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2021 Kentucky legislative session

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2021 Kentucky legislative session
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General information
Session start:    January 5, 2021

Session end:    March 30, 2021

Leadership
Senate President
Robert Stivers (R)

House Speaker
David Osborne (R)
Majority Leader
Senate: Damon Thayer (R)
House: Steven Rudy (R)
Minority Leader
Senate: Morgan McGarvey (D)
House: Joni Jenkins (D)

Elections
Next Election:    November 8, 2022

Last Election:    November 3, 2020

Previous legislative sessions
2020 • 2019 • 2018
Other 2021 legislative sessions


In 2021, the Kentucky State Legislature was scheduled to convene on January 5, 2021, and adjourn on March 30, 2021.

The legislators serving in this session took office following the 2020 elections. Republicans won a 30-8 majority in the Senate and a 75-25 majority in the House. A Democrat controlled the governorship, creating a divided government. At the start of the 2021 session, Kentucky was one of 16 state legislatures where Republicans had a veto-proof supermajority in both chambers.

The Kentucky State Legislature is responsible for redistricting following each census. Legislators were expected to address redistricting as part of the 2021 legislative session. As of the 2020 Census, Kentucky was one of 37 states where legislators were responsible for redistricting.

At the beginning of the 2021 legislative session:
  • Republicans held a majority in the Kentucky state House and state Senate.
  • Kentucky was one of 12 states with divided government.
  • Kentucky's governor was Democrat Andy Beshear.

    • Leadership in 2021

    Kentucky State Senate

    Kentucky House of Representatives

    Partisan control in 2021

    See also: State government trifectas

    Kentucky was one of 12 states with divided government at the start of 2021 legislative sessions. A state government trifecta occurs when one political party holds the governor's office, a majority in the state Senate, and a majority in the state House. For more information about state government trifectas, click here.

    Kentucky was also one of 16 state legislatures where Republicans had a veto-proof supermajority in both chambers. Veto overrides occur when a legislature votes to reverse a veto issued by an executive such as a governor or the president. If one party has a majority in a state legislature that is large enough to override a gubernatorial veto without any votes from members of the minority party, it is called a veto-proof majority or, sometimes, a supermajority. To read more about veto-proof supermajorities in state legislatures, click here.

    The following tables show the partisan breakdown of the Kentucky State Legislature in the 2021 legislative session.

    Kentucky State Senate

    Party As of January 2021
         Democratic Party 8
         Republican Party 30
    Total 38

    Kentucky House of Representatives

    Party As of January 2021
         Democratic Party 25
         Republican Party 75
    Total 100

    Regular session

    The following widget shows up to 25 pieces of legislation in the 2021 legislative session that most recently passed both chambers of the legislature, were signed by the governor, or were approved by the legislature in a veto override. If no bills are displayed below, no legislation met these criteria in 2021. This information is provided by BillTrack50.

    Redistricting

    See also: Redistricting in Kentucky after the 2020 census

    Redistricting is the process of enacting new district boundaries for elected offices, particularly for offices in the U.S. House of Representatives and state legislatures.

    To learn more about the redistricting process in Kentucky after the 2020 census, click here.

    Standing legislative committees

    See also: Standing committee and List of committees in Kentucky state government


    A standing committee of a state legislature is a committee that exists on a more-or-less permanent basis, from legislative session to session, that considers and refines legislative bills that fall under the committee's subject matter.

    At the beginning of the 2021 legislative session, there were 49 standing committees in Kentucky's state government, including 15 joint legislative committees, 15 state Senate committees, and 19 state House committees.

    Joint legislative committees

    Senate committees

    House committees

    Legislatively referred constitutional amendments

    In every state but Delaware, voter approval is required to enact a constitutional amendment. In each state, the legislature has a process for referring constitutional amendments before voters. In 18 states, initiated constitutional amendments can be put on the ballot through a signature petition drive. There are also many other types of statewide measures.

    The methods by which the Kentucky Constitution can be amended:

    See also: Mode of Revision, Kentucky Constitution and Laws governing ballot measures in Kentucky

    The Kentucky Constitution provides two mechanisms for amending the state constitution—a legislative process and a state constitutional convention. Kentucky does not feature the power of initiative for either initiated constitutional amendments or initiated state statutes.

    Legislature

    See also: Legislatively referred constitutional amendment

    A 60% vote is required during one legislative session for the Kentucky State Legislature to place a constitutional amendment on the ballot. That amounts to a minimum of 60 votes in the Kentucky House of Representatives and 23 votes in the Kentucky Senate, assuming no vacancies. Amendments do not require the governor's signature to be referred to the ballot. The Legislature cannot add more than four constitutional amendments to one election ballot.

    Convention

    See also: Convention-referred constitutional amendment

    According to the Kentucky Constitution, the state Legislature can vote to refer a constitutional convention question to voters. A simple majority vote is required during two successive legislative sessions of the Legislature to place a constitutional convention question on the ballot. Turnout for those voting 'yes' at the election must be equal to at least 25% of the qualified electors who voted at the last general election.



    Historical context:

    • A total of 12 measures appeared on statewide ballots in Kentucky from 1995 to 2020.
    • From 1995 to 2020, the number of measures on statewide ballots ranged from zero to two.
    • From 1995 to 2020, an average of 0.88 measures appeared on the ballot in Kentucky during even-numbered election years.
    • From 1995 to 2020, 83.3% (10 of 12) of the total number of measures that appeared on statewide ballots during even-numbered years were approved, and 16.7% (two of 12) was defeated.


