Kentucky General Assembly

From Ballotpedia

State Government
State officials
State legislatures
2010 Elections
Primary elections Special elections
Find your state

The Kentucky General Assembly, also called the Kentucky Legislature, is the state legislature of Kentucky. It is a bicameral legislature, consisting of the upper Kentucky State Senate and the lower Kentucky House of Representatives.

Section 33 of the Kentucky Constitution requires that the General Assembly divide the state into 38 Senate and 100 House districts. Districts are required to be as nearly equal in population as possible. Districts can be formed by joining more than one county, but the counties forming a district must be contiguous. Districts must be reviewed every 10 years and be re-divided if necessary.

The General Assembly meets annually in the state capitol building in Frankfort, Kentucky, convening on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in January. In even-numbered years, sessions may not last more than 60 legislative days, and cannot extend beyond April 15. In odd-numbered years, sessions may not last more than 30 legislative days, and cannot extend beyond March 30. Special sessions may be called by the Governor of Kentucky at any time for any duration.

In 2010, the General Assembly was in regular session from January 5th to April 15th.^[1]

Legislative process

Sessions

See also: Dates of 2010 state legislative sessions

In 2010, the General Assembly was in session from January 5th to April 15th.

Section 36 of The Legislative Department of the Kentucky Constitution establishes when the General Assembly is required to meet. Regular Sessions convene on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in January. Sessions in odd numbered years can last no more than 30 legislative days and must be concluded by March 30. Sessions in even numbered years can last no more than 60 legislative days and must be concluded by April 15. The governor may call additional special sessions.^[2]

Bills may be filed at anytime the House and Senate Senate Clerks' offices are open. ^[3]

History

The first meeting of the General Assembly occurred in 1792, shortly after Kentucky was granted statehood. Legislators convened in Lexington, the state's temporary capital. Among the first orders of business was choosing a permanent state capital. In the end, the small town of Frankfort, with their offer to provide a temporary structure to house the legislature and a cache of materials for constructing a permanent edifice, was chosen, and the state's capital has remained there ever since.

The Civil War

Officially, Kentucky remained neutral during the Civil War. However, the majority of the General Assembly had strong Union sympathies. A group of Confederate sympathizers met in Russellville to establish a Confederate government for the state. The group decided to establish the Confederate state capital Bowling Green, but never successfully displaced the elected General Assembly in Frankfort.

Assassination of Governor Goebel

The General Assembly played a decisive role in the disputed gubernatorial election of 1900. Initial vote tallies had Republican William S. Taylor leading Democrat William Goebel by a scant 2,383 votes. The General Assembly, however, wielded the final authority in election disputes. With a majority in both houses, the Democrats attempted to invalidate enough votes to give the election to Goebel. During the contentious days that followed, an unidentified assassin shot Goebel as he approached the state capitol.

As Goebel hovered on the brink of death, chaos ensued in Frankfort, and further violence threatened. Taylor, serving as governor pending a final decision on the election, called out the militia and ordered the General Assembly into a special session, not in Frankfort, but in London, Kentucky, a Republican area of the state. The Republican minority naturally heeded the call and headed to London. Democrats predictably resisted the call, many retiring to Louisville instead. Both factions claimed authority, but the Republicans were too few in number to muster a quorum.

Goebel died four days after receiving the fatal shot, and the election was eventually contested to the U.S. Supreme Court, who ruled the General Assembly's actions legal and made Goebel's lieutenant governor, J. C. W. Beckham, governor of the state.

Legislators

Salaries

See also: Comparison of state legislative salaries

As of 2010, members of the Kentucky legislature are paid $186.73/day. Additionally, legislators receive $119/day per diem tied to 110% of the federal rate.^[4]

The $186.73/day that Kentucky legislators are paid as of 2010 is an increase over the $180.54 they were paid during legislative sessions in 2007. Per diem has increased from $108.90/day in 2007 to $119/day in 2010.^[5]

When sworn in

See also: When state legislators assume office after a general election

Kentucky legislators assume office the first day of January after their election.

Senate

The Senate is the upper house of the General Assembly.

Terms and qualifications

According to Section 32 of the Kentucky Constitution, a state senator must:

• be at least 30 years old;
• be a citizen of Kentucky;
• have resided in the state at least 6 years and the district at least 1 year prior to election.

