The Kentucky General Assembly utilized its authority to shape the state’s response to the pandemic during a three-day special session ending just before midnight on Thursday, September 9. Upon the Governor’s call for a session, we passed bills in both the House and Senate dealing with many aspects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
While no action taken during the pandemic will enjoy universal support, republican supermajorities took a balanced approach by focusing on public health, individual liberties, and localized control.
Recently, the Kentucky Supreme Court ruled that a lower court incorrectly blocked laws passed during the 2021 Regular Session reining in the executive authority regarding emergency powers. With that, the legislature used this special session to extend some emergency executive actions and eliminate others. New COVID-19 mitigation strategies were also considered to provide relief to institutions strained by the pandemic, including schools, hospitals, businesses, and nursing homes.
Senate Joint Resolution 1 extended specific executive orders, regulations, and other actions. Of particular note is that we did not implement or permit the Governor to issue a statewide mask mandate.
For the purposes of federal funding and other regulations that we viewed as essential, such as waiving the cost of COVID-19 screening, testing and immunizations, price gouging prevention, allowing retired first responders to return to work, and granting latitude on dispensing pharmaceuticals, we allowed the state of emergency to remain in effect until January 15, 2022.
Also, for the purpose of transparency, we are requiring the Governor and state agencies to put all action taken and permitted under this resolution to be posted in a consolidated format on the Secretary of State’s website.
Senate Bill 1 (SB 1) reaffirmed that there would be no statewide mask mandate in schools or in child care, but instead leaves that decision to the local school boards and child care providers. The goal of SB 1 is to prioritize in-person learning by stabilizing school funding, assisting with staff shortages, and creating conditions for state and local health departments to support local school districts with their COVID-19 mitigation plans.
Under this legislation, the Kentucky Department for Public Health (DPH) would develop a “test-to-stay” model for school districts to minimize quarantining for non-symptomatic students and staff, encouraging students to be in the classroom as much as possible. Additional language in SB 1 provides that the DPH shall assist local school districts in implementing their board-approved COVID-19 plans, whether they concern a test-to-stay method, masking guidelines, contact tracing, or quarantining.
In consultation with the Governors’ office and the Kentucky Department of Education, we allowed 20 days of remote instruction. This is not to be mistaken for Non-Traditional Instruction (NTI), as remote instruction is only permissible for a classroom or school, not an entire district. The intent is to allow room for a targeted learning experience in the event of virus exposure, as teachers would still be required to teach from their regular classrooms.
In light of critical staffing shortages, SB 1 will make it easier for retired teachers to return to the classroom, in some cases as soon as 30 days after retiring. It also provides temporary revisions for the hiring of substitute teachers, background checks, and school schedules.
Senate Bill 2 concerns one of the most heartbreaking parts of the pandemic and establishes safety protocols for loved ones to visit family members in long-term care facilities. This bill defines criteria for a family or friend to be designated as an essential, compassionate caregiver. SB 2 also acknowledges the Governor’s statewide mask mandate deficiency but encourages vaccinations, COVID-19 testing, and greater access to monoclonal antibody treatments, such as Regeneron.
A provision to SB 2 provides assistance for health care providers, jails, prisons, homeless shelters, and local health departments in acquiring COVID-19 tests. Another will allow paramedics to work in hospitals to relieve a nursing shortage.
Senate Bill 3 will redirect more than $69 million from the federal American Rescue Plan Act to the Kentucky Cabinet for Health & Family Services. The money was left over from the repayment of a federal loan to Kentucky’s Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund that was taken out to cover a surge of pandemic-related unemployment claims.
The money will help health care providers, schools, and others implement provisions of SB 1 and SB 2. These include purchasing COVID-19 tests, establishing regional monoclonal antibody treatment centers, and test-to-stay programs in schools.
Senate Bill 5 is an economic development incentive bill requested by the Governor and the Cabinet for Economic Development to only apply to projects over $2 billion. It will utilize existing programs. However, these incentives will be paid out over time to ensure any project meets the required job and wage targets. Some incentives will be in the form of forgivable loans.
Kentucky is in the running for at least one mega project eyeing Hardin County. Language within SB 5 can be compared to state economic development incentives the General Assembly passed in the late 1980s, which brought Toyota’s first American assembly plant to Georgetown. It is now the world’s largest Toyota manufacturing facility where the Lexus ES350, Avalon, Camry and some hybrid counterparts are assembled. It is my hope that these incentives will be helpful in attracting industry to our region!
Bills signed into law by the Governor were SB 3 and SB 5. Line-item vetoes placed on SB 1 and SB 2 were swiftly overridden. These bills contained an emergency clause, meaning they become law immediately upon the Governor’s signature.
As a legislative body, it is our job to stabilize the system, and this new legislation is an attempt to do so during these unprecedented times. The General Assembly still faces serious budget and policy decisions in the upcoming 2022 Regular Session. Still, we will remain dedicated to finding the best legislative course of action for citizens across the Commonwealth as we continue to navigate the pandemic.
Thank you for your questions and concerns. I hope you will remain engaged with legislative happenings for the remainder of the interim by visiting www.legislature.ky.gov or www.KET.org/legislature. It is an honor to serve you in Frankfort.
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Note: Senator Danny Carroll (R-Benton) represents Kentucky’s 2nd Senate District encompassing Ballard, Carlisle, Marshall, and McCracken Counties. Senator Carroll serves as chairman of the Budget Review Subcommittee on Justice and Judiciary and as co-chairman of the Legislative Oversight and Investigations Committee. He is a member of the Interim Budget Review Subcommittee on Human Resources and the Medicaid Oversight and Advisory Statutory Committee. He also serves as a member of the Interim Joint Committees on Appropriations and Revenue; Education; Health, Welfare, and Family Services; and Judiciary. Additionally, he serves on the 1915(c) Home and Community Based Services Waiver Redesign Task Force, and he is a member of the Governor’s Early Childhood Advisory Council. For a high-resolution .JPEG of Senator Carroll, please visit:
https://legislature.ky.gov/Legislators%20Full%20Res%20Images/senate102.jpg.