KY Election Results

Below is a summary of the results, as of this evening. It is important to note that due to the additional absentee balloting procedures put in place for this election, official results may be delayed for several days. So the results we are sharing are based on unofficial results available as of this writing.

 

KY Election Results

 

Republicans had overwhelming victories this evening in Kentucky. President Trump carried the state and US Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell easily defeated challenger Amy McGrath. Republicans also had a big night in state legislative races reaching a record number in the House and Senate Majorities.  Support at the top of the ticket clearly carried down the ballot and impacted state legislative races. 

 

State Senate 19 of the 38 seats were up this cycle - New Margin: 30-8 in favor of GOP. Senate Republicans appear to have picked up 2 seats as of this writing. The Turner vs Turner battle has Democrat incumbent and member of the minority leadership team, Sen. Johnny Ray Turner down 2000 votes with 96% of the vote counted.

 

GOP Flips

District 7 - Southworth (Open-Carroll)

District 29 - Johnnie Turner (R) leads Johnny Ray Turner (D - incumbent)*

 

Other New Faces

District 1 - Howell (R-Murray from Humphries)

District 21 - Storm (R-London from Robinson)

District 26 - Berg (D-Oldham from Harris in special election in June)

District 37 - Yates (D-Louisville from P.Clark)

 

State House - All 100 members were up this cycle - New Margin: Appears to be 75-25 in favor of GOP, but one race has incomplete results, so it could be as low as 74-26. Regardless, a big night for the House Republicans picking up 12 or 13 seats. It will be a big Freshman class with possibly 22 new members. 

 

Incomplete Results

District 10 - Calloway(R) leads incumbent Schamore (D) by nearly 1000 votes with 94% of votes counted

 

GOP flips

District 11 - Dixon (Wiederstein)

District 13 - Johnson (Glenn)

District 22 - McPherson (Open-Stone)

District 39 - Lockett (Open-Meyer)

District 47 - Rabourn (Open-Rand)

District 48 - Fleming (Sorolis) 

District 56 - Fister - (Open-Graviss)

District 70 - Lawrence - (Open-Sims)

District 91 - Wesley - (Open-Howard)

District 93 - Kirk-McCormick (Open-Harris)

District 96 - Flannery (Hinkle)

District 100 - Sharp - (Clark)

 

Other New Faces

District 5 - Imes (R-Murray Open-Elkins)

District 43 - Stevenson (D-Louisville Open Booker)

District 45 - Timoney - (R-Lexington Open Lee)

District 58 - Decker (R-Shelbyville Open Rothenburger)

District 71 - Bray (R-Mt.Vernon from Travis), 

District 73 - Dotson (R-Winchester from Yates)

District 83 - Branscum (R-Jamestown from Hoover)

District 85 - Baker (R-Somerset from Turner)

District 86 - Smith (R-Corbin from Stewart)

 

Congressional Races

In addition to Senator McConnell winning his 7th term in the U.S. Senate, all of Kentucky's incumbent U.S. House members were victorious.

 

1st District  - Comer defeats Rhodes

2nd District - Guthrie defeats Linderman

3rd District - Yarmuth defeats Palazzo

4th District - Massie defeats Owensby

5th District - Rogers defeats Best

6th District - Barr defeats Hicks

 

State Supreme Court

There was one Supreme Court seat up for election in the 7th District in the Eastern part of the state. The incumbent was defeated in the primary, having come in 3rd in a three way race. Tonight Greenup County Circuit Judge Robert Conley appears to have defeated former State Rep. Chris Harris by a 55-45 vote margin with 93% of the votes counted.

 

Constitutional Amendments

There were two proposed amendments to Kentucky's Constitution on the ballot.

 

Constitutional Amendment #1 - Marsy's Law, which passed two years ago but was struck down by the Kentucky Supreme Court due to vague ballot language has been passed by the voters of Kentucky for the second time, following this evening's results.

 

Constitutional Amendment #2 - A ballot initiative to increase office terms for Kentucky's district judges as well as increase years of experience required for those judicial positions. Constitutional Amendment #2 was not approved by voters and failed.

KY Primary Election Results

Primary Election Results

Results from last Tuesday's primary election were released this afternoon. You will recall that results were delayed due to the decision to allow mail-in ballots, which were required to be postmarked by election day, because of precautions against COVID-19.

