The General Assembly meets annually in the state capitol building in Frankfort, convening on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in January. In even-numbered years, sessions may not last more than 60 legislative days, and cannot extend beyond April 15. In odd-numbered years, sessions may not last more than 30 legislative days, and cannot extend beyond March 30. Special sessions may be called by the Governor of Kentucky at any time and for any duration.
History
The first meeting of the General Assembly occurred in 1792, shortly after Kentucky was granted statehood. Legislators convened in Lexington, the state's temporary capital. Among the first orders of business was choosing a permanent state capital. In the end, the small town of Frankfort, with their offer to provide a temporary structure to house the legislature and a cache of materials for constructing a permanent edifice, was chosen, and the state's capital has remained there ever since.[2]
After women gained suffrage in Kentucky, Mary Elliott Flanery was elected to the Kentucky House of Representative from the 89th District, representing Boyd County, Kentucky. When Flanery took her seat in January 1922, she was the first female state legislator elected in Kentucky and the first female legislator elected south of the Mason–Dixon line.[3]
Operation Boptrot led to the conviction of more than a dozen legislators between 1992 and 1995. The investigation also led to reform legislation being passed in 1993.[4]
Due to the strong Union sympathies of a majority of the Commonwealth's citizens and elected officials, Kentucky remained officially neutral during the Civil War. Even so, a group of Confederate sympathizers met in Russellville in November 1861, to establish a Confederate government for the state. The group established a Confederate state capital in Bowling Green, but never successfully displaced the elected General Assembly in Frankfort.[5]
The General Assembly played a decisive role in the disputed gubernatorial election of 1899. Initial vote tallies had Republican William S. Taylor leading Democrat William Goebel by a scant 2,383 votes.[6] The General Assembly, however, wielded the final authority in election disputes. With a majority in both houses, the Democrats attempted to invalidate enough votes to give the election to Goebel. During the contentious days that followed, an unidentified assassin shot Goebel as he approached the state capitol.[7]
As Goebel hovered on the brink of death, chaos ensued in Frankfort, and further violence threatened. Taylor, serving as governor pending a final decision on the election, called out the militia and ordered the General Assembly into a special session, not in Frankfort, but in London, Kentucky, a Republican area of the state.[6] The Republican minority naturally heeded the call and headed to London. Democrats predictably resisted the call, many retiring to Louisville instead. Both factions claimed authority, but the Republicans were too few in number to muster a quorum.[7]
Goebel died four days after receiving the fatal shot, and the election was eventually contested to the U.S. Supreme Court, who ruled the General Assembly's actions legal and made Goebel's lieutenant governor, J. C. W. Beckham, governor of the state.[8]
Houses
The General Assembly is bicameral, consisting of a Senate and a House of Representatives.[9] The House and Senate chambers are on opposite ends of the third floor of the capitol building, and legislators have offices in the nearby Capitol Annex building.
Section 33 of the Kentucky Constitution requires that the General Assembly divide the state into 38 Senate and 100 House districts. Districts are required to be as nearly equal in population as possible. Districts can be formed by joining more than one county, but the counties forming a district must be contiguous. Districts must be reviewed every 10 years and be re-divided if necessary.
The House of Representatives is the lower house of the General Assembly. Section 47 of the Kentucky Constitution stipulates that all bills for raising revenue must originate in the House of Representatives.
have resided in the state at least 2 years and the district at least 1 year prior to election.
Per section 30 of the Kentucky Constitution, representatives are elected every two years in the November following a regular session of the General Assembly.
Leadership
Speaker (elected by full body): David Osborne (R-59)
Speaker Pro Tempore (elected by full body): David Meade (R-80)
Additionally, each party elects a floor leader, whip, and caucus chair.
