Don’t expect a whole lot of legislation to be passed during this first week of the Kentucky General Assembly, but real progress could be made sooner than in the past due to a number of factors.
Eighth District state Representative Walker Thomas notes the deadline to file as a candidate for the state House or Senate is Friday of this week instead of late this month and that change could put some lawmakers at ease a little earlier in the session.
Senator Whitney Westerfield agrees the change could make a real difference.
The first week will be made up largely of mandatory ethics training for legislators.
Representative Myron Dossett of Pembroke says the biennial budget will loom large over the session and he doesn’t expect any big pension reform or tax code modernization bills to pass.
Governor Andy Beshear will give his budget address to the General Assembly and Representative Dossett says the House is hopeful to get its version of the spending plan to the Senate by the end of February.
The 2020 session begins Tuesday in Frankfort.