Kentucky General Assembly | |
|---|---|
| 2025 session (adjourned) | |
 | |
| Type | |
| Type | |
| Houses | Senate House of Representatives |
Term limits | None |
| History | |
| Founded | May 26, 1845 |
| Leadership | |
| Structure | |
| Seats | 138 voting members
|
 | |
Senate political groups |
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House political groups |
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Length of term | Senate 4 years House of Representatives 2 years |
| Salary | $188.22/day + per diem (elected before January 1, 2023) $203.28/day + per diem (elected after January 1, 2023)[1] |
| Elections | |
LastSenate election | November 5, 2024 (19 seats) |
LastHouse election | November 5, 2024 |
NextSenate election | November 3, 2026 (19 seats) |
NextHouse election | November 3, 2026 |
| Redistricting | Legislative control |
| Motto | |
| United we stand, divided we fall | |
| Meeting place | |
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| Kentucky State Capitol Frankfort | |
| Website | |
| https://legislature.ky.gov/Pages/index.aspx | |
TheKentucky General Assembly, also called theKentucky Legislature, is thestate legislature of theU.S. state ofKentucky. It comprises theKentucky Senate and theKentucky House of Representatives.
The General Assembly meets annually in the statecapitol building inFrankfort, convening on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in January. In even-numbered years, sessions may not last more than 60 legislative days, and cannot extend beyond April 15. In odd-numbered years, sessions may not last more than 30 legislative days, and cannot extend beyond March 30. Special sessions may be called by theGovernor of Kentucky at any time and for any duration.
The first meeting of the General Assembly occurred in 1792, shortly after Kentucky was granted statehood. Legislators convened inLexington, the state's temporary capital. Among the first orders of business was choosing a permanent state capital. In the end, the small town of Frankfort, with their offer to provide a temporary structure to house the legislature and a cache of materials for constructing a permanent edifice, was chosen, and the state's capital has remained there ever since.[2]
After women gainedsuffrage in Kentucky,Mary Elliott Flanery was elected to the Kentucky House of Representative from the 89th District, representingBoyd County, Kentucky. When Flanery took her seat in January 1922, she was the first female state legislator elected in Kentucky and the first female legislator elected south of theMason–Dixon line.[3]
Operation Boptrot led to the conviction of more than a dozen legislators between 1992 and 1995. The investigation also led to reform legislation being passed in 1993.[4]
Due to the strongSouthern Unionist sympathies of a large portion of the Commonwealth's citizens and elected officials, Kentucky remained officially neutral during theCivil War. Even so, a group ofConfederate sympathizers met inRussellville representing 68 Kentucky counties in the western and central parts of the state in November 1861, to establish aConfederate government for the state. The group established a Confederate state capital inBowling Green controlling half the state early in the war, but never successfully displaced the elected General Assembly in Frankfort.[5]
The General Assembly played a decisive role in the disputed gubernatorial election of 1899. Initial vote tallies had RepublicanWilliam S. Taylor leading DemocratWilliam Goebel by a scant 2,383 votes.[6] The General Assembly, however, wielded the final authority in election disputes. With a majority in both houses, the Democrats attempted to invalidate enough votes to give the election to Goebel. During the contentious days that followed, an unidentified assassin shot Goebel as he approached the state capitol.[7]
As Goebel hovered on the brink of death, chaos ensued in Frankfort, and further violence threatened. Taylor, serving as governor pending a final decision on the election, called out themilitia and ordered the General Assembly into a special session, not in Frankfort, but inLondon, Kentucky, a Republican area of the state.[6] The Republican minority naturally heeded the call and headed to London. Democrats predictably resisted the call, many retiring toLouisville instead. Both factions claimed authority, but the Republicans were too few in number to muster aquorum.[7]
Goebel died four days after receiving the fatal shot, and the election was eventually contested to theU.S. Supreme Court, who ruled the General Assembly's actions legal and made Goebel'slieutenant governor,J. C. W. Beckham, governor of the state.[8]
The General Assembly isbicameral, consisting of a Senate and a House of Representatives.[9] The House and Senate chambers are on opposite ends of the third floor of the capitol building, and legislators have offices in the nearby Capitol Annex building.
Section 33 of the Kentucky Constitution requires that the General Assembly divide the state into38 Senate and100 House districts. Districts are required to be as nearly equal in population as possible. Districts can be formed by joining more than one county, but the counties forming a district must be contiguous. Districts must be reviewed every 10 years and be re-divided if necessary.
Under the state constitution, only three counties may be divided to form a Senate district—Jefferson (Louisville),Fayette (Lexington) andKenton (Covington).
The Senate is theupper house of the General Assembly.
