FRANKFORT, Ky. — Next week will mark the halfway point into this year’s legislative session. While the two-year budget is the top priority, lawmakers in both chambers are also moving forward on several bills to amend the state constitution. 

What You Need To Know

  • Lawmakers have filed several constitutional amendment bills this year

  • These would change the state constitution and will be up to the voters to pass come November

  • Only four of these measures can be on the ballot

  • The last time a constitutional amendment passed was in 2020

These measures, which require 60% of the vote in each chamber to pass, change the Kentucky Constitution. Once passed by the legislature, it’s up to voters to decide if the changes should be made. Constitutional amendments only appear in even-numbered year elections and only four measures can appear on the ballot.

So far this year, lawmakers have introduced 18 constitutional amendment bills, 13 from the House and five from the Senate. It’s believed we’ll see two from each chamber pass.

Below are a few of those bills:

  • HB 2 addresses school choice. If passed, it would allow state dollars to go to private education. A similar bill was filed last year but failed to pass.

  • HB 4 would give the legislature more flexibility on when it meets. If passed, the legislature could choose what days it is in session. The number of days per year, 60 in even years and 30 in odd, would stay the same. The bill also allows the legislature to call a special session. Currently, only the governor can do this. A similar measure appeared on the ballot in 2022, but it failed. 

  • HB 341 and SB 143 are identical bills that would explicitly state noncitizens cannot vote in elections.

  • SB 10 would move constitutional office elections, like the governor and secretary of state, to even-numbered years beginning in 2027.

  • SB 126 would limit the governor’s pardon powers at the end of their term

     

The 2022 General Election saw two ballot measures. Amendment 1 covered the legislature setting the days it is in session. Amendment 2 would say the State Constitution does not guarantee the right to an abortion. Both measures failed.

2020 was the last year to have a constitutional amendment pass. Marsy’s Law created a crime victim’s bill of rights within the Kentucky Constitution. In 2012, voters passed a measure that bolstered Kentuckian’s rights to hunt and fish. In 2004, the state overwhelmingly backed an amendment that stated marriage is between a man and a woman only. This would later be overturned by the Supreme Court in 2015.

Lawmakers in the House have passed one constitutional amendment bill so far, HB 341. The Senate is expected to move forward on two others next week.

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