U.S. Senate
The Democratic primary for US Senate came down to the wire with Amy McGrath pulling out a victory over Rep. Charles Booker with 45.1% compared to Booker's 43%.  McGrath will face Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell in November.

State Legislative Elections
Additionally, there were a handful of close legislative races with unknown outcomes until final vote counts were submitted to the Board of Elections this afternoon. Several incumbent legislators were defeated and for the first time in roughly 10 years a Democrat won a seat which had been held by a Republican in the state Senate. Karen Berg defeated Bill Ferko in the special election called to fill the seat vacated by the retirement of Ernie Harris. Other state legislative results of interest:

Incumbents Beaten in Primary
- Sen. Albert Robinson was beaten by Brandon Storm, an attorney from London, in a three way race. Storm faces Walter Trebolo in November.

- Rep. Travis Brenda lost by less than 100 votes to Josh Bray, a City Administrator. Bray has no opponent in November.

- Rep. Les Yates was beaten by Ryan Dotson, a local pastor in the GOP primary. Dotson faces Kenny Blair who won the Democrat primary.

New State Legislators & Re-Elected Legislators
These folks were elected to new terms in the General Assembly joining the 28 legislators unopposed this election cycle that don't have a general election opponent in November. *Incumbents in Italics

Senate
Karen Berg
Rick Girdler
David Yates

House
Steven Rudy
Josh Branscum
Nima Kulkarni
Charlie Miller
Tom Burch
Pamela Stevenson
David Osborne
Ken Upchurch
Josh Bray
Regina Huff
Shane Baker
Tom Smith

Supreme Court
Incumbent Justice Sam Wright won't be returning to the Supreme Court in 2021, as he ran third in the primary for the 7th District Supreme Court seat, and only the top two vote getters move on to the general election in November. It will be Robert Conley vs Chris Harris in November.

Attached is an updated spreadsheet denoting House and Senate primary winners. More analysis to come in the days ahead.

KY Primary Election Results

Historic, Incomplete and Inconclusive

Today will be marked in the history books as one of Kentucky's oddest primary elections. The primary was held after being moved from the original May date, in response to concerns related to COVID-19 and spurred further - and also historic - changes to Kentucky's voting process. Voters were allowed and encouraged to vote via mail-in ballots which it appears many chose to do. In-person voting was available in all 120 counties today, but the number of polling locations was significantly limited including only one polling location for Jefferson and Fayette counties. 

The most significant impact of these historic changes is that it will slow the tabulation of votes and delay official results until June 30th.  

Some county clerks did report results this evening from today's in-person voting, however not from all counties including Jefferson County. With so many voters using mail-in voting these results are unofficial and very preliminary. Here's what we think we know so far:

- It's reported that there's been historic voter turnout. Secretary of State Michael Adams estimated this evening that 1.1 million Kentuckians cast a vote which is roughly 32%, breaking the 2008 record for highest voter turnout in a primary election.

- The United State Senate Democratic primary became the race to watch as Charles Booker gained tremendous momentum the past several weeks over once-assumed front runner, Amy McGrath. Based on results from today's in-person voting as of this writing McGrath has a (45-36 margin). The winner takes on US Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell in November. McConnell appears to be easily defeating his primary challenge with more than 80% of the in-person votes as of this writing.

- State House: There were 28 contested primary races with 11 incumbents facing a primary challenge. The highlight here is that three incumbents are trailing in their primaries based on today's in-person votes. Those incumbents trailing after in-person voting are: McCoy (R), Yates (R), and Brenda (R). 

- State Senate: There were 6 contested races with 2 incumbents facing a challenge. Additionally, a special election was held to fill the seat vacated by the retirement of Ernie Harris following the legislative session. The highlight here is that Republican Bill Ferko has a large lead (79-21) over Democrat Karen Berg based on today's in-person voting results in the special election to replace Ernie Harris. It is important to note that no Jefferson County in-person votes in this race were reported as of this writing.

- State Supreme Court: Incumbent Sam Wright is running to keep his 7th district seat. The race is nonpartisan with the two top vote getters moving on to November. Retiring State Rep. Chris Harris is also running for this seat. Based on today's in-person voting both Harris and Wright trail Robert Conley who has 45% of the in-person votes reported in roughly 50% of the precincts as of this writing.

We will update you as more information is available with official results expected next week.

