Gov. Andy Beshear announced the Kentucky primary election scheduled for May 19 will be delayed until June 23.

The election is being delayed because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Gov. Beshear made the announcement Monday evening at a press conference at the Capitol.

Secretary of State Michael Adams hand-delivered a letter to Beshear in the afternoon recommending all Kentucky elections scheduled for May 19, including primaries, special elections, and local option elections, be delayed 35 days.

House and Senate leadership announced the legislative session will continue as scheduled with some precautions to mitigate the spread of COVID-19.

Beginning Tuesday, March 17, only elected members, staff, and members of the media will be allowed in the Capitol Annex until further notice.

Governor Beshear has already closed the Capitol.

In order to ensure transparency and accessibility, there will be an increase in live streaming services and broadcasting by Kentucky Education Television (KET).

The KET will broadcast committee meetings and House and Senate Floor proceedings.

Effective immediately, the Legislative Ethics Commission has requested updated registration statements be filed either by fax or via email, by scanning and sending the signed forms.

• • Fax to (502) 573-2929
  • Email to Donnita.crittenden@lrc.ky.gov  or lori.smither@lrc.ky.gov

To change from paper filing to filing online, please email the above for an ID and password.

This is a preventative measure to cut down on unnecessary mail handling and interaction by their staff, in order to keep the spread of the coronavirus to a minimum.

Gov. Andy Beshear called a special election to fill two open seats in House District 67 and House District 99.

Rep. Rocky Adkins, a Democrat from Sandy Hook resigned to become Beshear’s senior adviser.

Rep. Dennis Keene, a Democrat from Wilder, resigned to become commissioner of the Department of Local Government.

The elections will be held February 25, 2020.

Gov. Matt Bevin executed a writ of election to fill the vacant Senate 38th District seat.

The special election will be held on Tuesday, January 14, 2020.

The seat became vacant after Sen. Dan Seum resigned effective November 16.

Gov. Matt Bevin conceded defeat after a recanvass of last week’s gubernatorial election results showed he was still trailing Andy Beshear by more than 5,000 votes.

During his announcement, Bevin stated he would not contest the results of the election.

Beshear will be sworn into office on December 10, 2019.

Kentucky Senate President Robert Stivers created more election controversy, stating the legislature could decide the hotly contested governor’s race.

The comments came shortly after Gov. Matt Bevin refused to concede to Attorney General Andy Beshear, who led by roughly 5,100 votes when all of the votes were counted.

There is less than one-half of 1% separating the two candidates.

Gov. Bevin formally requested an official recanvass of the election results.

Secretary of State Alison Lundergan Grimes announced she will forward the recanvassing request to the State Board of Elections.

The county board of elections will convene on November 14 at 9:00 a.m. to conduct the recanvass.

Gov. Matt Bevin announced Tuesday, November 5 as the special election date to fill the sudden vacancy of House District 18.

Rep. Tim Moore resigned his seat midterm, citing his own belief in term limits.

The special election will be held on the same date as the statewide general election.

The Legislative Ethics Commission unanimously recommended that the 2020 General Assembly pass legislation prohibiting legislators and lobbyists from engaging in sexual and workplace harassment against legislative employees, other legislators, and lobbyists.

In past cases involving allegations of sexual harassment, the commission has followed more general ethics laws relating to the misuse of office.

The recommended change would add specific workplace protections into the legislative ethics law and categorize sexual harassment as ethical misconduct, punishable by fines or other sanctions.

The commission also recommended that the ethics law be amended to grant the commission the authority to adjudicate a complaint filed against a legislator, even if the legislator leaves office after the complaint is filed, as long as the complaint is based on action that occurred not more than a year prior to the day the legislator left office.

During the 2019 session, several bills relating to sexual harassment were filed but none were approved by the legislature.

The Kentucky Legislative Ethics Commission has selected Laura Hromyak Hendrix to serve as the new executive director.

She is currently serving as the commission’s legal counsel.

Hendrix will assume the post on September 1 following the retirement of current director John Schaaf.

Gov. Matt Bevin announced a special election for the vacated 63rd House District seat.

The special election will be held on November 5, the same day as the general election.

Rep. Diane St. Onge resigned from the 63rd House seat on August 12, citing a new marriage and move out to California.

Gov. Matt Bevin signed a bill into law that allows Kentucky regional universities and “quasi” state agencies to avoid a massive spike in pension costs in exchange for exiting the state’s ailing pension systems.

Bevin called a special legislative session last week for lawmakers to address the issue after spending months working on the pension bill with Republican leaders of the legislature.

After Bevin signed the bill, the legislature ended the special session.

Gov. Matt Bevin announced he will convene the Kentucky General Assembly into special session at 8 a.m. on July 19.

Since the conclusion of the 2019 regular session, Bevin has been working with state legislators preparing for a special session to help Kentucky’s quasi-agencies from the financial burden caused by the state’s looming public pension crisis.

Agencies needing help include regional universities, health departments, domestic violence centers, and community health centers,

An official proclamation will be issued later this week in accordance with the Kentucky Constitution.

Gov. Matt Bevin is set to call a special legislative session to pass a bill giving relief to quasi-governmental groups from the soaring pension costs they must pay starting this month.

The special session will have to start on July 19 or regional universities, health departments, and others will have to wait until after a critical deadline to receive relief from a massive increase in pension costs.

Lawmakers passed a bill providing relief in March, but Bevin vetoed the bill because of concerns that parts of the bill were illegal and the measure would be financially harmful to the state’s cash strapped pension funds.