Gov. Andy Beshear has been busy so far this veto period. He’s vetoed most of the bills that he was expected to veto. He still hasn’t vetoed the omnibus abortion bill, which had some last minuted language to include Sen. Max Wise’s (R-Campbellsville) 15-week abortion ban. The ban would be similar to Mississippi’s, and if the court overturns Roe V. Wade during the summer, it will effectively end abortion in Kentucky.
With supermajorities in both the Senate and House chambers, they will have the power to override any of the governor’s vetoes. But, Beshear believes that any override of a legislative veto is “on their conscience.”
Here’s a look at a couple of the bills the governor has vetoed so far.
Senate Bill 1
Sponsored by Sen. John Schickel (R-Union), SB1 would take a school’s decision-making power away from the Site Base Decision Making Council and put it into the hands of superintendents. Under the bill, superintendents would have the ability to make curriculum, textbooks, and other important personnel decisions. They would also be able to hire principals, moving that power away from the councils. Schickel worked on the bill for roughly seven years as different versions went through the legislative process.
The Senate also added some last-minute language from Sen. Wise’s SB138, which would require schools to teach 24 documents recommended by the conservative Ashbrook Institute. Among the documents are Ronald Reagan’s political speech “A Time for Choosing” and “The Mayflower Compact.”
Beshear’s Veto Message: “I am vetoing Senate Bill 1 because it lessens, if not eliminates, the participation and input of parents in making decisions on both school personnel and curriculum, and represents a step backward for public education.”
Senate Bill 83
The “anti-trans sports bill” will ban transgender girls from participating in female sports. Twelve-year-old transgender girl Fischer Wells from Louisville testified at multiple committee meetings throughout the session. In other words, any transgender person who identifies as a girl, but is born a biological male, won’t be able to participate in female sports. Instead, they will have to participate within their biologically born group under the law.
“It is disgusting this bill is even suggested,” Wells said at the Senate committee meeting.
The bill is sponsored by Senators Robby Mills (R-Henderson), Max Wise (R-Campbellsville), Danny Carroll (R-Benton), Rick Girdler (R-Somerset), Phillip Wheeler (R-Pikeville), and Mike Wilson (R-Bowling Green).
“Over the past few years, state legislatures across the nation have introduced or passed bills banning those who are biologically male from competing in women’s sports,” Mills wrote in an op-ed ahead of the release of the bill: “In 2021 alone, eight states enacted legislation banning transgender individuals from participating in women’s athletics to some degree. It is now Kentucky’s turn.”
Beshear’s veto message: “The General Assembly calls Senate Bill 83 the ‘Fairness in Women’s Sports Act.’ If it were truly the intention of the General Assembly to prevent unfair advantage in women’s sports, it needed to look no further than the policies of the Kentucky High School Athletic Association. Importantly the KHSAA ‘recognizes and promotes the ability of transgender student-athletes to participate in the privilege of interscholastic sports and sport-activities free from unlawful discrimination based on sexual orientation.'”
The governor has until next Wednesday to veto any other bills. The last major bill, besides abortion, will be the budget. Beshear has the option to veto line items in the budget, so it will be interesting to see what he wants to be cut out of the budget.