Budget Update - CFG Meeting

Budget Update - CFG Meeting

The Consensus Forecasting Group (CFG) met this afternoon to revise the official revenue estimate for Fiscal Year (FY) 2020. The group of nonpartisan economists were asked to revise the estimates in today's special meeting due to the impact the COVID-19 pandemic is having on state revenues. It is highly unusual for the CFG to meet outside of what state law requires and the group can only provide revised official estimates at the request of the Legislative Research Commission or the Office of the State Budget Director.

The CFG members were presented with two scenarios - control and pessimistic models. Both the control and pessimistic forecasts assume that the pandemic peaks in the fourth quarter of FY20 and also assumes an identical fiscal and monetary policy response. 

After several hours of discussion and debate, the CFG chose to adopt the pessimistic forecasts for both the General Fund and Road Fund. Under these revisions, the General Fund is estimated to be 4% below the official enacted budget, while the Road Fund shortfall will be 10.4% based on today's actions. 

The 4% shortfall in the General Fund reflects a decrease of $456.7 Million and the 10.4% shortfall in the Road Fund reflects $161.8 Million less than expected.

Kentucky law allows the Governor to implement budget reduction orders for shortfalls less than 5%. For shortfalls over that, legislative action is required. With these new official estimates, the Governor will be able to adjust spending in the General Fund. It has been reported that state agencies have already been asked to provide information on the impacts of a 12.5% cut to close out the fiscal year June 30. The Road Fund, however, will require legislative action which could trigger a special session. We will update you as additional information is made available.

Documents from today's meeting can be accessed HERE.

Today's actions only impact the remaining days of FY 20, which will end on June 30th. It is likely that revisions to FY 21 will also be needed, but at this time that request has not been issued. 

2020 Election Preview

2020 Election Preview

Legislative elections take place this year, with all 100 House seats and half (19) of Senate seats up for re-election in November. The COVID-19 pandemic has required many changes, including how and when Kentuckians will cast their vote in the primary election. Originally scheduled for May 19, the primary election will now be held on June 23. Given the primary is just over a month away we wanted to provide a preview of the races and some additional dynamics impacting them. We have prepared this multi-tabbed spreadsheet, which is also attached, based on records from the Secretary of State's office as of May 13, which provides a listing of the candidate filings for the primary and general elections.  

Senate 

- The Senate is controlled by GOP 28-9 with 1 vacancy (Sen. Harris) heading into this election cycle.

- The Senate spreadsheet shows that of 19 Senate seats up for election in November, 5 are uncontested (3 Dem & 2 GOP). Of the remaining 14 contested seats they are currently controlled (4 Dem & 10 GOP). 

- 3 GOP incumbents face Libertarian party candidates (Meredith, Westerfield, and West) and Sen. Reggie Thomas (D-Fayette) faces a write-in candidate.  

- Looking at the Senate primary races, 6 seats will have contested primaries. In 2 of those races the winner will hold the seat, because there is no challenger in the general election.

- Two incumbents have primary challengers, Sen. Albert Robinson (R-Laurel) and Sen. Rick Girdler (R-Pulaski). In Sen. Girdler's race, the winner takes all as there is no general election challenger. 

- There is one special election being held on primary day to replace Sen. Ernie Harris (R-Oldham) who retired on April 15. The winner of the special election will serve Harris' unexpired term, until 2022. Democrats nominated Kathy Berg, a physician who Sen. Harris beat in November 2018. Republicans nominated Bill Ferko, an executive and local GOP activist. The winner of the June 23 special election will take the seat, which has been held by Republicans for more than 20 years.   

House 

- The House is controlled by GOP 62-38 heading into this election cycle.

- The House spreadsheet shows 100 House seats are up for election in November, 23 are uncontested (11 Dem & 12 GOP). Of the remaining 77 contested seats they are currently controlled (27 Dem & 50 GOP).

- Looking at the House primary races, 28 seats will have contested primaries with two of the seats having contested primaries for both parties bringing the total number of House primary races to 30. In 12 of those races the winner will hold the seat, because there is no challenger in the general election.

- 11 Incumbents have primary challengers: 3 Democrats - Miller, Burch, Kulkarni & 8 GOP - Rudy, Webber, McCoy, Upchurch, Osborne, Brenda, Yates, & R. Huff. 8 of these primary races featuring incumbents will be winner take all elections as there are no general election challengers.

- 9 of the 11 GOP incumbents with a primary challenger serve in Leadership or as a Committee Chair, including Speaker Osborne, Majority Floor Leader Rudy, and Majority Whip McCoy. 