Current party leadership of the Kentucky House of Representatives[13]
Senate Budget Review Subcommittee on Economic Development and Tourism, Natural Resources and Environmental Protection: Sen. Gary Boswell
Senate Budget Review Subcommittee on Education: Sen. Matthew Deneen
Senate Budget Review Subcommittee on General Government, Finance, and Public Protection: Sen. Michael J. Nemes
Senate Budget Review Subcommittee on Health and Family Services: Sen. Donald Douglas
Senate Budget Review Subcommittee on Justice and Judiciary: Sen. Gex Williams
BANKING & INSURANCE, Sen. Jared Carpenter
COMMITTEE ON COMMITTEES, Sen. Robert Stivers II
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, TOURISM, AND LABOR, Sen. Max Wise
EDUCATION, Sen. Stephen West
ENROLLMENT, Sen. Amanda Mays Bledsoe
FAMILIES & CHILDREN, Sen. Danny Carroll
HEALTH SERVICES, Sen. Stephen Meredith
JUDICIARY, Sen. Whitney Westerfield
LICENSING, OCCUPATIONS, & ADMINISTRATIVE REGULATIONS, Sen. John Schickel
NATURAL RESOURCES & ENERGY, Sen. Brandon Smith
RULES, Sen. Robert Stivers II
STATE & LOCAL GOVERNMENT, Sen. Robby Mills
TRANSPORTATION, Sen. Jimmy Higdon
VETERANS, MILITARY AFFAIRS, & PUBLIC PROTECTION, Sen. Rick Girdler
House Standing Committees and Chairs
AGRICULTURE, Rep. Richard Heath
APPROPRIATIONS & REVENUE, Rep. Jason Petrie
House Budget Review Subcommittee on Economic Development, Public Protection, Tourism, and Energy, Rep. Chris Fugate
House Budget Review Subcommittee on General Government, Rep. Chris Freeland
House Budget Review Subcommittee on Health and Family Services, Rep. Danny Bentley
House Budget Review Subcommittee on Justice, Public Safety, & Judiciary, Rep. Patrick Flannery
House Budget Review Subcommittee on Personnel, Public Retirement, and Finance, Rep. Ken Fleming
House Budget Review Subcommittee on Postsecondary Education, Rep. Bobby McCool
House Budget Review Subcommittee on Primary and Secondary Education and Workforce Investment, Rep. Kim Banta
House Budget Review Subcommittee on Transportation, Rep. Ken Upchurch
BANKING & INSURANCE, Rep. Michael Meredith
COMMITTEE ON COMMITTEES, Rep. David W. Osborne
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT & WORKFORCE INVESTMENT: Rep. Josh Branscum
EDUCATION: Rep. James Tipton
ELECTIONS, CONST. AMENDMENTS & INTERGOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS: Rep. Kevin D. Bratcher
ENROLLMENT: Rep. Thomas Huff
FAMILIES & CHILDREN: Rep. Samara Heavrin
HEALTH SERVICES: Rep. Kimberly Poore Moser
JUDICIARY: Rep. Daniel Elliott
LICENSING, OCCUPATIONS, & ADMIN REGS: Rep. Matthew Koch
LOCAL GOVERNMENT: Rep. Randy Bridges
NATURAL RESOURCES & ENERGY: Rep. Jim Gooch Jr.
RULES: Rep. David W. Osborne
SMALL BUSINESS & INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY: Rep. Phillip Pratt
STATE GOVERNMENT: Rep. David Hale
TOURISM & OUTDOOR RECREATION: Rep. Kim King
TRANSPORTATION: Rep. John Blanton
VETERANS, MILITARY AFFAIRS, & PUBLIC PROTECTION: Rep. Walker Thomas
Legislative Research Commission
The Kentucky General Assembly is served by a 16-member nonpartisan agency called the Legislative Research Commission (LRC). Created in 1948, the LRC provides the General Assembly with staff and research support including committee staffing, bill drafting, oversight of the state budget and educational reform, production of educational materials, maintenance of a reference library and Internet site, and the preparation and printing of research reports, informational bulletins and a legislative newspaper. It is led by the elected leadership of the Democratic and Republican parties in both the Kentucky House of Representatives and the Kentucky Senate, while the agency is run on a day-to-day basis by a Director.[14]
^Powers, James C. (1992). John E. Kleber (ed.). The Kentucky Encyclopedia. Lexington, Kentucky: The University Press of Kentucky. pp. 323–324. ISBN0-8131-1772-0. Retrieved March 11, 2010.
^Talbott, Tim (July 31, 2013). "Kentucky's Neutrality during the Civil War". history.ky.gov. By Laura Forde, Bismarck High School, Bismarck, ND. National Endowment for the Humanities, Kentucky Historical Society. Archived from the original on June 8, 2016. Retrieved September 10, 2019.
^ abMcQueen, Keven (2001). "William Goebel: Assassinated Governor". Offbeat Kentuckians: Legends to Lunatics. Ill. by Kyle McQueen. Kuttawa, Kentucky: McClanahan Publishing House. ISBN0-913383-80-5.
^ abWoodson, Urey (1939). The First New Dealer. Louisville, Kentucky: The Standard Press.