LOUISVILLE, Ky. — A Kentucky bill that could change the way Louisville's elections operate is making its way through the state legislature and is now one House vote away from heading to Governor Andy Beshear's desk.
WHAS11 saw a post on the social media network Reddit referencing House Bill 388, which would make both Louisville's mayoral and Metro Council elections nonpartisan.
The bill includes other provisions like requiring Metro Government to reimburse suburban fire departments for emergency trips they make into the city's urban district and implementing a one-year moratorium on any local changes to Louisville's land development code.
"It should be illegal to make laws that apply only to one city and not the entire state," one user commented on the original Reddit post.
Is the legislation's effort constitutional? Let's verify.
THE QUESTION
Is the Kentucky legislature allowed to craft legislation aimed at only one city?
OUR SOURCES
- Ken Katkin, a professor of law at Northern Kentucky University’s Chase College of Law
- Kentucky's state constitution
THE ANSWER
WHAT WE FOUND
House Bill 388 does not call out Louisville by name, but it does identify Kentucky's largest city in a clear way.
“It says 'consolidated local government formerly comprising the city of the first class,'" Katkin said. "The city of the first class is Louisville. So, that's just a term that's used to mean Louisville."
Ever since the passage of Kentucky House Bill 331 in 2014, Kentucky cities are broken down into two classes -- first class and home rule class. According to Kentucky’s Constitution, if the General Assembly passes a law targeting first class cities, it must apply evenly to all first class cities.
It just so happens that Louisville is the only first class city in the state.
So, can the legislature pass any law targeting Louisville because it’s the only Kentucky city of its kind? Generally, it depends on if the law empowering the city or taking power away.
"If the legislature tries to take powers away from a locality, that's going to be more problematic than if they try to empower a locality," Katkin said. "Section 156A, 156B and 157 mainly only authorize the state legislature to empower local governments to have more local control over some issues, but doesn't authorize them to take certain powers away."
Whether that’s the case with House Bill 388, if it becomes law, will likely be for the courts to decide.
But for now, we can VERIFY that yes, the Kentucky legislature is generally allowed to pass laws targeting one city as long as it is fairly applied to all other cities of that size -- and it isn’t taking power away from any one specific locality.
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