Supreme Court

- Kentucky has one Supreme Court seat on the ballot this election cycle. It is currently held by Justice Sam Wright and the district is located in Eastern Kentucky.

- Justice Wright is running for re-election and has drawn two challengers. State Representative Chris Harris (D-Pikeville) is leaving the legislature to run for this seat. Judge Bob Conley from the northeastern part of the state has also filed to run.  

- This is a nonpartisan race, and since there are three candidates, the top two vote getters in the primary will advance to the general election in November.  

Additional Dynamics

Due to COVID-19, Governor Andy Beshear and Secretary of State Michael Adams by executive order have approved and are encouraging the use of mail-in ballots through an expanded absentee program. The State Board of Elections will mail a postcard to every voter informing them of their options. Voters will have to request an actual mail-in ballot. Counties will not staff normal polling precincts but will offer the option for in-person ballots both before and on Election Day at a smaller number of locations. 

It's not clear what impact all of these changes will have on voter turnout although when implemented in other states, there is some evidence of an increase in first-time voters and voters who do not usually participate in primary elections. The pandemic may have a significant impact on the primary election due to the lack of in-person fundraisers and the change in voting procedures. 

KY Budget Outlook

Budget Outlook

The conclusion of the 2020 legislative session would, under normal circumstances, be followed by the interim session beginning in June and running through November. During the interim, legislative committees meet jointly every month and discuss issues that are likely to be addressed during the next session of the General Assembly. Many questions remain regarding the upcoming interim session, as the state continues to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic. We expect, though, that the current budget crisis is likely to dominate conversations leading up to the 2021 Session.

The 2020 Kentucky General Assembly passed a one-year budget for this upcoming biennium, using pessimistic revenue estimates to form the spending plan for Fiscal Year 21. The second year of the biennium, Fiscal Year 22, will be considered and passed during the 2021 Session. Policymakers warned then that an economic downturn is inevitable and that even the pessimistic revenue estimates will be far greater than what's likely to be realized.

Since the session ended, the Office of the State Budget Director released the Quarterly Economic and Revenue Report for the third quarter of Fiscal Year 2020. General Fund revenue growth was 3.9 percent through the first three quarters, but a significant drop in state revenues is likely in the fourth quarter given the COVID-19 pandemic. This will likely be the first annual General Fund decline since 2010. 

FY 2020 Revenue Shortfall

The Quarterly Report includes two unofficial revenue projection scenarios based on the timing of various milestones related to COVID-19. 

General Fund

The report projects a revenue shortfall of $319 to $496 million which is a 3.8 to 4.7 percent revenue shortfall compared to the official estimate. Approximate breakdowns include roughly a $200 million shortfall in sales tax collections, a minimal shortfall in property taxes, and business taxes are projected to be short by $108 to $143 million in FY 20.

Road Fund

State officials expect a shortfall in the Road Fund as well, with revenues around $116 to $195 million less than what was previously estimated. This reflects a 7.5 to 12.5 percent shortfall compared to the official estimate. The motor fuels tax could be short approximately 8 to 13 percent based on the scenario adopted and the motor vehicle usage tax could see a shortfall of between 10 and 15 percent.

Legislative & Political Dynamics

Note that Kentucky law (KRS 48.130) requires legislative action for shortfalls over 5 percent. The Consensus Forecasting Group (CFG), a group of nonpartisan economists that is required by statute to forecast revenues, will be meeting in the coming weeks to discuss revising the official estimates in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. Any legislative activity needed will be based on official estimates by the CFG.

The General Assembly may want to be a part of the budget reduction action in order that their priorities can be reflected in what programs or projects might be cut in order to balance the budget. However, the Governor is only required to call them into session to deal with the budget shortfall if it is over 5 percent, as stated above. All eyes will be on the upcoming CFG meeting and the actual receipts coming out of the Office of the State Budget Director to see if the statutory requirement is triggered. 

The unknown or intangibles that are hard to predict include an infusion of federal funds or the consideration of new revenue to prop up the state's finances, if there is a lingering effect from the COVID-19 pandemic. Federal funding for state assistance seems more likely than a couple of weeks ago but is far from certain. New revenue through taxes could be a difficult sell while unemployment numbers continue to rise and many Kentuckians struggle financially. However, if the CFG forecasts show lasting effects from the pandemic it may be necessary to make either significant budget cuts in 2021 or look at new revenue. 

