The GOP-led legislature made quick work of more than 30 gubernatorial vetoes in its last two days, reviving priority bills that target the state's two largest school districts, including Fayette County, adding Medicaid copays and work requirements, removing two forms of acceptable voter ID, and lowering the concealed carry age, among others.
A handful of Gov. Andy Beshear's budget line-item vetoes, including ones related to kinship and out-of-home care, survived the process.
Lawmakers are permitted to pass new laws in the final hours, and combine bills as well. For instance, House members piggybacked Senate Bill 33 onto Senate Bill 56, a measure dealing with Medicaid coverage for opioid and nonopioid drugs. The tacked-on language places a new notification requirement on recovery residences.
"All this does is it provides a safety mechanism for communities to know when recovery residences move into their community," Rep. Kim Moser explained.
Lawmakers also took time to honor outgoing members, including Sen. Jimmy Higdon and House Minority Floor Leader Pamela Stevenson. Rep. Beverly Chester-Burton was one of many who paid tribute to the outspoken Democratic House member.
"We recognize that Rep. Stevenson is the first Black female elected of any caucus of the General Assembly, but her leadership has never been about titles or recognition. It has been about people, those whose voices are too often unheard," she said.
Gov. Beshear will have the final word on any new bills passed in the remaining hours, as he retains the power to veto after the body adjourns.