Although the general assembly in Kentucky has only convened itself for a short session this year, a lot has happened in Frankfort, and now local legislators are concentrating on their plans for the meantime.
The session ended on March 28 and before the legislators had postponed, they voted to overthrow all vetos from governor Andy Beshear.
This year's session was the first for Senator Craig Richardson, and he said it felt like success. Richardson said that he had focused on learning more about the general assembly process, taking on relationships and ensuring that proposed laws would not negatively influence his district.
Richardson also focused on laws in relation to healthcare and medicaid. According to Richardson, he supported the house bill 695, which gives those of Medicaid who can work. As deputy chairman of the Senate Health Committee, Richardson now wants to continue working on guidelines that improve health care throughout the state.
Representative Myron Dossett is currently chairman of the House Agriculture Committee, and some of his legislation dealt with agriculture. For example, Dossett HB 216 has sponsored, with which employees of the Kentucky Office of Agriculture Policy can apply for and received the funds managed by the Kentucky Department of Agriculture. The invoice was initially filed by Beshear.
Dossett said he was happy to see state streets in Christian County, which were approved for repair projects.
According to Dossett, the agricultural committee will investigate several questions in the meantime and are planning to work with the agricultural commissioner Jonathan Shell in order to remedy the economic and industrial development in the field of agriculture.
Representative Walker Thomas said he had the feeling that the session was productive and called it the opportunity to remedy what was overlooked during the previous session. Thomas sponsored HB 398, which Kentucky's Osha regulations organized with the federal regulations. The invoice was initially filed by Beshear.
Thomas serves in seven committees, so he will be in many sessions during the meantime and will work with the acquisition and revenue committee before the start of the session 2026.
In the next January, legislators will be convened for their 60-day meeting in Frankfort, where they are commissioned to approved a two-year budget.