Committee advances bill on gubernatorial pardons March 26, 2026 Sen. Christian McDaniel, R-Ryland Heights, testifies on Senate Bill 10 before the House Elections, Constitutional Amendments and Intergovernmental Affairs Committee. A high-res version is available here. FRANKFORT — Legislati on that would propose a constitutional amendment to limit the governor’s pardoning power during election periods advanced in the House Elections, Constitutional Amendments and Intergovernmental Affairs Committee on Thursday. Senate Bill 10, sponsored by Sen. Christian McDaniel, R-Ryland Heights, proposes a constitutional amendment to limit the Kentucky governor’s ability to grant pardons and commute sentences, prohibiting the exercise of that power during the 60-day period preceding a gubernatorial election through the fifth Tuesday following the election. “In essence, 90 days out of every 4 years, there is no power to pardon vested in the governor. That way, if a governor believes in a pardon strongly enough, he or she can stand in front of the voters, or have their party stand in front of the voters to decide their opinion of the pardon,” McDaniel said. Rep. Josh Calloway, R-Irvington, asked McDaniel’s thought on restricting the governor’s pardoning power based on categories of crime rather than a specific time period. McDaniel said he settled on a time limitation because that approach simply gives notice to voters when pardons take place. “The whole intent of this to ensure the voters are informed of the person or party they are casting their vote for,” he said. Rep. John Hodgson, R-Fisherville, asked what the amendment would affect outside of pardons. “We’ve talked about pardons, but I believe the language of the constitution would also include commutations. Would it also include expungements and lifting the restrictions that come with a felony conviction?” Hodgson asked. “That is an excellent question,” McDaniel replied. “I don’t believe expungements would fall under this heading. It does cover commutations and pardons, but I do not believe it covers expungements.” Rep. T.J. Roberts, R-Burlington, expressed concern that the bill might have some unintended blowback. “My concern is that there are times where innocent people are convicted and the community is absolutely convinced that they did do it, and an issue of granting a pardon at any other time other than immediately after the election would lead to blowback, even if the person was not guilty,” he said. Roberts asked McDaniel if he would be open to an amendment to the bill that would allow for pardons to take place through some other method during the 90 days the governor would not be able to issue a pardon. In response, McDaniel said that while he saw Roberts’s concern, he believed there were enough safeguards in place for the bill to not need an amendment. “There are other safeguards in place to handle the situation that you’re describing. While I appreciate the motive behind it, I believe there are sufficient safeguards in place at this point in time to allow the innocent person to move into a new administration who could review their pardon.” McDaniel said. SB 10 now goes before the House. If the bill becomes law this year, Kentucky voters would still need to ratify the proposed amendment through a ballot vote before the change could take effect. The post Committee advances bill on gubernatorial pardons appeared first on The Lexington Times. ...read more read less