Section 25 of the Kentucky Constitution reads: "Slavery and involuntary servitude in the State are forbidden, except as a punishment for a crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted."
House Bill 121 would have struck everything beyond the word "forbidden."
At a rally for the amendment Tuesday, Democratic Representative and former Lexington council member George Brown broke the news that the bill would not be called this session.
"The bill won't be moved because it's a constitutional amendment, and only so many of them can be on the ballot," he said, adding that it would need to be approved in an even-year session.
That means the effort to eliminate the language is now on hold, but Brown says even getting it assigned to committee this year was a great step forward.
"We will refile the bill, and we will we will look to move that forward," Brown told WUKY. "Based on what what I've heard from House leadership and from the chair of the committee, we're going to look at it next session."
But that did not stop supporters from cheering on the continuing cause in the Rotunda on Tuesday — even if the long-sought-after change will have to wait.