Beshear criticizes constitutional amendments backed by top GOP lawmakers

FRANKFORT — Kentucky’s top Republican lawmakers — Senate President Robert Stivers and House Speaker David Osborne — have filed bills for two constitutional amendments that Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear isn’t a fan of.

Senate Bill 262 from Stivers, of Manchester, proposes amending the Kentucky Constitution to allow summaries of proposed amendments to appear on voters’ ballots instead of the full text. It passed out of a committee earlier this week and could get a floor vote in the Senate Friday.

Meanwhile, Osborne, of Prospect, filed House Bill 8 this week that proposes amending the Constitution so the House speaker and Senate president can call the General Assembly into a special session — a power that now belongs exclusively to the Kentucky governor. It would also allow the General Assembly to choose another date to end legislative sessions with a three-fifths vote of the legislature. The calendar for 30- and 60-day sessions is controlled by the Constitution.

Osborne’s special sessions amendment hasn’t gotten a committee hearing, but the four other members of House Republican leadership have signed on as co-sponsors.



https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/beshear-criticizes-constitutional-amendments-backed-top-gop-lawmakers