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2024 Kentucky legislative session
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| 2024 Kentucky legislative session |
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| General information |
| Scheduled session start: Jan. 2, 2024 Scheduled session end: April 15, 2024 |
| Leadership |
| Senate President Robert Stivers (R) House Speaker |
| Elections |
| Next Election: November 5, 2024 Last Election: November 8, 2022 |
| Previous legislative sessions |
| 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2019 • 2018 |
| Other 2024 legislative sessions |
In 2024, the Kentucky State Legislature was scheduled to convene on January 2 and adjourn on April 15.
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 Kentucky one of 10 divided governments with no state government trifecta. At the start of the 2024 session, Kentucky was one of 20 state legislatures where Republicans had a veto-proof supermajority in both chambers.
Leadership in 2024
Kentucky State Senate
- Senate president: Robert Stivers (R)
- Majority leader: Damon Thayer (R)
- Minority leader: Gerald Neal (D)
Kentucky House of Representatives
- Speaker of the House: David Osborne (R)
- Majority leader: Steven Rudy (R)
- Minority leader: Derrick Graham (D)
Partisan control in 2024
- See also: State government trifectas
Kentucky was one of 10 divided governments where neither party had a state government trifecta at the start of 2024 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 20 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 2024 legislative session.
Kentucky State Senate
| Party | As of January 2024 | |
|---|---|---|
| Democratic Party | 7 | |
| Republican Party | 31 | |
| Total | 38 | |
Kentucky House of Representatives
| Party | As of January 2024 | |
|---|---|---|
| Democratic Party | 20 | |
| Republican Party | 78 | |
| Vacancies | 2 | |
| Total | 100 | |
Standing legislative committees
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 2024 legislative session, there were 36 standing committees in Kentucky's state government, including 16 state Senate committees and 20 state House committees.
Senate committees
- Committee on Families and Children
- 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
- Committee on Families and Children
- 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
Legislation
Enacted legislation
The list below shows up to 25 pieces of legislation in the 2024 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 2024. This information is provided by BillTrack50.
Election administration legislation
State election laws are changing. Keeping track of the latest developments in all 50 states can seem like an impossible job. Here's the solution: Ballotpedia's Election Administration Legislation Tracker.
Ballotpedia's Election Administration Tracker sets the industry standard for ease of use, flexibility, and raw power. Ballotpedia's election experts provide daily updates on bills and other relevant political developments, translate complex bill text into easy-to-understand summaries written in everyday language, and, because it's from Ballotpedia, our Tracker is guaranteed to be neutral, unbiased, and nonpartisan.
The table below lists 2024 election-related legislation in Kentucky. The following information is included for each bill:
- Bill number
- Official name or caption
- Most recent action date
- Legislative status
- Topics dealt with by the bill
Bills are organized by bill number. The table displays up to 100 results by default. To view additional results, use the arrows in the upper-right corner of the table. For more information about a particular bill, simply click the bill number. This will open a separate page with additional information.
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:
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
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
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
Republicans won control of the Kentucky State Senate in 2000. In 2022, they won a 31-7 majority.
The table below shows the partisan history of the Kentucky 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 |
Historical House control
Republicans won control of the Kentucky House of Representatives in 2016. In 2022, they won an 80-20 majority.
The table below shows the partisan history of the Kentucky House 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 |
See also
| Elections | Kentucky State Government | State Legislatures | State Politics |
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External links
Footnotes
