Thread by @joesonka

General Assembly special session about to kick off in the House. Unlike regular session, looks like most members won’t be wearing masks this time.

Drafts of 6 bills are floating around, but nothing official filed yet. One would scrap the mask regulations for schools and child care centers and let districts/centers set their own policies.

One bill provides that legislators will not be paid during "veto days" of a special session, so I would assume that means they'll stay recessed but in session for a while to override anything Beshear vetoes.

Speaker Osborne gavels the special session in.

94 members present. Now reading Gov. Beshear's call for the special session.

Education bill has provision allowing school districts to develop a plan to incentivize staff and students to vaccinate with "cash and other prizes, food, gift cards, prize drawings, coupons, and school activity passes"

That draft bill adds this line: "A school district shall not use intimidation
tactics or negative incentives to encourage vaccinations." So no vaccine mandates for any school district.

Again, I'm referring to draft bills, no official bills have been filed.

House in recess, I believe they're off to State Govt committee now for first bill.

House State Government committee about to begin in a moment. Most members seated.

Speaker Osborne presenting House Resolution 1, which resembles HJR 77 from the regular session allowing some, but not all, emergency orders and regulations to be extended.

The ones in this resolution will be extended to Jan. 15.

Osborne saying these will be non-controversial regulations, but adds liability protections of SB 5 from the session and flood emergency in Nicholas County

The drafts of the bills floating around early this morning were posted by Sen. Westerfield on his website. There is nothing posted on LRC yet, and might not be for a while.

Under questioning, Osborne says this would allow provision letting agencies/bodies to conduct virtual meetings to stay in place.

Osborne says Beshear can issue emergency orders and regs, but they cannot be "substantially similar" to past orders under the emergency, per legislation now in effect from the session.

Committee now voting on HJR 1. If Westerfield bill is the same one, it's this: static1.squarespace.com/static/532610c…

HJR 1 passes unanimously, I believe.

committee adjourned, back to the House.

Correction from earlier, Rep. Savannah Maddox was the only no vote.

These folks have arrived. Some are fighting about having to wear a mask.

A woman telling a state trooper he should be ashamed for requiring guests to wear a mask.

Doubt any of the crowd is getting in unless they put on a mask.

Most of the signs are anti-mask and vaccine mandates, but the person in front has a sign about the country repenting for sodomy. It’s going to be a long week in Frankfort.

It appears they are letting the protesters in now but many just taking the mask off once they come upstairs

A bunch of people in flag, anti-vaccine and "Arrest Fauci" shirts just roaming around the Capitol Building aimlessly without masks at the moment. I believe the GOP House caucus is meeting in the annex... which should be lively.

Senate is scheduled to convene in 10 minutes.

Haven't heard any of the guests talking about the new Publix in Louisville

.@mattstonephotog is here and got better footage of the confrontation at front door of Capitol

https://twitter.com/mattstonephotog/status/1435263226086887430

Senate still hasn’t gaveled in. Some Democrats milling about.

Thayer just had a brief interaction with Westerfield about him posting all of the bills online this morning, I believe

Stivers has entered the chamber. I assume they’ll gavel in in a moment

Senate gaveled in

Senate clerk reading out governor's special session call

Kentucky lawmakers may consider ending mask mandate for schools, child care centers during special session, according to draft bills circulating courier-journal.com/story/news/edu… #kyga21

Senate giving a tribute to Sen. Tom Buford, who died over the summer, just like the House did earlier for Bam Carney.

Thayer talking about shift in Senate rules allowing them to sub in language of a bill on the orders of the day that will allow it to have 3 readings. Democrats object but it is enacted.

It will specifically allow each Senate and House bill to "receive three readings on three separate days in each chamber."

A Senate Joint Resolution was read that would recognize a positive antibody test as equivalent to having a COVID-19 vaccination

Also heard a SB 4 read that I couldn't pick up

Thayer now giving a speech against Beshear's actions during the pandemic.

Thayer now talking about all the seats Republicans won in the election last fall.

Thayer still giving his speech criticizing Beshear, as agenda goes out for 2pm meeting of Senate Education committee, who will hear SB 1 on "delivery of education and care for children"

Thayer done criticizing Beshear, giving first reading to bills. SB 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and SJR 1.

These appear to all be the bills posted early by Westerfield.

Senate Minority Leader McGarvey now giving speech countering Thayer

McGarvey now bringing up the Jurassic Park Goldblum line again.

Thayer: "There are going to be some on the far-right who say we didn't do enough" this special session.

Thayer quoting Hall & Oates

Senate now in recess.

Stivers held a presser, said the House and Senate will take up identical joint resolution and bills simultaneously, which will allow them to meet the required 3 readings by Thursday, so legislation could mostly wrap up then or Friday.

Stivers says there shouldn't be any surprises in the legislation for Beshear, so he hopes he would be able to act on them quickly, either signing or vetoing, so they don't have to hang around for an extra week or two and can either override or adjourn quickly.