We will continue to monitor the Commonwealth's budget situation and update you as more information becomes available. Please reach out if you have specific questions or concerns.

KY Legislative Update - Updated w/ Bill Lists

**We are reissuing our update to make a couple of corrections and add in links to the updated bill lists.

Sine Die

The 2020 Regular Session of the Kentucky General Assembly came to a close this evening on the constitutionally mandated adjournment date of April 15. Each General Assembly session is unique, however this one was stranger than most with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic forcing the legislature to shorten the session by seven legislative days, pushing aside many bills deemed too controversial given the crisis, and requiring the adoption of a one-year budget due to an expected drop in tax revenues.

On the session's final two days there was significant legislative action, including:

- Overriding all budget line items vetoed by the Governor in HB 351, HB 352, HB 353, HB 354, and HB 356.

- Overriding five bills vetoed by the Governor, SB 2, SB 5, HB 150, HB 195, and HB 336

- Passage of several COVID-19 matters: 

• HR 135 that creates an Emergency Preparedness Task Force 
• HB 387 that allows budget flexibility for the Governor to buy PPE  

- Several constitutional amendments were passed, including SB 15 Marsy's Law

- SB 191 that would provide for employer sponsored substance use disorder programs was given final passage

- The Senate confirmed Governor Beshear's appointments to the Kentucky Board of Education, except for the Chair, and the Senate confirmed Sharon Clark as Insurance Commissioner.

Those bills passed the final two days of the session are subject to review by the Governor and potentially could be vetoed, without legislators having the ability to override.

In all, nearly a hundred bills were passed by the General Assembly this session. You can view updated bill lists at the links below.

Education Bill List

Energy-Environment Bill List

General Business Bill List

Health Care Bill List

Health Insurance Bill List

Insurance Bill List

Transportation Bill List

In the next few days we will be preparing an end of session report summarizing legislative activity of particular interest to you to aide in your compliance efforts.

Updated w/ Bill Lists -- KY Legislative Update - Sine Die

**We are reissuing our update to make a couple of corrections and add in links to the updated bill lists.

Sine Die

The 2020 Regular Session of the Kentucky General Assembly came to a close this evening on the constitutionally mandated adjournment date of April 15. Each General Assembly session is unique, however this one was stranger than most with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic forcing the legislature to shorten the session by seven legislative days, pushing aside many bills deemed too controversial given the crisis, and requiring the adoption of a one-year budget due to an expected drop in tax revenues.

On the session's final two days there was significant legislative action, including:

- Overriding all budget line items vetoed by the Governor in HB 351, HB 352, HB 353, HB 354, and HB 356.

- Overriding five bills vetoed by the Governor, SB 2, SB 5, HB 150, HB 195, and HB 336

- Passage of several COVID-19 matters: 

• HR 135 that creates an Emergency Preparedness Task Force 
• HB 387 that allows budget flexibility for the Governor to buy PPE  

- Several constitutional amendments were passed, including SB 15 Marsy's Law

- SB 191 that would provide for employer sponsored substance use disorder programs was given final passage

- The Senate confirmed Governor Beshear's appointments to the Kentucky Board of Education, except for the Chair, and the Senate confirmed Sharon Clark as Insurance Commissioner.

Those bills passed the final two days of the session are subject to review by the Governor and potentially could be vetoed, without legislators having the ability to override.

In all, nearly a hundred bills were passed by the General Assembly this session. You can view updated bill lists at the links below.

Education Bill List

Energy-Environment Bill List

General Business Bill List

Health Care Bill List

Health Insurance Bill List

Insurance Bill List

Transportation Bill List

In the next few days we will be preparing an end of session report summarizing legislative activity of particular interest to you to aide in your compliance efforts.

KY Legislative Update - Sine Die

Sine Die

The 2020 Regular Session of the Kentucky General Assembly came to a close this evening on the constitutionally mandated adjournment date of April 15. Each General Assembly session is unique, however this one was stranger than most with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic forcing the legislature to shorten the session by seven legislative days, pushing aside many bills deemed too controversial given the crisis, and requiring the adoption of a one-year budget due to an expected drop in tax revenues.

On the session's final two days there was significant legislative action, including:

- Overriding all budget line items vetoed by the Governor in HB 351, HB 352, HB 353, HB 354, and HB 356.

