FRANKFORT, Ky. (LEX 18) — Kentucky Senators approved a motion that ended discussion of the controversial HB 470 bill, allowing discussion and a potential vote to take place the last day before the veto period.
Republican lawmakers will have until midnight Thursday to get a bill approved in the Senate and then sent back to the House for them to approve change. If they can’t get it done by then, they would be unable to override Governor Beshear’s likely veto and the bill would in effect die this legislative session.
The bill is seen by some as a “anti-trans/don’t say gay/pronoun/bathroom bill.” The bill, as originally presented in the senate Wednesday, bans gender-confirming care for people under 18, bans teachers from discussing gender identity and sexual orientation in their classes, and forces districts to create restroom policies for transgender students.
An amendment that narrowly passed Wednesday softens some of the language in HB 470 surrounding gender-affirming care. Democratic Minority Chair Senator Reggie Thomas joined Republicans to vote for the motion, explaining his vote by saying it would make a “bad bill better.”
Republicans were split in that vote. After both the amendment’s passing, and a short break for firefighters to investigate a smell, legislators voted to lay the bill on the clerk’s desk, allowing for them to pick it up and continue their discussion the next day.
It’s not clear if Republicans will have the votes to pass HB470 on Thursday, said Senate President Stivers, who is a Republican.
“Individuals I think voted for the amendment then voted to place it on the table because of confusion with what the language talks about,” Stivers said. “I think there was a lack of knowledge as to what all the amendments and the subject matter meant, this is not the easiest of subject matter topics.”
Senator Thomas said the move to delay a vote until tomorrow is because Republicans realized they are splintered when it comes to the bill, with half of them he says believing the bill goes too far.
“They realize how divisive this bill is, how destructive it is to LGBTQ children and they don’t want it, half of them do,” Senator Thomas said. “Certainly Democrats don’t want this... There’s nothing good about this bill. Anytime you allow children to be bullied, that’s not good. Anytime you allow children to be harassed, that’s not good.”
