The proposed constitutional amendment — now highly familiar to members of the legislature — would prevent Kentucky governors from issuing pardons and commutations during certain windows of time surrounding elections.
The change would halt pardons 60 days before a gubernatorial election, and then from the election until the swearing-in of a new governor there would be no power to pardon.
The amendment's stalwart champion, Sen. Chris McDaniel, said the measure — which stemmed from controversial pardons issued by former Gov. Matt Bevin on his way out of the office — may have benefited from its years-long time stewing in the General Assembly.
"Frankly, with the change to early voting and things like that, it's probably not a bad thing that it has had the delay because it let me make the shift from 30 days to 60 days," McDaniel said. "While there's obviously a desire to see it move quicker, sometimes a little bit of a slower process, especially with constitutional amendments, isn't necessarily a bad thing."
The measure has been deemed priority legislation this year, and McDaniel is hopeful it could finally make it on the ballot for voters to decide.