last year’s General Assembly and led to arrests.
Two major bills that Republican lawmakers opted to shelve for the time being were Senate Bill 6 and House Bill 509. The first was a bill that targeted Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion programs. It underwent a number of changes over the session, gradually going from a bill that would place restrictions on college and university DEI programs to one that would dismantle them and affect K-12 schools.
Senate President Robert Stivers said, with a gubernatorial veto likely, legislators decided to bypass the bill — for now — keeping open the possibility that it could be debated again in 2025.
"Members felt like it was best to wait and try to work through the process... to come back and look at it over the interim and potentially bring it up next session," the Manchester Republican told reporters.
Meanwhile, HB 509 — a measure critics worried would create carve outs in the state's open records law — was another misfire, with no debate occurring in the Senate Monday night. Backers say that bill could also return in another form next session.
As for measures that did receive the final stamp of approval, most will take effect 90 days after final passage, unless an emergency clause is attached.
Monday marked the last regular session for a number of high-profile lawmakers, among them Senate Majority Floor Leader Damon Thayer, Sen. Whitney Westerfield, and Democratic House Leader Derrick Graham — the first African-American to lead a legislative caucus in the Kentucky House.
Dispatch Petition Disarray
A Kentucky Democratic lawmaker made a failed eleventh-hour push to debate exceptions for rape and incest in the state's near-total abortion ban on the final day of the General Assembly.
The exchange was a first for Senate President Pro-Tem David Givens — a challenge to a ruling of the chair.
What followed was a brief eruption of confusion on the Senate floor over the wording in Rule 48.
The commotion surrounded a bill known as "Hadley's Law," named after rape survivor Hadley Duvall. The sponsor, Louisville Sen. David Yates, argued it was never assigned to a committee and should be moved to the Senate floor. He filed what's known as a discharge petition last Thursday, hoping to win support for debate on the abortion exceptions on the floor. That would have required agreement from a majority of the GOP-dominated chamber, a tall order from the start.
But the chair decided that the move violated Senate Rule 48, which allows for the petition to be called on the "next succeeding legislative day after its filing." That wording caused consternation with one senator questioning the chamber's ability to read plain English.
Senate Majority Floor Leader also had harsh words, telling colleagues, "This is a political stunt on the last day of a legislative session. This bill can't even come to the floor for a vote because it doesn't have the required number of readings, and it certainly isn't going to be taken up by the House of Representatives."
Yates challenged the ruling.
"This is a very important precedent, a clear reading full 48, which I know most of you have done," he said. "I would ask you to follow the rules."
A Senate vote upheld the original chair ruling, effectively ending debate over the matter.
Education Commissioner Confirmed
Kentucky has a new state education commissioner, now that the state Senate has signed off on his appointment.
Lawrence County Superintendent Dr. Robbie Fletcher sailed through his Senate confirmation — with only one nay vote, from Fayette County Republican Donald Douglas. Many supporters pointed to Fletcher's strong roots in Kentucky, with Sen. Stephen West likening the now-commissioner to UK's new men's basketball coach.
"I believe he may be the Mark Pope of Kentucky education. He knows the program and he will be returning to the program," West said. "He's been a lifelong Kentuckian... knows the problems, knows the positives..."
Several lawmakers contrasted Fletcher's style with that of the previous top education official, Jason Glass, who drew the ire of the right over his vocal opposition to legislation passed in the 2023 session. One senator accused Glass of "continually throwing the legislature under the bus."
Explaining his departure last year, Glass described Senate Bill 150 — a wide-ranging bill tightening school rules surrounding transgender students, alongside other provisions — as "dangerous and unconstitutional."
Fletcher has struck a collaborative tone in his public meetings with lawmakers, who have expressed deep dissatisfaction with the communication between previous occupants of the office and the legislature.
As for what to expect, the newly-minted commissioner said, "On that day one is a couple messages: Let's look at organizational effectiveness but also too let's also look at are we truly serving the people that are there."
Fletcher officially takes over the top job on July 1.
