Democratic lawmakers opposed Republican rule changes that they said will stifle debate and limit their constituents’ voices as the Kentucky General Assembly kicked off its 2025 session Tuesday in Frankfort. Republican supermajorities in both chambers easily overcame the Democrats’ objections which mainly centered on rule changes that would allow floor debates to be cut off more quickly when Republicans are ready to take a final vote on controversial bills. Republicans hold 80 of the 100 House seats and 31 of 38 seats in the Senate, giving Republican leaders an easy path to enacting the rule changes along party lines. In the Senate, Democratic Caucus Chair Sen. Reggie Thomas, of Lexington, called the rule changes “an attempt by this chamber to cut off debate, to limit the voice of those who are in opposition, to exclude the ability of committee chairs to have the ability to consider bills” and “to gag the members of this body.” In the House, Rep. Sarah Stalker, D-Louisville, called the change an effort to “stifle dissent.” “The ability to debate a bill on the House floor is not merely a procedural formality,” she said. “It is the beating heart of a representative democracy. So, to silence voices and to stifle dissent is to deny the very essence of our republic.” Majority Floor Leader Rep. Steven Rudy, R-Paducah, countered that “no one is being silenced by this” update to the rules and it’s “very rare” the issue comes up at all. Rudy stressed that more than a simple majority of representatives is required to end debate via a previous question motion. But Rep. Rachel Roarx, D-Louisville, called it a “sobering” change that “could have devastating consequences.” “I do not believe that the rule changes before us inspire the level of trust and transparency that our constituents and all Kentuckians deserve,” she said. But Rudy said: “The greatest speech is that red or green button that no one — no one — is questioning anybody having the right to do. We were sent here to represent and to vote on measures, not just to talk for extended periods of times to prove a point and, sometimes, play a political game of running out the clock.” There was no repeat of last year when a handful of Republicans challenged House rules at the start of the session in an attempt to loosen leadership’s control, but were defeated. They were seeking t changes including adding rank and file representatives to the powerful Rules Committee which is now made up of only leadership members. Republican Floor Leader Sen. Max Wise, of Campbellsville, said the Senate rules also clarify that a discharge petition on a bill must be filed and read into the record a day before a floor vote. After the rules debate, Republican Senate President Robert Stivers, of Manchester, predicted the news media would focus attention on the partisan disagreement. Addressing journalists in the chamber, Stivers said, “But if some of y’all haven’t looked around, you may want to look in the mirror, because some of you are a dying breed — only you’re reporting that which is negative and divisive and trying to create division in the state. “But as I have heard on several occasions, we will have disagreement on this floor about how we proceed.” Elections and oaths of office The General Assembly also formally elects leaders at the start of the session. Stivers won reelection as Senate president with no opposition on Tuesday. The Republican caucus previously backed him, as well as President Pro Tempore David Givens, of Greensburg, in a November election. Former Republican Senate President and current judge David Wallace administered Stivers the oath of office. In a statement thanking his constituents for reelecting him to the Senate, Stivers acknowledged Republicans who came before him in the Senate. Republicans took control of the body in 2000. “I am mindful of the leaders who preceded me in this role, such as David Williams and (former Sen.) Dan Kelly, who laid the foundation for conservative policies that have shaped Kentucky’s direction,” Stivers said. “I am confident that our Senate majority will keep advancing proven economic policies that benefit our state’s future.” In the House, Republican House Speaker David Osborne, of Prospect, also won re-election with no challengers and began a fourth term in the role. Like the Senate, House Republicans re-elect him and Speaker Pro Tem David Meade, R-Stanford, in an election last fall. Newly elected and re-elected legislators in both chambers were also administered oaths of office Tuesday. Bills to come Lawmakers began introducing bills on Tuesday, including House Bill 1, a Republican priority, to reduce the individual incomes tax rate. Because the General Assembly isn’t considering the state’s two-year budget and it’s an odd-numbered year, they will only meet for 30 days this session. Sen. Chris McDaniel, R-Ryland Heights, re-filed a proposed constitutional amendment to limit governors’ pardons and commutations powers around elections. The bill, which gained bipartisan support in the Senate last year but died in the House, will be known as Senate Bill 126 again. Kentuckians will not vote on constitutional amendments again until 2026. “This proposal is designed to ensure that governors remain accountable to the voters for their actions,” McDaniel said in a statement about the proposal. “While it does not remove the governor’s constitutional authority to issue pardons, it addresses a critical loophole that became evident following the 2019 gubernatorial election.” ‘Roadblock to transparency’: No prefiled bills await Kentucky legislature for third year McDaniel filed the 2023 legislation after reading a news story about a sentence commutation former Republican Gov. Matt Bevin had issued to a man convicted of abduction, rape, robbery and murder. The man was up for a parole hearing, but the Kentucky Parole Board ultimately decided the man should serve the remainder of his sentence. After Bevin lost the 2019 election to Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear, Bevin issued a flurry of pardons. In the House, Rep. Rachel Roarx, D-Louisville, filed legislation — House Bill 80 — on Tuesday to bring back the practice of pre-filing bills, to “ensure that … members of the public know what’s coming before session begins and can start to reach out to us about their opinions before we get here the first week.” Three years ago, the General Assembly eliminated those measures, which allowed proposed bills to be publicly accessible ahead of a legislative session. The post KY legislature opens with Democrats decrying GOP rule changes they say will stifle debate appeared first on The Lexington Times.