Stivers says he didn't see what bills Westerfield posted, but he assumes they are the same as the ones the House and Senate will take up this week.

Stivers implied that SJR 3 -- treating positive antibody test the same as being vaccinated -- wasn't part of the approved package of legislation that both chambers will take up. Said Alvarado should be asked about that one.

As for any questions about whether certain parts of bills go outside the scope of the governor's call for a special session, he said the ultimate arbiter of that would be the courts.

Stivers wouldn't get into any hypotheticals about floor amendments members may bring up going further than the bills, like prohibiting private employers and others from requiring employees to be vaccinated.

Meanwhile in Senate State & Local Govt, SB 4 is now up after SJR 1 (identical to HJR 1) is passed. SB 4 states that members aren't paid in any potential veto period.

Thayer says spending $72,000 a day for a special session is a "bargain" for taxpayers considering all they will do.

SB 4 passes committee 9-1 with one pass, committee adjourns.

Members starting to file back onto the House floor. Senate Education committee takes up SB 1 in a few minutes.

Also, House Education committee just announced they are meeting at noon tomorrow, likely taking up identical SB 1 bill.

Senate Education committee underway. Wise says it would "completely nullify" the Board of Education mask mandate.

(SB 1 would)

Wise says SB 1 would add 20 days of remote learning, but not NTI. Wise calls it "surgically focused" approach for districts, not just district-wide closings.

As Wise introduces SB 1, the House is gaveling back in.

House is now taking up HJR 1 for passage. House dispensing with 2nd and 3rd readings of the bill to do so. Voting now on suspending readings rule.

House voting on party lines to dispense with 2nd and 3rd readings. Minority Leader Jenkins says just because who can pass a bill that was just created this morning hours later doesn't mean that you should.

* you not who

Follow @oliviakrauth for Senate Education committee taking up SB 1 now.

Osborne: The legislature is a body that can act quickly and nimbly when needed in an emergency. A flashback to when House passed HJR 77 in the 2021 session.

Jenkins seeking a floor amendment to give power to "red zone" local counties once they go back to yellow? Asking to amend rules to consider it.

Osborne says Jenkins' amendment could be germane to the H&W bill, but it is not to HJR 1.

Jenkins amendment ruled to be not germane, out of order

HJR 1 passes 91-3. Maddox, Rabourn and Bechler vote no. Expect the Maddox-Rabourn duo to depart from rest of House GOP caucus a few times (at least) this session.

HJR actually passed 92-3.

House orders of the day have concluded.

Sen. Carroll says he wanted any parent to be able to get their kid to not wear a mask if they wanted that, but he will vote for SB 1 in committee.

Meanwhile in House, House Bills 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 being given first readings and assigned to committees.

House adjourning until 10am tomorrow morning.

SB 1 passes committee 8-5

Osborne presser in a moment and then House H&F committee meeting

Senate gavels in, they about to send HJR 1 to Senate State & Local Govt committee, then come back in and give it final passage.

Osborne said this joint resolution is the only one they are passing super fast by waiving readers. Others bills could be passed as early as Thursday.

As House committee debates HB 2, Gov. Beshear beginning his presser.

Rep. Tate says people shouldn't be criticized for not taking the vaccine, saying Rep. Tate was correct in her earlier claim that 7,000 died from taking the vaccine.... which is old debunked misinformation.

A debunking of that claim: usatoday.com/story/news/fac…

Rep. Dotson instead of Tate for that first reference. It's been a long day.

Rep. Bentley says the FDA has not approved the Pfizer vaccine, which is another misinformed conspiracy theory spread online.

Dr. Stack said he had no idea what Bentley was talking about.

Rep. Bentley says that the COVID-19 vaccine isn't safe

Rep. Sheldon, a Republican, says he is concerned that some misinformation is making it into this committee hearing. He's not mentioning any names, but...

The last 10 minutes of this committee meeting have put the "extraordinary" into "extraordinary session."

Senate is now taking up HJR 1, which just passed a Senate committee and was passed by the House earlier today

In case you've lost track, HJR 1 would extend the state of emergency to Jan. 15 and extend a couple dozen emergency executive orders and regulations and let others expire. Those ones being extended generally aren't controversial.

Senate waiving the 2nd and 3rd readings for HJR 1, which is what the House did earlier today to pass it today.

Sen. Schickel joining Democrats to vote against waiving 2nd and 3rd readings. So did Schroder and Southworth.

Senate votes 24-12 to waive 2nd and 3rd readings.

Senate now voting on HJR 1. It passes 32-4 and will soon head to the governor's desk.

Orders of the day concluded in the Senate.

Thayer says Senate will convene at 9am Wednesday and Thursday.

Thayer says they are told that Beshear will sign HJR 1 tonight, so they will remain in recess, but actions done for today

House bill to ban statewide mask mandates advances during Kentucky special session courier-journal.com/story/news/pol… via @courierjournal @d_yetter