Week 12 of the 2022 Legislative Session
The final day of the 2022 Regular Session of the Kentucky General Assembly is on the horizon, which means legislative activity is taking place rapidly. We are required by the Constitution to be finished by April 15. Week 12 of this year’s session included busy committee agendas and important legislation making final passage through the legislative process.
In the 2022 session, 22 bills have been enacted into law. Approximately 30 are with the Governor now for consideration; many other bills are nearly at the Governor’s desk with more to come.
The Senate finally passed several bills that were modified by the state House of Representatives, including priority legislation, Senate Bill 1, and Senate Bill 9 and Senate Bill 83. These bills are now with the governor. I have been detailed each of them in previous legislative updates. Notably, however, I want to let you know that added to the Senate Bill 1 was the language of Senate Bill 138, the “Teaching American Principles Act.” The language aligns middle and high school history curriculum standards with those already present in elementary school history education. I cannot overstate the importance of this legislation to help young people understand and appreciate this country’s great history.
The previously mentioned bills and others were returned to the Senate with changes applied by the House. The House asks the Senate to concur, or agree, to their differences. We often do so and did with these three bills. On the occasions we disagree, those bills go into a conference committee, where final language is hammered out by members representing each chamber.
The most notable example of a conference committee is the two-year state budget bill. Both the House and the Senate have made their respective priorities for the budget clear. My previous legislative update outlined significant provisions of the Senate’s proposal. Budget negotiations are nearing their end, and you can expect a final product to be announced in the week ahead. While the final budget is always a compromise on individual line items, the end goal is to provide an excellent education, safe communities, and a high quality of life for every Kentuckian.
The Governor has vetoed several bills, and the House and Senate have begun to override them. Most notably was the Governor’s veto of Senate Joint Resolution 150. Upon overriding his veto, the state of emergency in Kentucky effectively ended on Tuesday, March 22. Following an unprecedented two-year-long state of emergency declaration, the enactment of Senate Joint Resolution 150 is a symbolic, yet strong, message to Kentucky residents that the emergency is over, and life as normal should quickly return to the commonwealth.
With the passage of more and more legislation in the waning days of the 2022 session, there will be more vetoes issued by the Governor, but the reality is many bills will be signed into law without controversy. Bills, where there is disagreement, dominate primetime news headlines, but most legislative measures are unanimously agreed upon, such as legislation addressing child welfare, benefiting first responders, and much more.
The session will soon enter what is known as the veto period to give the Governor time to consider the bills passed by the legislature. The final days of session will be reserved for the legislature’s consideration to override such vetoes.
Senate bills passed out of the chamber and moving to the House of Representatives this week included Senate Bill 40¸ parents’ rights legislation, and Senate Bill 93, establishing religious and medical exemptions for certain employees of businesses mandating vaccinations. I did not support SB 40, as I feel the provisions of the bill would have a chilling effect on those in the public sectors’ (police officers, teachers, etc.) willingness to step in and intervene to help a child whose family situation is perhaps troubling and unstable. I did cast a “yes” vote on SB 93.
SCR 171 passed out of the Senate this week. This is a Concurrent Resolution I sponsored that directs a study on the feasibility of nuclear energy in the Commonwealth. I’ve been working with representatives from the Idaho National Lab to find a funding source for the study, and I believe we have found a couple of options. With numerous advances in technology, nuclear energy is once again receiving a great deal of attention throughout the world as a carbon-free, safe and dependable source of base load energy. Kentucky can’t fall behind in this area, as low cost energy is essential to economic development and growth in Kentucky.
Another bill I sponsored, SB 104, was signed by the Governor this week. This bill codifies the Employment First Council, whose mission is to promote competitive integrated employment for our citizens with disabilities living within the Commonwealth. I plan to continue working with this council to further their important efforts. This population is crucial to providing a solid workforce in Kentucky!
A final piece of legislation I sponsored passed the House this week and is headed to the Governor’s office for his signature. SB 94 opens up the Work Ready Scholarship to students with intellectual disabilities who are enrolled in a Comprehensive Transition and Postsecondary program (CTP) at one of our participating colleges and universities. The bill also expands the eligibility period for traditional students receiving the scholarship.
In closing, I want to take a moment to recognize two of the members of the Senate who will be retiring when this session concludes. They include a staple of the legislature since 2003, C.B. Embry, Jr., who epitomizes public service, courage and commitment to his people, and my friend and confidant, Wil Schroder, who will likely return to public service at some point in the future, after devoting critical time to his wife and young children.
Both of these fine men were honored with Senate resolutions accompanied by emotional testimony and stories from their colleagues in the Senate. I’m grateful for having the opportunity to serve with both, and they will be deeply missed!