Here are 5 major bills to receive final passage in the Kentucky General Assembly this week

April 20, 2021 in News by RBN Staff

 

Source: Courier-Journal.com | Joe Sonka, Louisville Courier Journal

FRANKFORT — More than 60 bills received final passage in the Kentucky General Assembly on Monday and the early part of Tuesday, as legislators in the Republican supermajority sped through bills ahead of the governor’s veto period beginning Wednesday.

While Gov. Andy Beshear can veto any of the bills passed by Tuesday — legislators were expected to continue passing bills late into the evening — the General Assembly can override any veto with a majority vote of each chamber when they return for the final two days of the 2021 session on March 29-30.

Here’s a rundown of five major bills given final passage this week:

Insulin price cap in state plans

Many Kentuckians with diabetes will soon be able to obtain insulin at a more affordable price, after the Senate gave final passage to a bill Tuesday to cap cost-sharing co-pays.

House Bill 95 caps the cost-sharing requirements of prescription insulin at $30 for a 30-day supply for those on a state-regulated health plan, including state employees. If signed by Beshear, it would go into effect Jan. 1.

The bill goes further than a bill passed unanimously by the House last year, and not acted upon by the Senate, as that legislation capped the co-pays at $100 and did not apply to state workers.

Rep. Patti Minter, D-Bowling Green, a co-sponsor of HB 95, noted this would apply to the health plans of 30% of Kentuckians, with a 30-day supply of insulin often costing more than $150 even though it costs a little over $6 to make.

More legislative days on the ballot

The General Assembly gave final passage to a proposed constitutional amendment Monday that would allow the legislature to meet up to 12 more days throughout the year without the governor calling them back into session.

House Bill 4, one of the top priority bills of the Republican supermajority in the 2021 session, sets up a voter referendum on the ballot in the November 2022 election, and if approved by voters would take effect in 2023.

Under the constitution, the General Assembly in even numbered years can meet no more than 60 legislative days and must adjourn by April 15. In odd-numbered years, the session cannot exceed 30 legislative days or extend past March 30.

If approved in the voter referendum, the state constitution would be amended to allow the legislature to extend the session by no more than 12 legislative days through the end of the calendar year, if approved by a three-fifths vote in each chamber.

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Currently, the legislature can be in session past the March 30 or April 15 deadline only if the governor calls them into a special session to take up specific legislation.

House Speaker David Osborne, R-Prospect, advanced this legislation after Republicans expressed frustration with their inability to react to Gov. Andy Beshear’s many emergency COVID-19 restrictions enacted last year, which legislators criticized as an arbitrary abuse of power that needed to be curtailed.

On Monday, the House concurred with changes to HB 4 passed by the Senate last week — adding up to 12 days instead of 10 — and gave it final passage by a 78-16 vote, with only Democrats among the “no” votes.

Beshear is unable to veto the bill, as proposed constitutional amendments are delivered to the secretary of state.

Bar lowered for school tax recall

A bill to lower the number of petition signatures needed to trigger a recall election for a school district tax increase received final passage Monday and was sent to the governor’s desk.

Whereas current law requires 10% of the total voters in a school district in the last presidential election to sign a petition in order to trigger a recall, House Bill 133 would lower that to just 5,000 signatures.

The legislation follows a failed recall effort in Jefferson County last year, which came several thousand signatures short of the the 35,517 needed to trigger a recall.

House Bill 133 passed the Senate by a party-line vote of 28-6 Monday, just as it cleared the opposite chamber along party lines two weeks ago, as Republicans who supported the JCPS tax recall sought to make it easier for voters in high-population counties to challenge school taxes on the ballot.

Democrats opposed the bill, arguing it would undermine public education in larger cities that rely on local taxes.

Transition team members subject to ethics rules

Transition team members of newly elected constitutional officers will now be subject to state ethics rules under new legislation sent to the governor.

Senate Bill 6 would make these transition team members subject to the rules and reporting requirements of the Executive Branch Ethics Commission, having to disclose personal finances and conflicts of interest.

Such transition members would also be prohibited from releasing confidential state government information obtained during the transition, using such information for personal or private gain, or seeking a state contract in the following year.

While the new rules apply to statewide constitutional offices other than the governor, SB 6 sponsor Sen. Max Wise, R-Campbellsville, made a point of drawing attention to a member of Beshear’s health services transition team being hired by a company that later won a major state Medicaid contract.

The bill received bipartisan report, passing the Senate unanimously in February and receiving final passage in the House by a 92-4 vote Monday.

Immunization opt-outs

Senate Bill 8 received final passage Tuesday, expanding the ability of Kentuckians and parents to opt out of required immunizations in the event of a pandemic based on conscientiously held beliefs.

The original version of the bill would have significantly relaxed requirements for childhood immunizations by allowing parents to opt out due to conscientious beliefs, with bill sponsor Sen. Mike Wilson, R-Bowling Green, fearing the government would mandate people take the COVID-19 vaccine.

The House passed an amended SB 8 last week by a 77-20 vote, adding a provision that no person can be required to be immunized with a vaccine that has not been licensed and undergone at least two years of a post-licensure safety study.

Rep. Lisa Willner, D-Louisville, voted against the bill last week, saying she was concerned about some of the rhetoric and disinformation spreading about the efficacy of COVID-19 vaccines as the state seeks to vaccinate the public.

Reach reporter Joe Sonka at jsonka@courierjournal.com and follow him on Twitter at @joesonka. Support strong local journalism by subscribing today at the top of this page.