    Historical partisan control

    The table below depicts the historical trifecta status of Kentucky.

    Kentucky Party Control: 1992-2025
    Eight years of Democratic trifectas  •  Three years of Republican trifectas
    Scroll left and right on the table below to view more years.

    Year 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
    Governor D D D D D D D D D D D D R R R R D D D D D D D D R R R R D D D D D D
    Senate D D D D D D D D R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R
    House D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D R R R R R R R R R

    Historical Senate control

    Between 1992 and 2020, partisan control of the Kentucky State Senate shifted from being heavily Democratic to a large Republican majority. Democrats went from having a 12-seat advantage following the 1992 elections to being at a 22-seat disadvantage after the 2020 elections. The table below shows the partisan history of the Kentucky State Senate following every general election from 1992 to 2020. All data from 2006 or earlier comes from Michael Dubin's Party Affiliations in the State Legislatures (McFarland Press, 2007). Data after 2006 was compiled by Ballotpedia staff.

    Kentucky State Senate election results: 1992-2020

    Year '92 '94 '96 '98 '00 '02 '04 '06 '08 '10 '12 '14 '16 '18 '20
    Democrats 25 21 20 20 18 17 15 16 15 15 14 12 11 10 8
    Republicans 13 17 18 18 20 21 23 21 22 22 23 26 27 28 30
    Other 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 0

    Democrats maintained control of the state Senate throughout the 1990s, but their majority began to decrease. During the 1997 legislative session, five Democrats and 18 Republicans formed a coalition to choose a new Senate president, but the chamber officially remained Democratic. The 23 members elected Larry Saunders (D) as Senate president and Walter Blevins (D) as president pro tem.[1] In 1999, Sen. Dan Seum and Sen. Bob Leeper switched their party affiliation from Democrat to Republican, giving Republicans a 20-18 majority.[2]

    Republicans have held consistent control of the state Senate since the party switches in 1999. Republicans slowly increased their majority in elections between 2000 and 2020. Republicans held their largest majority following the 2020 elections with a 22-seat advantage. In the Kentucky State Senate, a party needs to control 23 of 38 seats—three-fifths of the chamber—to have supermajority status. Since the 2012 elections, Republicans have held more than the 23 seats required for a supermajority. A supermajority is required to refer constitutional amendments to the ballot and pass tax increases in the legislature.[3] Only a majority vote in the Senate is required to override a veto.[4] The chamber's Republican gains from 2010 to 2016 were in line with a national trend toward Republican state legislatures during the presidency of Barack Obama (D). From 2009 to 2017, Democrats experienced losses in state legislative elections, totaling 968 seats altogether.

    Historical House control

    Between 1992 and 2020, partisan control of the Kentucky House of Representatives shifted from being heavily Democratic to a Republican majority. Democrats went from having a 44-seat advantage following the 1992 elections to being at a 50-seat disadvantage after the 2020 elections. The table below shows the partisan history of the Kentucky House of Representatives following every general election from 1992 to 2020. All data from 2006 or earlier comes from Michael Dubin's Party Affiliations in the State Legislatures (McFarland Press, 2007). Data after 2006 was compiled by Ballotpedia staff.

    Kentucky House of Representatives election results: 1992-2020

    Year '92 '94 '96 '98 '00 '02 '04 '06 '08 '10 '12 '14 '16 '18 '20
    Democrats 72 64 64 66 64 65 57 61 65 58 55 54 36 39 25
    Republicans 28 36 36 34 36 35 43 39 35 42 45 46 64 61 75

    From 1992 to 2014, Democrats held majorities in the chamber, the largest following the 1992 election when Democrats held a 44-seat advantage. Throughout the period, Democrats controlled between 54 and 72 seats, while Republicans controlled between 28 and 46 seats. Democrats also held more than the 51 seats required to override a gubernatorial veto. Democrats controlled the governor's office from 1992 to 2003 and from 2008 to 2015. Prior to the 2016 elections, two Democratic members switched their party affiliation to Republican and four special elections were held to fill vacant seats in the state House. Democrats flipped one seat in the special election and headed into the 2016 election with a 53-47 majority.

    Republicans won control of the state House from Democrats in the 2016 elections. Republicans picked up 17 seats in that election and won a 64-36 majority. Before the 2016 elections, the last time Republicans controlled the House was in 1920. Following the 2016 elections, Republicans held 64 seats, four more than the 60 seats required for a three-fifths supermajority. A supermajority is required to refer constitutional amendments to the ballot and pass tax increases in the legislature. Republicans held their supermajority in the 2018 elections, despite losing three seats. Republicans increased their majority to 75-25 following the 2020 election. The chamber's Republican gains from 2010 to 2016 were in line with a national trend toward Republican state legislatures during the presidency of Barack Obama (D). From 2009 to 2017, Democrats experienced losses in state legislative elections, totaling 968 seats altogether.

    See also

    Elections Kentucky State Government State Legislatures State Politics
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    External links

    Footnotes

    1. ↑ AP News Archive, "GOP Exerts Newfound Influence in Kentucky Senate," January 30, 1997
    2. ↑ Spectrum News, "Independent Sen. Leeper won't seek Democratic votes for Senate presidency," accessed February 10, 2021
    3. ↑ National Conference of State Legislators, "Supermajority Vote Requirements to Pass the Budget," accessed February 10, 2021
    4. ↑ National Conference of State Legislatures, "The Veto Process," accessed February 10, 2021
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