The 2019 session of the Kentucky General Assembly recessed on January 11 after four organizational days and is set to reconvene on February 5 for the remaining 26 legislative days. Although the legislature has been in recess, there has been legislative and political activity that will set the stage for the remainder of the session.
Legislative Activity
- Continued meetings of the nine member House panel selected by a random process to review the challenge of Rep DJ Johnson to the one vote November election victory of Democrat Jim Glenn. On a six-three party line vote the panel has ordered a recount for the House District 13 election results. The recount was conducted by the Daviess County Board of Elections on February 2 and has resulted in a tie. Next steps will be decided in the week ahead;
- The Interim Joint Committee on Health & Welfare & Family Services met on January 23 and heard testimony from Medicaid Managed Care Organizations. Following the testimony, committee members directed a number of critical comments and questions to the MCO's. The meeting was also an opportunity for legislators to hear and comment on the allegations by Passport Health Plan that it's Medicaid reimbursement rates have been inappropriately reduced. The Senate Committee on Health and Welfare has scheduled a February 6 meeting to hear a presentation by the Cabinet for Health and Family Services regarding the rate changes affecting Passport;
- The bipartisan Public Pensions Working Group created by legislative leadership just before the recess to further study and make recommendations on reform of public employees' pension systems has held six meetings over the past 3 weeks and heard from a number of stakeholders and from the respective pension systems. No recommendations have been made by the group as of yet;
- The Senate Committee on Education held a discussion-only hearing on SB 1, Sen Max Wise's School Safety Bill. Following the committee meeting, Sen Wise predicted that SB 1 will move quickly when the session reconvenes and added that he expects few significant changes to the bill as filed as it moves through the Senate.
Political Activity
Significant political activity in statewide races occurred as the filing deadline for office passed on January 29. While the candidates for all statewide offices were set, those of particular interest, the race for Governor and Attorney General are as follows:
Governor/Lt. Governor
Republican
- Matt Bevin and Ralph Alvarado—The filing by Gov. Bevin, naming State Senator Alvarado as his running mate ended months of speculation as to whether Bevin would seek re-election and whether he would retain current Lt. Gov. Jenean Hampton as his running mate.
- State Rep. Robert Goforth and Mike Hogan
Democrat
- Attorney General Andy Beshear and Jacqueline Coleman
- Former state Auditor Adam Edelen and Gil Holland
- House Minority Leader Rocky Adkins and Stephanie Horne
Attorney General
Republican
- State Sen. Wil Schroder of Wilder
- Louisville attorney Daniel Cameron
Democrat
- Former Attorney General and Former House Speaker Greg Stumbo
Bill Lists
There has been no official action on legislation since the General Assembly recessed on January 11. However, if you want to check in on bills that were filed and acted on the first week of the session, you can access them via these bill lists below:
Legislative Calendar
The Legislative Calendar for the session is available online, but here are a few upcoming dates to keep in mind under the current calendar:
February 5 - Regular Session Convenes
February 15 – Last day for new Senate bills
February 19 – Last day for new House bills
March 12 & 13 – Concurrence Days
March 14 -25-- Veto Recess
March 28 & 29 -- Two Final Legislative Days with Sine Die Adjournment scheduled for March 29
New Legislative Website
The LRC has fully launched their redesigned legislative website and it is available at https://legislature.ky.gov It is quite different from the past layout so we encourage you to familiarize yourself with the new website.
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