FRANKFORT, Ky. — A new legislative session means a new chance for the Republican majority to have more control over the state's handling of COVID-19.

Senate Bill 1, the Senate’s top priority, would require the governor to call lawmakers in for a special session if he wants to extend emergency orders beyond 30 days.

It comes after months of criticism from Republicans over Gov. Andy Beshear's coronavirus orders, although Senate President Robert Stivers says it’s nothing personal.

“It is the institutional question of what the policy should be going forward, not an individual question,” Stivers said. “And anyone who wants to make it out to be that way is totally wrong.”

Stivers said the constitution requires legislative input, and he’s not sure why Beshear hasn’t communicated with them more, especially since he has been talking to them about the budget.

“For some reason, there seems to be this aura around the COVID[-19] issues that only the governor is going to deal with it, but everything else he seems to be quite inclusive," he said.

Another big priority bill for the Senate, Senate Bill 2, would require more oversight on the governor’s emergency orders.

On the House side, their top priority deals with the coronavirus as well: allowing businesses to stay open if they follow Centers for Disease Control (CDC) guidelines.

Rep. Bart Rowland (R, Tompkinsville) is the main sponsor.

“All summer long, the retail community, the restaurant community was begging for some clear guidance on when can we operate, when can we not operate, and why are certain businesses allowed to be open, why are certain businesses forced to shut down,” Rowland said. “We’re just going to say in this bill, going forward, if you can meet or exceed the CDC guidelines, you can post a plan on your website, on your front door, and customers will decide if they’re comfortable visiting and there’s no more shutdowns.”

During his Tuesday coronavirus briefing, Beshear said he was focused on vaccine distribution and the budget, so he wasn’t following the first day of the session too closely, but he still criticized Republican priorities.

“The bill on limitation of emergency powers, at least from what I heard, is unconstitutional,” Beshear said.

And he said putting CDC guidance into law is tricky because of how fluid the CDC’s guidance is.

“I really hope they dig down because which CDC guidelines? There are dozens if not more on the website. They are changed regularly. They’re not all clear about what’s a mandate and a recommendation,” Beshear said. “It’d be taking very explicit executive orders that you can read and understand who is involved and replace it with something nebulous that you’ve gotta Google to go out and find. That doesn’t give a lot of protection for individuals or the business itself. It wouldn’t work.”

But Republicans have veto-proof majorities in the House and Senate, so even if they’re passed and Beshear vetoes them, the proposals will likely become law anyway.

Other top priorities for Republicans that were filed Tuesday include House Bill 2, which gives Attorney General Daniel Cameron more power to enforce abortion regulations; House Bill 3, which passed out of committee Tuesday, would create a new three-judge panel to decide lawsuits involving the state instead of Franklin Circuit Court, which Republicans have said is more favorable to the governor; and House Bill 5 would prohibit a governor from reorganizing state boards through executive orders.

Lawmakers will likely meet Saturday and possibly next week to get priority bills through before taking a scheduled break, but the legislative leaders say they haven’t decided for sure yet.

Beshear plans to give his budget address Wednesday night.