"How dare you all!" Fairness Campaign director Chris Hartman blasted the committee as soon as he sat down to testify Wednesday. "This is a subversion, mister chairman."
"Woah, woah, woah," committee chair Sen. Stephen Meredith responded, immediately gaveling down the LGBTQ rights advocate.
"We're not going to start by yelling at these committee members," Meredith said, cutting Hartman off and threatening to toss the frequent committee speaker out of the room.
The clash came over a late addition to House Bill 495, a measure rolling back a gubernatorial ban on so-called conversion therapy. As of Wednesday morning, it had a new addition, barring coverage for hormone and surgical treatments for transgender Kentuckians on Medicaid.
The change comes a day after lawmakers inserted reams of new content into House Bill 775. Earlier this session, Republicans had said the state's incremental system allowing for half-point reductions in the state income tax with some budget guardrails, was working as intended.
But now GOP lawmakers want to allow for smaller reductions without meeting both of the original requirements.
Why the new tack?
Rep. Jason Petrie, an Elkton Republican, had this response: "As conditions change, as viewpoints change, and as future planning changes, we modify programs and systems and decision trees to accommodate that."
In recent days, lawmakers also utilized what's known as a "shell bill" — which allows them to essentially introduce new legislation beyond the filing deadline — to further regulate intoxicating hemp beverages.
At a quickly-called press conference, Democrats argued Kentuckians are being kept in the dark as the changes speed through, with lawmakers given little time to digest the new language.
Lexington Rep. Lindsey Burke said it's a long-running problem that's gotten worse this year.
"The quantity and the speed of what we're seeing right now is unprecedented," she told reporters. "The changes are significant. The substitute bills we're getting often are taking on as many as seven, eight, even ten new subjects. So it's not like we're just simply tinkering with language. We're adding completely new ideas."
While neither party has a clean record when it comes to tricky maneuvers over the years, Republicans have held a strong lock on the General Assembly since winning the House in 2016. The League of Women Voters of Kentucky has been tracking trends in legislative transparency in reports titled How Can They Do That: Transparency and Citizen Participation in Kentucky's Legislative Process. Looking at bills passed between 1998 and 2022, the group said their data show a dramatic increase in legislative maneuvering that makes it hard to keep pace with bills as they’re introduced, voted on, revised, amended, and routed back and forth between chambers.
In response, Senate President Robert Stivers said the rules fall within the law and maintained the maneuvers were taking place 25 years ago.
"I was here in '98. I saw what was done. I was here in '97. I saw what happened in the special sessions, when bills came out in the last days because there were agreements. So I disagree with the conclusions of their report," the Manchester Republican said ahead of the 2024 session.
House Democrats say they are in talks with Republicans about the issue. While the caucus isn't planning any litigation, Burke says questions are being raised about potential open meetings violations.