by Duffy Oakley
While the nearly constant controversial decisions and policies coming out of Washington, D.C.–from the war in Iran to ICE deployments to cities (and airports)–have dominated news coverage in recent months, politicians in Frankfort have also been busy in the 2026 state legislative session, which began in January and ended on April 15.
In Kentucky, odd-numbered years are short legislative sessions lasting thirty days, while even-numbered years are long sessions lasting sixty days. Usually, the main priority in long sessions like the 2026 session is the state budget, which is established every two years.
THE BUDGET
Traditionally, the budget is one of the first bills filed during the session, but this year the budget took the five hundredth spot of House Bills filed and was not fully fleshed out until almost the very end of the legislative period. Early drafts generated swift condemnation from public school employees and other state workers who faced cuts to their benefits, retirements, and health insurance coverage.
EDUCATION
Widespread operational and budgeting problems at the state’s two largest school districts, Jefferson County Public Schools in Louisville and Fayette County Public Schools in Lexington, also drew the attention of state legislators this year. While various far-reaching proposals were considered, the ultimate legislation passed by the General Assembly was a modest reform of the school boards in those two districts which will reduce the number of seats on the JCPS board to five (the same number as every other school board in the state, although it is by far the largest district) and will not allow school district employees to serve on those two boards. Another bill similar to one ruled unconstitutional by the state supreme court in 2022 seeks to transfer some of the powers of the Jefferson County school board to its superintendent, although the superintendent himself testified before the legislature that he did not want those powers and thought they should remain with the board.
Another education-related bill will change Kentucky’s only state-funded Historically Black College/University, Kentucky State University, into a polytechnic institute. The original version of the bill drew swift criticism from KSU students fearing possible reductions to academic departments in the arts, humanities, and social sciences who marched to the capitol and packed committee rooms in protest of the proposed changes. In response, legislators passed an amended version of the bill to protect the liberal arts majors while adding more technical education options such as engineering.
CULTURE WAR ISSUES
One thing that was missing from this legislative session was the usual legislation addressing divisive “culture war” issues. Unlike most years in the recent past, no anti-LGBTQ+ bills were passed into law this year, although several, including a bill to ban trans teachers in public schools, were introduced. There was also no movement on anti-DEI bills and other controversial issues that had captivated attention in years prior. This is likely because more focus, especially late in the session, was devoted to fine-tuning the budget, which means these issues might be brought up again in next year’s short session when legislators will not be considering the state budget.
TRANSPARENCY
Something else missing from this year’s session: the public. The state capitol is currently undergoing a years-long renovation, so the legislators instead met in a temporary building constructed in the capitol parking lot. However, unlike the normal capitol building, this structure has no public galleries because the legislature chose to cut costs by not including them in the construction plan. Instead, the public could only view legislative proceedings from Kentucky Educational Television’s livestream in a room in the capitol annex or online at KET’s website.
A lack of transparency and public input into the lawmaking process more generally is nothing new, however. For years, public advocates have bemoaned the closed-off nature of the legislative process. This is especially evident in the ways that committees often don’t post their agendas until minutes before the meeting takes place (if at all), legislation is often not made publicly available online before a vote, especially if it has been amended during the legislative process (such as the budget bill, which changed dramatically over the course of the session), and legislators filing “shell bills” that as a workaround to the bill filing deadline that are later drastically amended to introduce controversial legislation at the last minute with little to no public input. All of these tactics and more have become mainstays of the Kentucky legislature, especially now that it is dominated by a one-party supermajority that can steamroll legislation with little to no political opposition. Although the governor can veto bills, only a simple majority is needed to override vetoes, so the legislature almost always does so on the last two days of session after a ten-day “veto period” where any bill not signed or vetoed automatically becomes law without the governor’s signature.
CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT
This year, legislators also passed a bill which would amend the constitution to limit the governor’s pardon powers in the period surrounding an election, following controversial pardons by former Governor Matt Bevin in the “lame duck” period after he lost his reelection bid in 2019 but before Andy Beshear took office. This proposed amendment will be on the ballot for all Kentucky voters in the November 2026 general election.
DECISION IN UNDOCUMENTED STUDENTS TUITION LAWSUIT
Apart from the state legislature, another important development in state politics was the decision in a lawsuit by Kentucky undocumented college students to protect their in-state tuition rates from being stripped away by the Trump administration’s Department of Justice and the Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education. A federal judge has ruled that the consent decree signed by those two government agencies can take effect because Kentucky’s state regulation allowing undocumented graduates of Kentucky high schools to qualify for in-state tuition and scholarships unconstitutionally violates federal law. The students and their legal counsel in the Mexican American Legal Defense Fund have said they will appeal the decision.
PRIMARY ELECTION
Kentucky’s primary election will take place on Tuesday, May 19th. Voters registered in the Democratic and Republican parties will vote in their respective party’s primaries for United States Senate to replace retiring Senator Mitch McConnell. The top Democratic candidates include two former Senate nominees, Charles Booker and Amy McGrath, as well as former Attorney General nominee and state representative Pamela Stevenson and famed thoroughbred horse trainer Dale Romans. The Republican primary is a three-way contest between former state Attorney General and 2023 nominee for governor Daniel Cameron, U.S. House Representative Andy Barr, and businessman Nate Morris. Voters will also vote in both partisan and nonpartisan primaries for many other local races, including mayor and city council elections in many Kentucky cities.
The deadline for registered voters to request an absentee ballot in Kentucky is May 5th, and you can do so online at govote.ky.gov. You can also check your registration status and voting location at the same website. The Office of Civic and Community Engagement is also an excellent resource for students with questions about voting, whether in Kentucky or another state. You can reach out to them at communityengagement@centre.edu.