The legislature pushed through a significant amount of legislation in the final 48 hours of the 2022 General Assembly session. While there were a lot of high-priority bills on Wednesday, such as charter school legislation, an omnibus abortion bill, and the budget, a lot of important stuff went through during the final hours.
Let’s take a look at some of the legislation that went through in the dying hours.
Anti-SLAPP (Uniform Public Expression Protection Act) bill: House Bill 222 seeks to protect freedom of speech. It would offer those who speak out against a matter of public interest protection from strategic lawsuits against public participation, known as SLAPP lawsuits.
The primary co-sponsors of HB 222 are Rep. Nima Kulkarni, D-Louisville, and Rep. Jason Nemes, R-Louisville. Kulkarni has been working on the bill since 2019.
Nemes said HB 222 would protect regular people from anyone in power, regardless of their political affiliation, who seeks to silence them.
“(Strategic lawsuits against public participation) are not in the best interest of our citizens, so we want to make sure you can’t abuse the process,” Nemes said.
Kami’s Law: House Bill 263, known as Kami’s Law, makes criminal abuse against a victim under 12 years of age a Class B felony.
The bill came to Rep. Ed Massey (R-Hebron) from House Speaker David Osborne (R-Prospect) and one of his constituents, Oldham County seventh-grader Kiera Dunk, a passionate advocate against child abuse and of Kami and her family. Kami was a victim of child abuse that nearly killed her, leaving her with permanent disabilities.
“I’ve worked on a number of important bills during my time in the House, but this is by far one of the most meaningful,” Massey added. “What happened to Kami should never happen to a child, and Kiera is doing everything possible to ensure that it doesn’t. Both girls are fighters, and their stories remind us that we have an obligation to pass laws that protect our most vulnerable.”
Constables: House Bill 239 will require newly elected constables to undergo professional law enforcement training before performing certain peace officer duties.
Primary sponsor Rep. Adam Koenig, R-Erlanger, said the goal of the bipartisan measure is to make communities safer.
“Of course, not all constables are bad, but unfortunately, there’s been too many headlines to ignore the fact that constables without proper law enforcement training can be a serious problem,” Koenig said.
Name, Image, Likeness Bill: Senate Bill 6 provides a framework in state law for college athletes to generate personal income off their name, image, and likeness, known as NIL.
Ken Bothof, the director of athletics at Northern Kentucky University, and Darrin Horn, the Men’s basketball coach, were both in attendance.
“I think a lot of focus, certainly in this state, has been given to the University of Kentucky and the University of Louisville and the larger programs, Power 5, and how their student-athletes can benefit from it,” Bothof said, elaborating that it allows students and staff at NKU to figure how to structure these agreements and how it can impact their future.
Due process: House Bill 290 calls on state colleges and universities to adopt a student code of conduct for non-academic disciplinary procedures and provide students with due process protections that are similar to those in criminal and civil courts.
Two Northern Kentucky Representatives have teamed up on a bill that will protect students’ rights at universities in Kentucky. Sponsored by Rep. Kim Banta (R-Ft. Mitchell) and co-sponsored by Kim Moser (R-Taylor Mill), House Bill 290 is known as the Kentucky Campus Due Process Protection Act.
“In the course of a year, we have closely reviewed each school and their policies, their housing policies, their residential contracts, their appeals procedures, reviewed what departments are over these processes and the millions of dollars that fund them,” Banta said. “I have also worked without public universities, advocacy groups such as the Kentucky Student Rights Coalition and the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE), and groups to protect survivors of sexual violence.”
Education: Senate Bill 1 calls for local superintendents – rather than school councils – to determine educational curriculum. It also includes language from the Teaching American Principles Act, which would require instruction in social studies to align with a list of core concepts and documents that supporters say are central to American civics.
The bill, sponsored by Sen. John Schickel (R-Union), will give superintendents the power to make curriculum, textbooks, and other essential personnel decisions.
“As the years have gone by, the need for this bill has become more and more apparent for those who work in our school systems,” Schickel said
Simon Kenton Teacher Leann Lewis issued a statement in January.
“SB 1 will undermine our ability to continue to serve our kids,” Lewis said. “We, as teachers, often hear the members of the Kentucky General Assembly talk about the importance of local control. There’s no better example of effective local governance than our elected SBDM councils.”
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.”
Election security: Senate Bill 216 seeks to enhance election security through multiple changes in law, including a provision to prevent voting machines from being connected to the internet. It will also increase post-election audits for irregularities.
“I am grateful to the General Assembly for overriding the Governor’s veto of Senate Bill 216. This new law expands our post-election audit process; places our voting machines under video surveillance during non-voting hours of election periods; and accomplishes full transition to paper ballots during my term of office. These common-sense reforms will improve not only our election process, but also public confidence in our elections.”