While a House and Senate panel works toward a compromise budget, many other measures are taking a back seat for now.
All eyes are on the constitutionally required two-year spending plan, which lawmakers hope to roll out by Wednesday, but a long list of priority bills are waiting in the wings.
The odds look favorable for measures stiffening penalties for habitual drunk drivers, providing for closer monitoring of bullying in schools, and crafting new guidelines for local needle exchange programs.
Meanwhile, hot topics of conversation early in the session – restoration of voting rights for some former felons, a charter school pilot program, and right-to-work initiatives – all languish in committee. Two bills on their way to the governor accelerate the testing of the Kentucky backlog of rape kits and set up a framework for public-private partnerships, which can be used to finance major capital projects.
On the latter, Bevin has sounded cautious in the past, but in a video posted to his Facebook page last week he appears receptive.
"There's no cause for concern. I'm strongly opposed to the idea of tolling roads where people don't want them tolled, where private companies have the ability to claw back against the taxpayer," he says. "That is not something that is a concern for this legislation."
Only a handful of bills have so far cleared all hurdles and officially hit the books, the first being Senate Bill 4 requiring in-person meetings between women and their physicians at least 24 hours prior to an abortion.
The 2016 General Assembly is scheduled to adjourn on April 12th.
