FRANKFORT, Ky. - The Senate passed two bills Wednesday, sending them to the House floor.

Senate Bill 87, sponsored by state Sen. Whitney Westerfield, R-Crofton, would stop the automatic transfers of youth offenders to adult courts for firearm offenses. Current law says anyone 14 or older is automatically put into the adult system. Westerfield said the bill allows for more flexibility in the criminal justice system.

“This bill simply removes that mandatory transfer, and so now the decision is still there before the judge that is holding the case that we have left the responsibility to consider every other juvenile case that’s in front of them, to use that discretion,” Westerfield said. “And the prosecution, we’re relying on them with every other case, we’re going to rely on them with this kind of case as well.”

Two senators voted against the proposal, including state Sen. Danny Carroll, R-Paducah. He represents Marshall County, where a 15-year-old is accused of killing two students in a high school shooting in Jan. 2018.

“I believe that there are times when a crime involving a firearm is so heinous that it does need to go directly to circuit court and the person be held accountable,” Carroll said, citing the Marshall County High School shooting as an example of what he’s talking about. “This bill, feasibly, not saying it would happen, but feasibly, a judge, at his or her discretion, could deal with a case similar to that in district court. Mr. President, that’s unacceptable in my mind.”

State Sen. John Schickel, R-Union, was the other vote in opposition. Westerfield amended his original bill before it passed, dropping a provision that deals with teens who have an IQ below 70 and replacing it with an amendment, requiring a judge to consider a suspect’s developmental disabilities.

Senate Bill 63 creates a virtual high school program for adults 21 and older.

If someone drops out of high school and wants to return to get their degree, current Kentucky law prohibits them from returning to the physical high school location and forces them to instead get a GED diploma.State Sen. Jimmy Higdon, R-Lebanon, sponsors the bill and said people with GED diplomas may face a stigma that high school graduates don’t.

“The GED is available to high school dropouts, but nothing can replace a high school diploma,” Higdon said. “It’s worth much more than a GED.”

The bill allows high schools to charge a tuition fee for enrollment in the virtual high school program. If a person’s high school declines to offer a virtual program, they may go to another nearby school. The bill also includes a provision allowing schools to require students to either finish the current graduation requirements or the requirements that were in place when the student originally dropped out.

Both Senate Bill 63 and Senate Bill 87 now head to the House for consideration.