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2023 Kentucky legislative session

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2023 Kentucky legislative session
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General information
Session start:    January 3, 2023

Session end:    March 30, 2023

Leadership
Senate President
Robert Stivers (R)

House Speaker
David Osborne (R)
Majority Leader
Senate: Damon Thayer (R)
House: Steven Rudy (R)
Minority Leader
Senate: Gerald Neal (D)
House: Derrick Graham (D)

Elections
Next Election:    November 5, 2024

Last Election:    November 8, 2022

Previous legislative sessions
2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2019 • 2018
Other 2023 legislative sessions


In 2023, the Kentucky General Assembly was scheduled to convene on January 3, 2023, and adjourn on March 30, 2023.

The legislators serving in this session took office following the 2022 elections. Republicans won a 31-7 majority in the Senate and a 80-20 majority in the House. Democrats controlled the governorship, making it one of 11 divided governments with no state government trifecta. At the start of the 2023 session, Kentucky was one of 18 state legislatures where Republicans had a veto-proof supermajority in both chambers.

At the beginning of the 2023 legislative session:
  • Republicans held a majority in the Kentucky state House and state Senate.
  • Kentucky was one of 11 divided governments where neither party had state government trifectas.
  • Kentucky governor was Democrat Andy Beshear

    • Leadership in 2023

    Kentucky State Senate

    Kentucky House of Representatives

    Partisan control in 2023

    See also: State government trifectas

    Kentucky was one of 11 divided governments where neither party had state government trifectas at the start of 2023 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 18 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 2023 legislative session.

    Kentucky State Senate

    Party As of January 2023
         Democratic Party 7
         Republican Party 31
    Total 38

    Kentucky House of Representatives

    Party As of January 2023
         Democratic Party 20
         Republican Party 80
    Total 100

    Regular session

    The list below shows up to 25 pieces of legislation in the 2023 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 2023. This information is provided by BillTrack50.

    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 2023 legislative session, there were 34 standing committees in Kentucky's state government, including 15 state Senate committees, and 19 state House committees.

    Senate committees

    • Economic Development, Tourism and Labor Committee
    • Senate Agriculture Committee
    • Senate Appropriations and Revenue Committee
    • Senate Banking and Insurance Committee
    • Senate Committee on Committees
    • Senate Education Committee
    • Senate Enrollment Committee
    • Senate Health and Welfare Committee
    • Senate Judiciary Committee
    • Senate Licensing and Occupations Committee
    • Senate Natural Resources and Energy Committee
    • Senate Rules Committee
    • Senate Transportation Committee
    • Senate Veterans, Military Affairs, and Public Protection Committee
    • State and Local Government Committee

    House committees

    • Economic Development & Workforce Investment Committee
    • Elections, Const. Amendments & Intergovernmental Affairs Committee
    • Health and Family Services Committee
    • House Agriculture Committee
    • House Appropriations and Revenue Committee
    • House Banking and Insurance Committee
    • House Committee On Committees
    • House Education Committee
    • House Enrollment Committee
    • House Judiciary Committee
    • House Local Government Committee
    • House Natural Resources and Energy Committee
    • House Rules Committee
    • House State Government Committee
    • House Transportation Committee
    • House Veterans, Military Affairs, and Public Protection Committee
    • Licensing, Occupations, and Administrative Regulations Committee
    • Small Business & Information Technology Committee
    • Tourism and Outdoor Recreation Committee

    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 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 2022, 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 24-seat disadvantage after the 2022 elections. The table below shows the partisan history of the Kentucky State Senate following every general election from 1992 to 2022. 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: 1992-2022

    Year '92 '94 '96 '98 '00 '02 '04 '06 '08 '10 '12 '14 '16 '18 '20 '22
    Democrats 25 21 20 20 18 17 15 16 15 15 14 12 11 10 8 7
    Republicans 13 17 18 18 20 21 23 21 22 22 23 26 27 28 30 31
    Other 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 1 0 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 2022. Republicans held their largest majority following the 2022 elections with a 24-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 all together.

    Historical House control

    Between 1992 and 2022, 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 60-seat disadvantage after the 2022 elections. The table below shows the partisan history of the Kentucky House of Representatives following every general election from 1992 to 2022. 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: 1992-2022

    Year '92 '94 '96 '98 '00 '02 '04 '06 '08 '10 '12 '14 '16 '18 '20 '22
    Democrats 72 64 64 66 64 65 57 61 65 58 55 54 36 39 25 20
    Republicans 28 36 36 34 36 35 43 39 35 42 45 46 64 61 75 80

    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 80-20 following the 2022 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 all together.

    Ballotpedia's Election Administration Legislation Tracker

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    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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