Tagged: redistricting

It appears likely that Governor Beshear will call a special session of the Kentucky General Assembly to redraw legislative districts for the House and Senate.   The governor says details are still being worked out.

"I’m talking with legislative leaders in the House and Senate right now," Beshear said.   "And I think everybody, if we can work it out, would probably like to do it in the fall and let everybody have the summer while kids are out of school and they have some vacation time, and then wait until we get in back in school before we have the special session."

House Speaker Greg Stumbo is encouraging Gov. Steve Beshear to soon call a General Assembly special session so that lawmakers can pass new state legislative redistricting maps and end a federal lawsuit.

Last week,  several county clerks in Northern Kentucky filed a federal lawsuit claiming the state's inability to finish redistricting violated federal law. In response, Stumbo  sent a letter to the governor encouraging him to call a special session.

Despite passing some pension and tax reforms in this year's Kentucky General Assembly session, state lawmakers aren't out of the clear when it comes to another special session.

A few big issues still remain for lawmakers—mainly redistricting and more tax reform.

Gov. Steve Beshear has the sole authority to call a special sessions and to set their agenda. And with Beshear continuing to express a need for more tax reform to pay for education, he's not ruling out calling a special session sometime this year.

Kentucky's legislative leaders have hope they can finish redistricting before the current session ends later this month.

New legislative districts were drafted and passed last year to reflect the 2010 Census. A judge threw them out, however, saying lawmakers did not properly divide up the state.

The House has already passed a new map of its districts, but the Senate has shown no interest in it.

Speaker Greg Stumbo says he wants the map approved so House lawmakers can know their new districts and make decisions on whether to run for re-election.