Kentucky Sen. Chris McDaniel (R-Ryland Heights), who represents much of Northern Kentucky, has refiled a bill with the General Assembly to curb the governor’s ability to issue pardons.
Specifically, Senate Bill 126 would amend the commonwealth’s constitution to prevent the governor from issuing pardons beginning 30 days before a gubernatorial election and extending until the next inauguration.
McDaniel had unsuccessfully tried to pass a similar bill in 2020. If it passes through both houses of the General Assembly, the amendment would appear as a ballot measure in a future election, at which point Kentucky voters would decide on whether the amendment is enacted.
“This proposal is designed to ensure that governors remain accountable to the voters for their actions,” McDaniel said in a press release. “While it does not remove the governor’s constitutional authority to issue pardons, it addresses a critical loophole that became evident following the 2019 gubernatorial election.”
The move follows the actions of former Gov. Matt Bevin, who issued a slew of pardons and commuting of sentences in the latter days of his office, a move that drew criticism from many lawmakers, as well as current Gov. Andy Beshear, who assumed the office of governor after Bevin.
The bill would not erase the governor’s ability to issue pardons completely, but it would curtail the office’s ability to issue them in the final days of a governor’s tenure.
“This is about safeguarding transparency and accountability in one of the most significant powers a governor wields,” McDaniel said in the same press release.