Thread by @joesonka

Lawmaker proposes $50M plan to welcome thousands of Ukrainian refugees to Kentucky courier-journal.com/story/news/pol… via @courierjournal

@courierjournal .@d_yetter with background on HB 7 in case you missed it: courier-journal.com/story/news/pol…

To come the rest of the day in Frankfort:

- House gavels in at 2pm, a lot on the orders
- Senate gavels in at 2pm, a lot on the orders
- The free budget conference committee meets publicly for the first time at 6pm tonight, expected to go a couple hours.

Both chambers in recess caucusing. This could take a while. I would think there's probably some gaming talk in House GOP.

Senate is back, taking up HB 127 on court-ordered mental health treatment. Cleanup of Tim's Law.

Senate still taking up uncontroversial bills, now SB 271 on compiling domestic violence info.

But they're about to take up SB 321 to ban abortion at 15 weeks in Kentucky.

Senate now taking up SB 321 to bank abortion at 15 weeks in Kentucky. This would mimic the anti-abortion law in Mississippi that the U.S. Supreme Court is now considering.

SB 321 to bank abortion at 15 weeks in Kentucky passes 31-6 after little debate.

Senate now taking up SB 163 to allow individuals with a felony conviction to still be eligible for the Kentucky Educational Excellence Scholarship

Sen. Danny Carroll and John Schickel are now attempting a floor amendment to limit who this would apply to...

Yates just said "government tit"

Yates opposes the amendment

Southworth also opposes the amendment.

Carroll's floor amendment is attached to SB 163 without a formal roll call vote. Sen. Thomas now saying that he can no longer support the bill with this amendment.

Sen. Adams (R) votes against SB 163 with the new amendment. so does Southworth (R), who is a co-sponsor of the original bill.

Yates says he was enthusiastic to be voting yes on SB 163 today and be "smart on crime," but now he is voting yes reluctantly because it moves in the right direction. Hoping it can still be expanded later in process.

Thayer is voting no because he thinks letting former felons be eligible for a scholarship "hurts the KEES program."

Senate done with orders of the day, but they're sticking around so House can not concur with changes to HB 1, the state budget bill, and then send it to the budget conference committee that is scheduled to begin at 6pm tonight.

House is back after caucusing for 2 hours.

After that caucus meeting, Rep. Koenig tells me his HB 606 to legalize sports betting in Kentucky "will get its second reading today, and would be eligible for passage starting tomorrow."

Will it? We'll see.

House did not concur with Senate changes to HB 1 (state budget bill), so it has now been sent the the budget conference committee. Appointed Senate Dems to the committee are McGarvey, Thomas, and Webb

Senate GOP members to the budget conference committee are the 5 GOP members in leadership and Budget chair Chris McDaniel.

I'm told HB 136 to legalize medical marijuana in Kentucky will get a vote on the House floor tomorrow.

HB 136 was placed on the orders for Thursday. None of the gaming bills that passed out of committee today, including HB 606, were placed on the orders.

Budget conference committee should begin soon.

Another notable development before House adjoined: Rep. Chad McCoy replaced Rep. Adam Koenig on the Education committee.

Behold: The budget conference committee.

They're now reading off all of the differences between the budget passed by the House and the budget passed by the Senate.

JUST IN: Tomorrow after the house adjourns the House A&R committee is hearing HB 9, Rep. McCoy's bill to create a funding mechanism for charter schools.

Rep. Heavrin's HB 499 to create up to $15 million in state matching funds for child care assistance is also getting a hearing in A&R.

In House State Govt at noon tomorrow, we have two different mystery shell bills: HB 668 relating to Kentucky Employees Retirement System employers and HB 678 relating to juvenile justice.