According to Section 32 of theKentucky Constitution, a senator must:
Under section 30 of theKentucky Constitution, senators are elected to four year staggered terms, with half the Senate elected every two years.
Prior to a 1992 constitutional amendment, theLieutenant Governor of Kentucky presided over the Senate; the 1992 amendment created a new office ofPresident of the Senate to be held by one of the 38 senators.
Additionally, each party elects afloor leader,whip, andcaucus chair.
| Republican Party | Democratic Party | |
|---|---|---|
| Floor Leader | Max Wise (R-16) | Gerald Neal (D-33) |
| Whip | Mike Wilson (R-32) | Vacant |
| Caucus chair | Robby Mills (R-4) | Reggie Thomas (D-13) |
The House of Representatives is thelower house of the General Assembly. Section 47 of the Kentucky Constitution stipulates that all bills for raising revenue must originate in the House of Representatives.
According to Section 32 of theKentucky Constitution, a representative must:
Per section 30 of theKentucky Constitution, representatives are elected every two years in the November following a regular session of the General Assembly.
Additionally, each party elects a floor leader, whip, and caucus chair.
| Republican Party | Democratic Party | |
|---|---|---|
| Leader | Steven Rudy (R-1) | Pamela Stevenson (D-43) |
| Whip | Jason Nemes (R-33) | Joshua Watkins (D-42) |
| Caucus chair | Suzanne Miles (R-7) | Lindsey Burke (D-75) |
| Committee | Chair | Vice Chair |
|---|---|---|
| Agriculture | Jason Howell | Gary Boswell |
| Appropriations and Revenue | Christian McDaniel | Amanda Mays Bledsoe |
| Banking and Insurance | Jared Carpenter | Rick Girdler |
| Committee on Committees | Robert Stivers | none |
| Economic Development, Tourism, and Labor | Phillip Wheeler | Shelley Funke Frommeyer |
| Education | Stephen West | Lindsey Tichenor |
| Enrollment | Matt Nunn | none |
| Families and Children | Danny Carroll | Amanda Mays Bledsoe |
| Health and Services | Stephen Meredith | Craig Richardson |
| Judiciary | Brandon J. Storm | Phillip Wheeler |
| Licensing and Occupations | Julie Raque Adams | Jason Howell |
| Natural Resources and Energy | Brandon Smith | Gex Williams |
| Rules | Robert Stivers | none |
| State and Local Government | Michael J. Nemes | Greg Elkins |
| Transportation | Jimmy Higdon | Donald Douglas |
| Veterans, Military Affairs, and Public Protection | Matthew Deneen | Aaron Reed |
| Committee | Chair | Vice Chair(s) |
|---|---|---|
| Agriculture | Myron Dossett | Daniel Fister |
| Appropriations and Revenue | Jason Petrie | Adam Bowling andJosh Bray |
| Banking and Insurance | Michael Meredith | Matt Lockett andMichael Pollock |
| Committee on Committees | David W. Osborne | David Meade |
| Economic Development and Workforce Investment | Josh Branscum | Thomas Huff |
| Elections, Const. Amendments, and Intergovernmental Affairs | DJ Johnson | John Hodgson |
| Enrollment | Thomas Huff | none |
| Families and Children | Samara Heavrin | Nick Wilson |
| Health Services | Kimberly Poore Moser | Robert Duvall |
| Judiciary | Daniel Elliott | Jennifer Decker |
| Licensing, Occupations, and Administrative Regulations | Matthew Koch | Tom Smith |
| Local Government | Patrick Flannery | Amy Neighbors |
| Natural Resources and Energy | Jim Gooch Jr. | Jared Bauman andRichard White |
| Postsecondary Education | James Tipton | Shane Baker |
| Primary and Secondary Education | Scott Lewis | Mike Clines |
| Rules | David W. Osborne | David Meade |
| Small Business and Information Technology | Deanna Frazier Gordon | William Lawrence |
| State Government | David Hale | Rebecca Raymer |
| Tourism and Outdoor Recreation | Kim King | Susan Witten |
| Transportation | John Blanton | Mary Beth Imes |
| Veterans, Military Affairs, and Public Protection | Bobby McCool | Bill Wesley |
The Kentucky General Assembly is served by a 16-member nonpartisan agency called theLegislative Research Commission (LRC). Created in 1948, the LRC provides the General Assembly with staff and research support including committee staffing, bill drafting, oversight of the state budget and educational reform, production of educational materials, maintenance of a reference library and Internet site, and the preparation and printing of research reports, informational bulletins and a legislative newspaper. It is led by the elected leadership of theDemocratic andRepublican parties in both the Kentucky House of Representatives and the Kentucky Senate, while the agency is run on a day-to-day basis by aDirector.[12]
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