Thread by @joesonka

Day 4 of the #kyga21 session begins with a joint Appropriations and Revenue committee meeting with Gov. Beshear's budget director John Hicks.

This would normally be the last day before the break until the first Tuesday of February, but GOP leaders extended it to Saturday & M-W.

GOP leaders last night expressed concern that Beshear's budget wasn't conservative enough on assumed revenue and spending (link here), but Hicks says they're going with a conservative estimate of the Consensus Forecasting Group. #kyga21 courier-journal.com/story/news/pol…

Looks like the justice will get a chance to weigh in on HB 3 today.

Chief Justice Minton now testifying. Notes that House Judiciary committee did not invite him to even testify before they passed HB 3 through. This is the bill that creates a new 3-judge statewide circuit instead of Franklin Circuit Court.

Minton is taking a flamethrower to it.

Minton calls HB 3 "The Rube Goldberg Bill" #kyga21

Minton kind of channels Mitt Romney in saying that we must tell the people the truth, and says we must level with Kentuckians that this bill is just an effort to eliminate the Franklin Circuit Court from the decision-making process.

Kentucky Chief Justice Minton on HB 3: "This Rube Goldberg Bill is an unconstitutional invasion."

"This bill needs to die." #kyga21

Sen. Westerfield counters Minton and says "the court gives us orders all the time" which it has to comply with. Says the legislature can do same with courts and change circuit court system.

Westerfield brought up Marsy's Law to him, his constitutional amendment that got thrown out by Minton and the Supreme Court.

Westerfield says the committee will NOT vote on HB 3. I do not think that was expected, but they did run out of time. Minton appears to have stopped it in his tracks for now, but the committee is returning later this afternoon, so maybe it will happen then.

In House State Government committee, @repgrahamky says this is the fastest he's seen legislation move through the General Assembly in his 19 years in office.

9 bills passed through the House and Senate yesterday, the third day of the session.

SB 1 is now up in House Judiciary. The amended version of the bill now means that the governor can no longer suspend a statute under an emergency in 39A (like his COVID-19 orders) unless he gets the written approval of the attorney general first. #kyga21

Amended version of SB 1 also takes out the ability of the governor & @KYSecState to change the manner of an election under an emergency through an agreed upon executive order. This means they wouldn't be able to allow the expanded mail-in & early voting we had last year. #kyga21

Committee voting on SB 1 now. Rep. Savannah Maddox is passing because it isn't strong enough for her.

SB 1 passes House committee. It now goes to the House floor. #kyga21

The SB 9 "born alive" bill passes 14-3 in House Judiciary committee, goes to full House.

HB 10 now up in that committee, which gives businesses additional civil liability protections related to COVID-19 to protect against "frivolous lawsuits." #kyga21

HB 10 passes unanimously. First bill I've seen pass unanimously so far. #kyga21

Senate Judiciary committee is resuming in a few minutes. We'll see if HB 3 (the Franklin Circuit bill that Chief Justice Minton railed on) will come back up and be voted on. #kyga21

In a few minutes Gov. Andy Beshear also starting his first COVID-19 briefing in a few days.

Beshear says Kentucky with 3rd-highest number of new COVID-19 cases today

Senate Judiciary passes HB 2 giving AG Daniel Cameron more power to regulate abortion clinics.

HB 3 (the "Rube Goldberg Bill," according to Justice Minton) is not getting a vote today. Westerfield said he expects the committee to meet and take it up next week. #kyga21

House is adjourned, not passing any bills today. I don't think the Senate will, either. There should be a lot of bills passing both chambers tomorrow. #kyga21

Told that Senate will gavel in at 9am tomorrow and House will gavel in at 10am. If so could be 10 or so bills passing through, including 8 (I think?) that would go straight to Beshear's desk. #kyga21