'Restrictive on its face': Democrats voice transparency concerns on Kentucky Legislature's first day

Alex Acquisto and Austin Horn, Lexington Herald-Leader on Jan 7, 2025

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The first day of the Kentucky General Assembly’s regular session brought with it the expected formalities of swearing in new members, introduction of their guests and a helping of pomp and circumstance.

It also came with what’s become another routine: procedural rule changes by the ruling Republican majorities that Democrats say will stifle input from the political minority.

Republicans, who control 80% majorities in the House and Senate, pushed for changes that allow the majority to more quickly cut debate short on certain bills. Under the new rules, more limits are placed on debate after a “previous question” motion to expedite a bill’s passage is made.

The House’s new rules end debate when two-thirds of members vote on such a motion.

House Majority Floor Leader Steven Rudy introduced it among other changes to the House’s Rules of Procedure, which he said brings them in line with Mason’s Manual of Legislative Procedures.

“When two-thirds of the House says debate is over, then debate is over and we will vote,” the Paducah Republican said Tuesday on the House floor.

The Senate eliminated 10-minute windows of time for opponents and proponents to speak on the measure, but kept a provision allowing members to explain their votes.

Senate Minority Floor Leader Gerald Neal said he never got a satisfactory answer from Republicans proposing the changes on why they were needed. He called the change “restrictive on its face.”

“We’re limiting the ability to express and engage from the public,” the Louisville Democrat said. “When you say that we cannot have debate on the floor, you are actually limiting the ability to communicate with the public what is taking place in this body.”

The other House changes to the rules include:

—Streamlining the filing of “noncontroversial bills” to make it easier for the clerks organizing those bills.

—Disallowing House members, speaking in favor or opposition to a bill, to read aloud “materials that have not been distributed to all House members” on the House floor, such as emails or newspaper articles.

—Allowing a two-thirds majority vote to officially end debate on a bill. (Previously, after a motion is made on a bill, members had two minutes to explain their vote).

The Senate also repealed a rule that had blocked the Committee on Committees, where all bills must start, from not assigning a bill to a committee for more than five days. Now bills in the Committee on Committees can remain there without being assigned to a committee, potentially taking heat off committee chairs who might otherwise be pressured to hear a certain bill.

The adjustments, approved along party lines on Tuesday, come at a time when Republicans, who maintain the political supermajority, have been chided by accountability groups for curtailing overall transparency and limiting participation in the passage of bills.

The Kentucky League of Women Voters for two consecutive years has released a report highlighting what it calls a “pattern of increasing use of fast-track maneuvers that make participation more difficult.”

House Democrats decried the procedural changes as stifling their input and the ability to cite expert sources during bill debate.

“The ability to debate a bill on the House floor is not merely a procedural formality, it is the beating heart of a representative democracy,” said Rep. Sarah Stalker, D-Louisville.

“No one’s being silenced by this,” Rudy said, shaking his head. The two-thirds threshold to end bill debate is actually higher than the threshold set out by Mason’s, which is a simple majority, he said.

Hours of debate over bills will still occur, he added: “You’re acting like everyone is being silenced, and it’s simply not the truth. This is all hyperbole.”

Senate President Robert Stivers said the disagreement in the Senate will be over-hyped in the media. He blasted what he claims is overly negative coverage.

“The media will probably take away from today the fact that we’ve had a debate and discussion on the rules. They’ll report all the things that will be divisive and things to try to generate viewership and readership,” the Manchester Republican said.

“But if some of you haven’t looked around, you may want to look in the mirror, because some of you all are a dying breed, only reporting that which is negative and divisive and trying to create the vision in the state.”

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