- Overriding five bills vetoed by the Governor, SB 2, SB 5, HB 150, HB 195, and HB 336

- Passage of several COVID-19 matters: 

• HR 135 that creates an Emergency Preparedness Task Force 
• HB 387 that allows budget flexibility for the Governor to buy PPE  

- Several constitutional amendments were passed, including SB 15 Marsy's Law

- SB 191 that would provide for employer sponsored substance use disorder programs was given final passage

- The Senate confirmed Governor Beshear's appointments to the Kentucky Board of Education.

Those bills passed the final two days of the session are subject to review by the Governor and potentially could be vetoed, without legislators having the ability to override.

In all, nearly a hundred bills were passed by the General Assembly this session. In the next few days we will be preparing an end of session report summarizing legislative activity of particular interest to you, which will contain a list of those bills that passed to aide in your compliance efforts.

Legislative Update & Bill Lists - April 14, 2020

From Government Strategies:

The General Assembly met until late yesterday evening and before adjourning they had: 

- Acted to override five bills vetoed by the Governor, SB 2, SB 5, HB 150, HB 195, and HB 336.
- Deliver another 11 bills to the Governor/Secretary of State
- Take floor action on another half dozen bills that will need some additional concurrence today.

The legislature will meet today for the final day of the 2020 Regular Session and we expect them to consider:

- The Governor's vetoes of the budget and revenue bills
- COVID-19 relief/recovery bill
- Possibly a dozen other bills still awaiting final legislative action.


During the General Assembly, you can view the following bill lists updated nightly.

Education Bill List

Energy-Environment Bill List

General Business Bill List

Health Care Bill List

Health Insurance Bill List

Insurance Bill List

Transportation Bill List

Bill Lists - April 1, 2020

From Government Strategies:

During the General Assembly, you can view the following bill lists updated nightly.

Education Bill List

Energy-Environment Bill List

General Business Bill List

Health Care Bill List

Health Insurance Bill List

Insurance Bill List

Transportation Bill List

KY Legislative Update -- Day 51

Day 51 -- As Expected

The Kentucky General Assembly convened today for the purposes of finalizing action on the "budget" and the various affiliated bills. As was expected they did just that taking action on the bills below and only these bills, all of which are budget related:

HB 352 - The $11 billion Executive Branch budget for the Commonwealth, as was previously announced the Conference Committee, and now enacted version of HB 352, is a one year only budget appropriating monies solely for FY 2021. (FCCR/Enacted)

HB 351 - The statutorily mandated "revenue" bill that is required to pass alongside the budget to provide funding for HB 352. 

HB 353 - The Transportation Cabinet budget

HB 354 - The Biennial Highway Construction budget

HB 355 - The Legislative Branch budget

HB 356 - The Judicial Branch budget

HJR 66 - This is the document containing the projects for the four out years of the 6 year Road Plan.

SB 249 - A pension related bill that extended the freeze on local government and quasi-government entity employer contributions rates and extended other quasi-governmental entity pension reforms like opt-outs. This was necessary to pass as it impacted the funding in the budget.

HB 308 - This is the annual claims bill, that appropriates monies  to satisfy any claims against the state.

Social Distancing

In a first for the House, members were asked not to be present in Chambers and were allowed to vote via paper ballot, which they photographed and sent via text message to a designated member of House Leadership who recorded verbally the member's vote on the floor. Members were provided access to the budget documents electronically and the proceedings were live streamed, so that they could follow along in their legislative offices, homes, or even in their cars in the Capitol parking lot in a couple of instances. This was unique and spoke to the impact COVID-19 is having on the 2020 General Assembly session in more ways than just passing a 1-year budget, which hasn't been done in Regular Session in recent memory. The Senate did have their members spaced out and practiced social distancing, but did not adopt the remote voting procedures of the House.

Looking Ahead

With the budget behind them, legislative leaders now have to decide when they will return for the session's remaining days and whether they plan to address any gubernatorial vetoes and take action on the 20-30 bills that await action in the chambers at that time. When the House and Senate adjourned today for the veto recess they did so until April 13. This is a departure from the current legislative calendar that had legislators returning April 14 & 15 for the session's final two days. It is our understanding the legislature may use all three days April 13-15 for legislative action, but may cut that short if they can proceed quickly through the remaining bills.

As to their agenda when they return, legislative leaders made remarks on the floor and to members of the media that they intend to finish their business and preserve their right to override any vetoes when they return later this month.  

KY Legislature to Return

The General Assembly will return to Frankfort tomorrow for the 51st legislative day to take action on the branch budgets and accompanying bills. A quick update is provided below on what to expect tomorrow.

