FRANKFORT, Ky. — One day after the start of the Indiana legislative session, Kentucky lawmakers are preparing to meet in Frankfort Tuesday for the start of their 2020 session.
The Kentucky legislative session runs through mid-April and lawmakers already have a lot on their plate. Over 200 bills have already been pre-filed for this year's session.
These pre-filed bills cover dozens of topics including:
- Marijuana legalization
- Increasing the minimum wage
- Banning corporal punishment in schools
- Banning abortion
- Requiring students in Kentucky schools to use the bathroom ascribed to their birth gender
- Allowing concealed-carry of guns without a license
- Allowing casino gambling
- Adding cameras to school bus stop signs
- Banning cell phone use while driving
Some bills are introduced to show support for a cause rather than pushing for a change in the law. BR 285, for example, covers better protections against children left in hot cars. If it's passed, it wouldn't change Kentucky law at all - it would just urge the U.S. Congress to take up a similar law.
While bills on these topics have been filed, that doesn't necessarily mean they'll all get passed. In 2019, 786 bills were introduced into the Kentucky state legislature. Only about a quarter of them actually became laws.
While almost 200 new laws were passed in Kentucky last year, many bills were abandoned on the cutting room floor.
You can see all the pre-filed bills for the 2020 Kentucky legislative session online.
Contact reporter Rob Harris at rjharris@whas11.com. Follow him on Twitter (@robharristv) and Facebook.
Make it easy to keep up-to-date with more stories like this. Download the WHAS11 News app now. For Apple or Android users.
Have a news tip? Email assign@whas11.com, visit our Facebook page or Twitter feed.