A constitutional amendment in the November ballot would allow state lawmakers to convene a special session and meet beyond the normal end of a session.
The state constitution requires General Assembly sessions in even-numbered years to last no more than 60 days and end on April 15. In odd-numbered years, the short session cannot last more than 30 days and must end on March 30.
Constitutional Amendment 1 would retain the number of days for 60- and 30-day sessions, but repeal the end dates. Instead, lawmakers would have the option to adjourn before all days of the session were used up and reconvene at a later date.
The bill that contains the changes, House Bill 4, was passed in 2021. The bill’s main sponsor, House Speaker David Osborne, a Republican prospect, said he proposed the bill before the 2020 pandemic.
“It’s something I’ve talked about since I’ve been in the Legislative Assembly,” Osborne said Wednesday. Osborne said the current end dates prevent lawmakers from amending bills they have passed until next year’s session.
“It never made sense to me why we did it the way we did,” he said. “I know that at one time Kentucky was primarily an agricultural economy, and it made sense to have a compact, concise legislative period. But, I don’t know if we are more in this position.
During the 2020 session, lawmakers quickly passed a one-year state budget and adjourned due to the pandemic. Osborne said if lawmakers had had the opportunity to meet again later in the year, they would have had a clearer picture of the state’s economy and could have passed a more informed budget.
“Although we ended up passing the budget, it would have been safer to hit the pause button,” Osborne said.
The legislative calendar, with proposed end dates, would be set at the start of a session, Osborne said. The amendment would require lawmakers to wrap up all deals by Dec. 31.
The wording of the ballot indicates lawmakers could agree to an end date later than the schedule if three-fifths of House and Senate members agree to the change. In that case, lawmakers would be called back to Frankfurt, where the first thing to do would be whether to change the schedule, Osborne said.
“In most of these cases, we’re going to have a timeline that’s set in stone,” Osborne said.
The bill would also allow the Speaker of the House and the President of the Senate to call lawmakers into special session — no more than 12 days a year. Currently, only the governor can call a special session.
According to BallotPedia, there are 14 states, including Kentucky, where a special session can only be called by the governor.
Rep. DJ Johnson, a Republican from Owensboro and one of House Bill 4’s co-sponsors, said the amendment “will provide an additional balance between executive and legislative powers.”
“Once we’ve finished the regular session, we don’t have the option of coming back unless the governor calls a special session,” Johnson said. With the proposed change, “if the Speaker of the Senate and the Speaker of the House agree that we need to come back in a special session, we can do that.”
Johnson said the provision would not be used regularly.
“It’s for special situations and emergencies,” he said. “It’s not so that we can come back so we can pass something because we want to.
The amendment offers “more flexibility in situations”.
The Kentucky League of Women Voters and the Kentucky Educational Association both oppose the constitutional amendment.
John Schaaf, former executive director of the Legislative Ethics Commission, said the change would make it more difficult for the public to participate in the legislative process, as votes could take place at times when it would be difficult for people to participate in hearings. .
“The amendment would allow them to spread out those 30 days…or 60 days over a year,” Schaaf said. “My concern is that the legislature would go in and out of session. It would be difficult for the public to participate in the legislative process.
“It will be difficult to know when their next meeting will be. It just makes it much more difficult for interested people (to determine) when they can participate or testify on a bill.
Schaaf said the change would make it harder for people to run for office because legislative days could be spread out over a year. Dee Pregliasco, first vice president of the League of Women Voters of Kentucky, said lawmakers were paid for special sessions.
“It’s all going to cost money every time they resume the session,” she said.
In a prepared statement, the League of Women Voters said, “The changes to the Kentucky Constitution in proposed Amendment 1 allow too many options for legislative action without adequate notice of proposed legislation and open meetings that would allow a substantial public contribution.”
Pregliasco said lawmakers would be able to delay potentially controversial votes until outside of the traditional session, and the change would make it harder for people to be heard on bills.
“There are 700 paid lobbyists going to Frankfurt,” she said. “They’re going to be there all the time. They can be there, but nobody else can be there.
Schaaf said the proposed change would allow lawmakers to “micromanage state government.”
“If lawmakers don’t like a company that got a state contract…they could change that throughout the year,” he said. “My concern is that it makes them more vulnerable to corruption.”
Osborne said lawmakers will be limited in what they can do by the limits on 30- and 60-day sessions, and the 12-day limit on special sessions.
“I’m not going to say it couldn’t happen, but understand, we’re not becoming a full-time legislature,” Osborne said. “To call us back into session and spend five days…to micromanage a contract, I don’t think it’s reasonable to do that.”
With a limited number of days, lawmakers won’t be “wasting” time, he said.
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