Kentucky lawmakers reconvene with focus on budget, public safety and school choice

FRANKFORT, Ky. (WDRB/AP) — Kentucky lawmakers returned to work Tuesday for a session that’ll be dominated by negotiations over the next state budget.

Both the House and Senate gaveled in at midday to begin the grind of legislating through mid-April. Efforts to craft the next two-year budget — the state's overarching policy document — likely won't wrap up until late in the session.

Bills targeting crime, education, and religious rights were among the first bills filed this legislative session.

Lawmakers may come and go, but the constants remain the same: the pounding of the gavel, and the presence of characters beyond the chamber floor. 

Kentucky Together -- a coalition pushing for lawmakers to pass a budget prioritizing education, healthcare and affordable housing -- showed up with signs for the first day of the session. One of its members, Wesley Bryant, lost his home in the 2022 eastern Kentucky flood. He said he can't get his home back without help. 

Ultimately the direction of the session is up to the Republican supermajorities in the House and Senate. For weeks they have laid out their own priorities, which include a sweeping public safety bill, and an education bill with a focus on JCPS in light of the recent transportation problems the district has experienced. 

House Speaker David Osborne said splitting up the district is not on the table right now.

"I don't believe that there is a consensus yet," Osborne said. 

As for the budget bill, Osborne they could use some of the rainy day fund but the details of the budget are  not finalized yet.

"It'll be filed as soon as it's ready," Osborne said. 

Over the course of legislative sessions in past years, the protests have gained the most headlines, and Brenda Rosen and others will continue showing up over the next three months, "trying to have our voices heard for those of us that aren't here." 

Beshear has already offered his proposed budget in a televised speech last month, calling for massive funding increases for public education topped by a proposed 11% pay raise for teachers and all other public school employees. The governor also is resuming his push for state-funded preschool for every 4-year-old in Kentucky.

Lawmakers will review hundreds of other bills in the coming months. Familiar issues that could grab headlines include abortion and school choice. New issues for Kentucky could include efforts to rein in diversity, equity and inclusion offices in higher education.

A push to relax Kentucky's near-total abortion ban could resurface. Last year, a bill to add exceptions to the ban for pregnancies caused by rape or incest made no headway in the legislature. Beshear, an abortion-rights supporter, made his support for those exceptions a prominent part of his successful reelection campaign. Kentucky’s current abortion law bans the procedure except when carried out to save a pregnant woman’s life or to prevent a disabling injury.

Another potential high-profile issue could be efforts to put a school-choice constitutional amendment on the fall ballot in Kentucky. The goal would be to remove constitutional hurdles for school choice initiatives. It comes after school choice advocates suffered setbacks in courts. A state judge last month struck down a law aimed at setting up a funding method for charter schools. In 2022, Kentucky’s Supreme Court struck down another law meant to award tax credits for donations supporting private school tuition.

During his press conference after Tuesday's adjournment, Speaker Osborne said there was "considerable interest" in passing a bill regarding school choice.

One dynamic that will be watched closely is the relationship between the governor and GOP lawmakers. Beshear’s first term featured annual policy clashes with Republican lawmakers, who overrode numerous gubernatorial vetoes. 

The tempo is expected to pick up on Wednesday when the first committee meetings get underway. 

Some of the bills we're keeping an eye on include the Safer Kentucky Act, which is a sweeping public safety bill, any action taken on JCPS, and of course the budget.

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