Per section 30 of the Kentucky Constitution, senators are elected to four year staggered terms, with half the Senate elected every two years. Each senator represents an average of 106,362 people.^[6]

Leadership

Prior to a 1992 constitutional amendment, the Lieutenant Governor of Kentucky presided over the Senate; the 1992 amendment created a new office of President of the Senate to be held by one of the 38 senators.

Current make-up

Party		As of July 2010
	Democratic Party	17
	Republican Party	20
	Independent	1
Total		38

House of Representatives

The House of Representatives is the lower house of the General Assembly. Section 47 of the Kentucky Constitution stipulates that all bills for raising revenue must originate in the House of Representatives.

Terms and qualifications

According to Section 32 of the Kentucky Constitution, a state representative must:

• be at least 24 years old;
• be a citizen of Kentucky
• have resided in the state at least 2 years and the district at least 1 year prior to election.

Per section 30 of the Kentucky Constitution, representatives are elected every two years in the November following a regular session of the General Assembly. Each member represents an average of 40,418 people.^[7]

Current make-up

Party		As of July 2010
	Democratic Party	65
	Republican Party	35
Total		100

Kentucky General Assembly Joint Committees

Interim joint committees are created from the standing committees of both houses after the regular session has ended. They study issues in-depth and work on bills for the next regular session, which allows them to be immediately acted on.^[8]

The current interim joint committees are:

• Interim Joint Committee on Agriculture
• Interim Joint Committee on Appropriations & Revenue
• Interim Joint Committee on Banking & Insurance
• Interim Joint Committee on Economic Development & Tourism
• Interim Joint Committee on Education
• Interim Joint Committee on Energy
• Interim Joint Committee on Health & Welfare
• Interim Joint Committee on Judiciary
• Interim Joint Committee on Labor & Industry
• Interim Joint Committee on Local Government
• Interim Joint Committee on Licensing & Occupations
• Interim Joint Committee on Natural Resources and Environment
• Interim Joint Committee on State Government
• Interim Joint Committee on Transportation
• Interim Joint Committee on Veterans, Military Affairs & Public Protection

External links

• Kentucky Legislature Home Page
• Kentucky Revised Statutes
• Contact information for General Assembly members by county
• Wikipedia: Kentucky General Assembly

References

v • d • e State legislatures Legislatures Alabama (H, S) · Alaska (H, S) · Arizona (H, S) · Arkansas (H, S) · California (A, S) · Colorado (H, S) · Connecticut (H, S) · Delaware (H, S) · Florida (H, S) · Georgia (H, S) · Hawaii (H, S) · Idaho (H, S) · Illinois (H, S) · Indiana (H, S) · Iowa (H, S) · Kansas (H, S) · Kentucky (H, S) · Louisiana (H, S) · Maine (H, S) · Maryland (H, S) · Massachusetts (H, S) · Michigan (H, S) · Minnesota (H, S) · Mississippi (H, S) · Missouri (H, S) · Montana (H, S) · Nebraska · Nevada (A, S) · New Hampshire (H, S) · New Jersey (GA, S) · New Mexico (H, S) · New York (A, S) · North Carolina (H, S) · North Dakota (H, S) · Ohio (H, S) · Oklahoma (H, S) · Oregon (H, S) · Pennsylvania (H, S) · Rhode Island (H, S) · South Carolina (H, S) · South Dakota (H, S) · Tennessee (H, S) · Texas (H, S) · Utah (H, S) · Vermont (H, S) · Virginia (H, S) · Washington (H, S) · West Virginia (H, S) · Wisconsin (A, S) · Wyoming (H, S) 2010 State legislative elections (2010) • State Senate elections (2010) • State House elections (2010) • Special elections • Primary dates • Dates of sessions • Impact of term limits on 2010 elections • Political parties with candidates in the 2010 legislative elections 2009 State legislatures in 2009 • State legislative special elections in 2009 Features of state legislatures How vacancies are filled in state legislatures • States with a full-time legislature • State legislatures with term limits • Comparison of state legislative salaries • When state legislators assume office after a general election • Population represented by state legislators • State constitutional articles governing state legislatures • State legislative sessions State senates Length of terms of state senators • State senators • Partisan composition of state senates • State senators ranked by year first elected to senate • State senate elections State houses Length of terms of state representatives • State representatives • Partisan composition of state houses • State representatives sorted by year first elected • State house elections Leadership positions President of the Senate • President Pro Tempore • Senate Majority Leader • Senate Minority Leader • House Majority Leader • House Minority Leader • State Speaker of the House