(WAVE) – Kentucky’s General Assembly began the 2026 regular legislative session in new temporary chambers on January 6.
From there on out it was business as usual.
Building a budget
On the top of the to-do list was building the next two-year budget. House Bill 500 funds the Commonwealth with a more than $31 billion dollar package.
The proposal designates funds for Louisville’s downtown, the zoo, and the airport.
Governor Beshear can veto parts of the budget he opposes, including cuts to industrial investments and the current funding levels for Medicaid.
“I think the General Assembly ought to be ashamed of not funding this the way it needs to be,” Gov. Beshear said. “We’re going to have two more days when they get back. They could do better.”
JCPS could see a leadership shakeup
In his first year as superintendent, Dr. Brian H. Yearwood was handed a financial crisis that had been brewing for years and the constant threat that JCPS could be split by lawmakers in Frankfort.
However, JCPS leadership could look a lot different if Senate Bills 1 & 4 become law, and it could benefit Yearwood.
SB 1 gives more authority to the Superintendent over the board, and SB 4 shrinks the number of board members.
Dr. Brian Yearwood says that could impact the district’s 94,000 students.
“That affects our classrooms,” Dr. Yearwood said. “That affects our kids. We must be stable in those areas.”
School safety
In those classrooms, multiple bills aim to protect both students and teachers.
State lawmakers passed a measure to hold students who harm school staff accountable.
A separate bill that would increase penalties for grooming kids in the commonwealth, adding clearer definitions in the law and adding harsher penalties.
“We’ve got to catch up to what is happening and make sure that our kids are safe,” ECHO Executive Director Sonja Grey said.
Other notable bills
Other noticeable pieces of legislation are waiting for a final decision from the governor.
Those include changes and new regulations to fantasy sports gambling, the future of KSU as a polytechnic institution, and new ways to help protect people from domestic violence.
In total, 126 bills and 7 resolutions are delivered to the Governor with one week left in the Veto Period. You can find and read those bills here.
Some bills WAVE reported on did not make it through the entire process.
House Bill 773 would create a domestic violence offender registry. House Bill 11 would create a mechanism for splitting up JCPS. Both were among many that stayed in committee.
Lawmakers can still pass them on the final two days of the session, but would not be able to override the Governor’s veto afterward.