2026 Kentucky legislative session

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2026 Kentucky legislative session
General information
Scheduled session start:    Jan. 6, 2026 Scheduled session end:    April 15, 2026
Leadership
Senate President Robert Stivers (R) House Speaker David Osborne (R) Majority Leader Senate: Max Wise (R) House: Steven Rudy (R) Minority Leader Senate: Gerald Neal (D) House: Pamela Stevenson (D)
Elections
Next Election:    November 3, 2026 Last Election:    November 5, 2024
Previous legislative sessions
2025 • 2024 • 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2019 • 2018
Other 2026 legislative sessions
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In 2026, the Kentucky State Legislature is scheduled to convene on January 6, 2026, and adjourn on April 15, 2026.

The legislators serving in this session took office following the 2024 elections. Republicans won a 31-7 majority in the Senate and an 80-20 majority in the House. The Democratic Party controlled the governorship, creating a divided state government. At the start of the 2026 session, Kentucky was one of 19 state legislatures where Republicans had a veto-proof supermajority in both chambers.

At the beginning of the 2026 legislative session:

Republicans held a majority in the Kentucky state House and state Senate.

Kentucky was one of 11 divided state governments.

Kentucky's governor was Democrat Andy Beshear.

Leadership in 2026

See also: Leadership positions in state legislatures

Kentucky State Senate

• Senate president: Robert Stivers (R)
• Majority leader: Max Wise (R)
• Minority leader: Gerald Neal (D)

Kentucky House of Representatives

• Speaker of the House: David Osborne (R)
• Majority leader: Steven Rudy (R)
• Minority leader: Pamela Stevenson (D)

Partisan control in 2026

See also: State government trifectas

Kentucky was one of 11 divided state governments at the start of 2026 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 19 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 2026 legislative session.

Kentucky State Senate

Partisan composition, Kentucky State Senate

As of February 2026
Party	Members
Democratic	6
Republican	32
Other	0
Vacancies	0
Total	38

Kentucky House of Representatives

Partisan composition, Kentucky House of Representatives

As of February 2026
Party	Members
Democratic	20
Republican	80
Other	0
Vacancies	0
Total	100

Regular session

The list below shows up to 25 pieces of legislation in the 2026 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 has met these criteria yet in 2026. 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 2026 legislative session, there were 35 standing committees in Kentucky's state government, including 15 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 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 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
• Postsecondary Education Committee
• Primary and Secondary Education 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: 1992-2026
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	26
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	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	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	R

Historical Senate control

Republicans won control of the Kentucky State Senate in 2000. In 2024, they won a 31-7 majority.

The table below shows the partisan history of the Kentucky Senate following every general election from 1992 to 2024. 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: 1992-2024

Year	'92	'94	'96	'98	'00	'02	'04	'06	'08	'10	'12	'14	'16	'18	'20	'22	'24
Democrats	25	21	20	20	18	17	15	16	15	15	14	12	11	10	8	7	7
Republicans	13	17	18	18	20	21	23	21	22	22	23	26	27	28	30	31	30
Other	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	1	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	1

Historical House control

Republicans won control of the Kentucky House of Representatives in 2016. In 2024, they won an 80-20 majority.

The table below shows the partisan history of the Kentucky House following every general election from 1992 to 2024. 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: 1992-2024

Year	'92	'94	'96	'98	'00	'02	'04	'06	'08	'10	'12	'14	'16	'18	'20	'22	'24
Democrats	72	64	64	66	64	65	57	61	65	58	55	54	36	39	25	20	20
Republicans	28	36	36	34	36	35	43	39	35	42	45	46	64	61	75	80	80

Analysis

Adopted legislation, 2018-2024

See also: The State Legislative Decade - Kentucky

In 2024, Ballotpedia released analysis of bills enacted in each state in the preceding decade. The charts and table below detail legislation passed each year by party sponsorship.

See also

Elections	Kentucky State Government	State Legislatures	State Politics
Kentucky State Senate elections, 2026 Kentucky House of Representatives elections, 2026	Kentucky State Legislature Kentucky House of Representatives Kentucky State Senate Governor of Kentucky Kentucky Supreme Court	State legislative elections, 2026 State legislative special elections, 2026 State legislative elections, 2024 State legislative elections, 2022	State government trifectas State government triplexes Veto overrides in state legislatures State executives State courts Ballot measures

External links

• Search Google News for this topic
• Kentucky General Assembly homepage

Footnotes

State legislatures

Legislatures

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2026

State legislative elections (2026) • State legislative special elections (2026) • Primary dates and filing requirements • 2026 Session Dates

2025

State legislative elections (2025) • State legislative special elections (2025) • Primary dates and filing requirements • 2025 Session Dates

Historical elections

2024 • 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 • 2016 • 2015 • 2014 • 2013 • 2012 • 2011 • 2010 • 2009 • 2008 • 2007 • 2006 • 2005 • 2004 • 2003 • 2002 • 2001 • 2000

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 • Resign-to-run law • State legislature candidate requirements by state • Official names of state legislatures • State legislative chambers that use multi-member districts • Factors Affecting Competitiveness in State Legislative Elections

State senates

Length of terms of state senators • State senators • Partisan composition of state senates • State senators sorted by year first elected

State houses

Length of terms of state representatives • State representatives • Partisan composition of state houses • State representatives sorted by year first elected

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

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