Kentucky's pandemic-related state of emergency would continue through mid-January under proposals introduced on day one of a special legislative session, but the debate is far from over.
Draft language being considered in both chambers prolongs the official state of emergency through January 15, when the General Assembly returns for their regular session. The designation, which Gov. Andy Beshear has hinted may be necessary to secure ongoing federal funds, is set to run out on Friday.
Not all are on board with the extension, however. Lawrenceburg Republican Arienne Southworth advocated for a shift in thinking, even as Kentucky sets new pandemic records.
"We need to figure out how to live normal lives and not always say this is a special circumstance. It's not. I mean, it is but it can't be. We have to move on," she said.
The Senate's top Democrat, Morgan McGarvey, said if anything the legislature should be weighing greater leeway for the Beshear administration, considering the severity of the outbreak.
"My question is why aren't we giving even more flexibility, given the way that state government is structured and we're not able to come back if things get worse," the senator said.
That divide was evident in and around the Capitol as well, with a group of mask and vaccine mandate opponents congregating at the building entrance — one protester dressed in Revolutionary War garb. Inside, most lawmakers opted not to mask up.
Kentucky school districts also got a first look at GOP proposals for handling the COVID-19 surge, as the special session got underway.
Early items in a Senate education package include scrapping the public school mask mandate, initiating a “test-to-stay” program allowing more students to stay in school after a COVID-19 exposure as long as they continue to test negative, and 20 days of limited remote instruction.
Sen. Max Wise stressed that the at-home days would not be the district-wide non-traditional instruction, as seen throughout 2020 and early 2021. These, he said, would be more narrow in focus.
"If a fifth grade class is having a high number of positives, then instead of shutting down the entire school district, the fifth grade can look to move to remote learning," Wise explained in committee.
Some Kentucky school districts are already burning through their allotted 10 days of non-traditional instruction as COVID positives and quarantines interrupt the early school year.
Sorting out that problem is just one of several tasks laid before the General Assembly, which must also decide whether to grant the governor any mask mandating authority, the fate of a number of executive and cabinet orders, how to approproate nearly $70 million in American Rescue Fund dollars, and whether to extend a state of emergency for Nicholas County flooding.
