Beech Tree News Network

BELTON, KY—Included on the bottom of the ballot for the General Election this fall are two Constitutional Amendments for “the People” of Kentucky to vote on. In recent conversations with constituents, it has been apparent that many voters are not aware of either of the amendments or what the goal of each of them is.

I want to focus on Constitutional Amendment Number One (CA #1) this week and Constitutional Amendment Number Two (CA #2) in the near future. It is important everyone knows about the amendments and the impact they will have if passed, and the potential consequences if they do not. I also want to share some history of the Kentucky Constitution for perspective and why it might need to be amended.

The original Kentucky Constitution was adopted in 1891. While many sections should never be changed, some sections do need to be updated. Since its original adoption over 133 years ago, voters of Kentucky have approved 42 constitutional amendments. Examples include an amendment to restructure the court system in 1975, one in 1992 to reform the executive branch and change succession order, and one in 2002 to create family courts.

Prior to 2000, the legislature only met for sixty days every two years. An amendment passed that year that allowed the legislature to conduct legislative business for thirty days in odd numbered years. The experience of the COVID pandemic brought to light an unforeseen circumstance that allowed the Executive Branch sole authority for making decisions, basically legislating by executive orders, for a little over nine months because once a regular session is concluded each year, the legislature cannot call itself back into session; they can only be called back by the Governor for an Extraordinary or “Special” Session. Furthermore, the Governor solely determines what can be addressed during a special session and no other legislative business can be conducted during that time.

When the first case of COVID was diagnosed in the Commonwealth, we were two-thirds of the way into the 2020 Regular Session. We immediately recessed and began gathering information on how to help Kentuckians deal with the virus. After a brief recess, we reconvened using proper precautions and passed an updated budget as well as legislation to assist businesses, medical providers, and individual citizens. However, the Constitution had a hard fast end date of April 15 that prevented us from fully completing the work of the 2020 Regular Session and also allowed one person to decide any further responses to the pandemic, which was the Governor and his administration.

It is not believed that our founders intended for one branch of state government to determine, adopt, and implement policies, some of which we as a legislature found to be inconsistent and ineffective, that shut down our schools, medical care, small businesses, and especially our churches even though abortion clinics among other entities were allowed to function while the branch of government that is supposed to set policy could not act at all.

I received many communications throughout those nine months telling me to “DO SOMETHING” and legally, we as a legislative body could do nothing until we went back into Regular Session in January 2021.

And while the pandemic is a rare occurrence, we have had tornadoes and flooding and are facing a major recession, threats to our energy supply, and other challenges that have needed or could potentially require legislative action outside the timeframe of a current regular session.

Amendment #1, if passed by the people, would allow the legislative branch of government, meaning the State House of Representatives and the State Senate, more flexibility to address emergencies. It would remove the hard end dates of April 15 for sixty-day sessions and March 15 for thirty-day sessions and allow the end date to be flexible according to the needs at the time to allow proper attention to critical issues and adequate input from the people and all stakeholders.

Additionally, the session calendar could be extended to finish business if 3/5 of all legislators agree to do so. The Speaker of the House and the President of the Senate could callthe General Assembly to gather for up to 12 additional days to deal with emergencies, such as the pandemic, tornadoes or floods, and other timely issues.

It would not change any of the parameters for calling in a Special Session. Only the Governor could still do that, and that would still be restricted in scope and length.

CA #1 will appear on the ballot as follows: “Are you in favor of amending the present Constitution of Kentucky to repeal sections 36, 42, and 55 and replace those sections with new sections of the Constitution of Kentucky to allow the General Assembly to meet in regular session for thirty legislative days in odd-numbered years, for sixty legislative days in even-numbered years, and for no more than twelve additional days during any calendar year if convened by a Joint Proclamation of the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, with no session of the General Assembly to extend beyond December 31; and to provide that any act passed by the General Assembly shall become law on July 1 of the year in which it was passed, or ninety days after passage and signature of the Governor, whichever occurs later, or in cases of emergency when approved by the Governor or when it otherwise becomes law under Section 88 of the Constitution?”

While the wording of amendments can be confusing, the questions simply are as follows: Do you believe that each branch of government should be independent of the others and strive to hold each other accountable? Do you think the only branch of state government constitutionally authorized to allocate state resources, meaning funds or monies, is important to helping deal with emergencies like the pandemic or recent tornadoes and flooding? If you do, then you would vote yes.

As always, I welcome your comments and concerns on any issue and can be reached, regardless of if in session or not, through the toll-free message line in Frankfort at-1-800-372-7181, at 502-564-8100, Ext. 59010, or via email at [email protected]

Please follow me on Facebook @melindagibbonsprunty. You can also keep track of committee meetings and potential legislation by visiting our website at https://legislature.ky.gov and watch both live and recorded meetings on YouTube at KY LRC Committee Meetings or on Kentucky Educational Television at https://ket.org/legislature.

Note: Representative Melinda Gibbons Prunty represents the 15th House District. She is Vice-Chair of both the Health & Family Services Committee and the Budget Review Sub-Committee on Health & Family Services. She serves on the Appropriations & Revenue, Education, and Natural Resources & Energy Committees as well as Medicaid Oversight & Advisory and the Kentucky Colon Cancer Screening &