Kentuckians vote against allowing legislators to call themselves into special session

KENTUCKY. (WKYT) - Kentucky voters have no to a constitutional amendment that would have allowed legislators to call themselves into a special session.

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Kentucky is one of 14 states in which only the governor can call a special session. The governor also dictates what’s on the agenda of the special session when it’s called.

“Historically, Kentucky has had a very strong governor,” said Dr.Stephen Voss, associate professor of political science at UK. “Especially, because the legislature doesn’t get to meet for very long, and when the cats are away, the mouse gets to play.”

Amendment 1 boiled down to a clash of power that has been brewing since the pandemic between a Democratic governor and a Republican legislature.

“If the legislature can call itself into special session, they’ll be able to decide also what topics they’d like to address,” said Voss.