Voters to decide if legislature can call special sessions. What to know about KY Amendment 1

While the battle over a voter referendum that will determine the future of abortion rights in Kentucky has drawn considerable attention, it is not the only constitutional amendment on the ballot this fall that could have a large political impact on the future of the state.

Kentucky Constitutional Amendment 1 is a rather lengthy, 744-word ballot referendum that essentially would give more power to the Kentucky General Assembly — letting legislators call themselves into a special session and potentially extending regular sessions to end later in the year.

Currently, only a governor can call legislators into a special session, where they may pass bills that are within the parameters set by the governor.

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The power dynamics at play with the amendment are simple: The Republican supermajority that pushed for the ballot referendum wants to be able to initiate special sessions with legislation of their choosing, while Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear wants to retain this power in the governor's office.

Shifting special session power

Under the proposed amendment, the legislature could be called into a special session by a joint proclamation of the House speaker and Senate president, though they could only meet for a maximum of 12 days per calendar year in such sessions.

Kentucky is one of just 14 states in which only the governor can call the legislature into a special session.

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In nearly all of the 36 states where the legislature has this power, they can do so solely through a majority or supermajority vote of each chamber. If approved, Kentucky would be one of just four states where its presiding officers in the House and Senate could initiate a special session without a vote of the legislature.

Extending the regular session

The proposed amendment also would let the legislature extend the end date of regular sessions, which currently must conclude by March 30 in odd-numbered years and April 15 in even-numbered years.

While the legislature may extend the end date with a three-fifths vote in each chamber, it may not add to the current maximum number of days in a regular session — 60 days in the long sessions of even-numbered years and 30 days in the short sessions of odd-numbered years.

Republicans pushed for Amendment 1

The Republican supermajority pushed through legislation in 2021 to put the constitutional amendment on the ballot, expressing frustration that lawmakers could not come back to Frankfort to rein in some of the COVID-19 policies Beshear enacted between the adjournment of the 2020 session (which happened soon after the pandemic hit the U.S.) and the end of that year.

Republicans similarly criticized Beshear for not calling a special session at the end of 2021 to deal with redistricting, which set up a situation where the legislature had to quickly push back the candidate filing deadline at the beginning of the 2022 session.

House Bill 4, one of Republicans' priority bills in 2021, passed through the legislature by a mostly party-line vote, setting it up to go on the ballot in the 2022 general election on Nov. 8.

Under current law, lawmakers may not meet for a special session from the adjournment of the regular session in the spring through the end of the year, unless the governor calls them into session — as Beshear did in August to address Eastern Kentucky flood relief and recovery.

Democrats want to defeat Amendment 1

Constitutional Amendment 1 is opposed by Beshear, as well as an issues committee that was formed by his campaign manager, Eric Hyers.

Beshear said he opposes Amendment 1 because it “would turn the part-time legislature into a full-time legislature and would further enrich legislators, who already make more for their part-time duties than the average Kentuckian makes working a full-time job.”

How much could more special sessions cost?

Legislators in the Kentucky General Assembly receive a daily salary and expenses for each day they are in session, so additional special session days would come at an extra cost.

The Legislative Research Commission estimates that a special session costs roughly $68,000 per day.

House and Senate members receive $188.22 in salary per day they're in session, with leadership receiving between $216 and $235. Lawmakers also receive $170.50 per day for expenses and 62.5 cents for each mile driven to the Capitol.

What, exactly, will voters see about this on their ballot?

This referendum may appear on the back of the ballot in parts of the state − such as the sample ballot from Jefferson County, shown below − due to its length.

Here is the exact wording of the constitutional amendment:

"Are you in favor of amending the present Constitution of Kentucky to repeal sections 36, 42, and 55 and replace those sections with new sections of the Constitution of Kentucky to allow the General Assembly to meet in regular session for thirty legislative days in odd-numbered years, for sixty legislative days in even-numbered years, and for no more than twelve additional days during any calendar year if convened by a Joint Proclamation of the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, with no session of the General Assembly to extend beyond December 31; and to provide that any act passed by the General Assembly shall become law on July 1 of the year in which it was passed, or ninety days after passage and signature of the Governor, whichever occurs later, or in cases of emergency when approved by the Governor or when it otherwise becomes law under Section 88 of the Constitution?

Proposed New Section

(1) The General Assembly, in odd-numbered years, shall convene in regular session on the first Tuesday following the first Monday in January for the purpose of electing legislative leaders, adopting rules of procedure, organizing committees, and introducing and considering legislation.

(2) No regular session of the General Assembly occurring in odd-numbered years shall continue beyond thirty legislative days.

(3) No bill raising revenue or appropriating funds shall be passed by the General Assembly in a regular session in an odd-numbered year unless it shall be agreed upon by three-fifths of all the members elected to each House.

(4) The General Assembly, in even-numbered years, shall convene in regular session on the first Tuesday following the first Monday in January, and no regular session of the General Assembly in even-numbered years shall extend beyond sixty legislative days.

(5) Except as otherwise provided in this Constitution, the General Assembly shall establish by general law or joint resolution the date the regular session shall end. No bill establishing a later date shall be passed by the General Assembly unless it shall be agreed upon by three-fifths of all the members elected to each House. No session of the General Assembly shall extend beyond December 31.

(6) In addition to a regular session, the General Assembly may be convened by Joint Proclamation of the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives for no more than twelve legislative days annually, during which the General Assembly may recess from time to time as it determines necessary. Should a vacancy occur in the office of the President of the Senate or the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the Joint Proclamation for the House with the vacancy may be issued by the Senate President Pro Tempore or the Speaker Pro Tempore of the House of Representatives.

(7) All sessions of the General Assembly shall be held at the seat of government, except in the case of war, insurrection, or pestilence, when it may, by Joint Proclamation of the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, assemble, for the time being, elsewhere. Should a vacancy occur in the office of the President of the Senate or the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the Joint Proclamation for the House with the vacancy may be issued by the Senate President Pro Tempore or the Speaker Pro Tempore of the House of Representatives.

(8) Limitations as to the length of any session of the General Assembly shall not apply to any extraordinary session under Section 80 of this Constitution or in the Senate when sitting as a court of impeachment.

(9) A legislative day shall be construed to mean a calendar day, exclusive of Sundays, legal holidays, or any day on which neither House meets.

Proposed New Section

No act, except general appropriation bills, shall become a law until July 1 of the year in which it was passed, or until ninety days after it becomes law under Section 88 of this Constitution, whichever occurs later, except in cases of emergency, when, by the concurrence of a majority of the members elected to each House of the General Assembly, by a yea and nay vote entered upon their journals, an act may become a law when approved by the Governor or when it otherwise becomes a law under Section 88; but the reasons for the emergency that justifies this action must be set out at length in the journal of each House."

Reach reporter Joe Sonka at jsonka@courierjournal.com and follow him on Twitter at @joesonka.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Amendment 1 Kentucky 2022: What voters should know