Executive Branch Budget Update

Today, the House and Senate Chairs of the HB 352 Conference Committee presented a summary of the budget compromise reached between the two chambers. The proposal only budgets for Fiscal Year 21, leaving Fiscal Year 22 to be considered during the 2021 legislative session in January. The FY 21 budget, based on $115 Million less in revenue than original proposals, does not include pay raises for teachers or state employees and does not provide an increase to the SEEK formula. The compromise does fully fund public employee pensions contributions, freezes pensions contribution rates for quasi-governmental entities, and allocates the Volkswagen Settlement funds. You can view the HB 352 FCCR summary HERE.

Schedule

Legislators return tomorrow and will gavel in for the final legislative day before their scheduled return on April 14th and 15th for veto override votes and possible consideration of other bills. Six legislative committees were scheduled to meet tomorrow morning, but four have since been cancelled. As of this update, only the Senate Appropriations and Revenue Committee and Senate Transportation Committee will meet and are expected to take up budget related bills. Both Chambers convene at Noon and appear poised to only consider budget bills, the revenue bill that is required to accompany the state budget, and the Road Plan.

We will update you following tomorrow's actions.

Bill Lists - March 26, 2020

From Government Strategies:

During the General Assembly, you can view the following bill lists updated nightly.

Education Bill List

Energy-Environment Bill List

General Business Bill List

Health Care Bill List

Health Insurance Bill List

Insurance Bill List

Transportation Bill List

KY General Assembly Update - 50th Day

Day 50

The General Assembly reconvened today for the 50th legislative day of the 2020 Session and for the first time since recessing last Thursday under an amended calendar brought about by the COVID-19 crisis. When the legislature adjourned tonight they did so until next Wednesday, April 1.

The purpose of today's legislative action was primarily focused around providing the Governor some statutory relief to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. That relief came in the form of SB 150, a bill originally dealing with out of network health insurance billings, but the House removed those provisions on March 19 and replaced them with the COVID-19 statutory relief. The Senate and the Governor had some additional ideas for statutory flexibility so the bill was pushed into a conference committee today to make those changes. The final version of SB 150 will be available later this evening, but does contains the following:

- Expands various Unemployment Insurance provisions to allow for independent contractor and small business owners to apply, to match them up to the federal government changes, and to provide flexibility to the Education & Workforce Cabinet to administer;

- Mirrors the state tax filing deadlines to the Federal tax deadlines, but also waives penalties and interest for delayed state tax filings. 

- Allows health care providers to utilize telehealth technologies to see patients and requires those visits to be reimbursed the same as a face to face visit.  

- Provides local governments flexibility in tax filings, in meeting and reporting requirements.

- Allows for the relaxation of open meeting and open records laws to delay response to requests and to allow government officials to appear via remote technologies. 

- The provisions in SB 150 are only to last as long as the State of Emergency lasts and the bill requires the Governor issue an end date of the State of Emergency.

There were other bills considered today either in a handful of special called committee meetings or on the floors of the chambers as concurrences or conference committee reports. Of note was final passage of: HB 2 (Human Trafficking), HB 415 (Direct shipping of alcohol), HB 150 (law restatements), and HB 484 (Public employee pension reorganization). Other legislative activity from today was aimed at preparing bills for action when the General Assembly returns next Wednesday. 

We expect next Wednesday to be a long day of legislative activity with the primary focus being passage of the budget bills including the Executive Branch Budget and the Transportation Budget. In addition, we are expecting the legislature to finalize action on a handful of bills they want to see passed this session that primarily are non-controversial. Just a reminder that bills will need to be passed by midnight on April 1 in order to preserve the legislature's ability to override any gubernatorial veto before constitutionally mandated adjournment on April 15.

Speaking of the budget, the Budget Conference Committee made up of House and Senate Leadership and the two A&R Chairs will continue its work tomorrow and likely through the weekend to finalize the budgets for action next Wednesday. The Conference Committee agreed yesterday to base the budget on the "pessimistic" estimates provided by the Consensus Forecast Group. This change means that they will have $115 Million less in FY 21 and $174 Million less in FY 22 than previously anticipated. The House and Senate agreed to remove teacher and state employee raises and increases in SEEK and higher education. Additional cuts and/or changes will be needed to budget to the revised revenue estimates and therefore we expect the final budget bill to look much different that what was previously passed in either chamber.