Kentucky House of Representatives

Kentucky Lawmaker Wants To Increase Term Length for House Members

By • Dec 29, 2019
legislature.ky.gov

A lawmaker from western Kentucky wants to double the length of time state representatives serve in office. Such a move would require a change to the state’s constitution. 

Rep. Richard Heath wants to increase the length of legislative terms for Kentucky House members from two to four years. He also thinks the state’s elections should be staggered so that only 50 members of the House are up for election at a time, instead of all 100. 

 

Heath serves Graves and McCracken counties and plans to introduce a bill including those changes during the 2020 General Assembly. The Republican from Mayfield says the way the state currently elects its House members is confusing to many voters.


Recount in Kentucky House Race Ends in Tie

By • Feb 2, 2019
J. Tyler Franklin

A recount in a contested Kentucky state House race where a Democrat was elected by a one-vote margin has ended in a tie.

Owensboro Democrat Jim Glenn defeated Republican State Rep. DJ Johnson on Election Day by one vote. But the Republican-controlled state legislature ordered a recount at Johnson's request.

Saturday, the Daviess County Board of Elections recounted the more than 12,000 ballots by hand. A review of ballots cast on Election Day showed Glenn leading Johnson by two votes. But the board decided to count five of 17 rejected absentee ballots. Three of those ballots went for Johnson, one went for Glenn and one was blank. 

Jody Richards: Reflections of a Kentucky Statesman

By Barbara Deeb • Jan 3, 2019
LRC Public Affairs

When Legislators convene the 2019 session of the Kentucky General Assembly on Jan. 8, one prominent Democrat will be absent.  After more than 40 years of service to the Commonwealth, Representative Jody Richards begins his retirement.  The former House Speaker and Democratic gubernatorial candidate says there are many challenges facing lawmakers, but one issue is critical.

"The most important issue facing the Commonwealth always is education  - elementary, secondary, and higher - that’s the main function of state government," Richards said. "We spend somewhere around 55 percent of the state budget on education, so to me that is such an important part of state government.”


Kentucky House Republicans Fire Sexual Harassment Whistleblower

By • Dec 3, 2018
Wikimedia Commons

Republican leaders of the Kentucky House of Representatives have fired a staffer who last year claimed she was punished for reporting that lawmakers had sexually harassed her colleague.

Daisy Olivo was the communications director for the House Republican caucus. Nearly a year ago she filed a lawsuit alleging she had been punished for sounding the alarm on an inappropriate relationship between then-House Speaker Jeff Hoover and a staffer.

Kentucky Lawmaker Proposes Explicit Ban On Statehouse Harassment

By • Nov 28, 2018
LRC Public Information

A Democratic state representative has filed legislation that would create an explicit ban on sexual harassment in the statehouse and a process to handle complaints.

The legislature’s ethics rules don’t currently ban sexual harassment, though in recent years lawmakers have been punished for harassing employees under a rule that bans misuse of their official positions.

Rep. Kelly Flood, a Democrat from Lexington, says that after recent instances of harassment in the statehouse, the legislature is facing a “critical moment.”

In Statehouse Primaries, Teachers Hope To Ride Outrage Into Office

By • May 21, 2018
Ryland Barton

Kentucky voters will head to the polls on Tuesday to decide who will compete for seats in the state legislature this fall.

This year’s statehouse primary elections feature a handful of crowded contests for seats vacated by retiring legislators. And dozens of teachers are hoping to ride a wave of outrage into Frankfort after launching massive protests at the state Capitol this spring.

Travis Brenda has been teaching at Rockcastle County High School for the last 19 years. He lives on a farm in Cartersville in southern Garrard County. Brenda is a Republican but he said he’s disappointed in how the fully-Republican controlled legislature is doing business.


Kentucky Politics Distilled: Primary Edition

By • May 18, 2018
J. Tyler Franklin

This week in Kentucky politics, candidates made their final pushes ahead of next week’s primary elections. Voters across the state will weigh in on who to nominate for Congress, the state legislature and several local offices on Tuesday. Plus, Gov. Matt Bevin named a new secretary of the state health cabinet and headed off to Asia on a trade mission.


Ky. House And Senate Nominations Up For Grabs In Primaries Next Week

By • May 18, 2018
Wikimedia Commons

Next week, Kentucky voters will head to the polls to weigh in on primary elections, including who to nominate for state legislative elections this fall.

All 100 seats in the state House of Representatives and half of the 38 seats in the state Senate are up for re-election this year.

At least 40 current and retired educators are running after the legislature voted to make changes to retirement for current and future teachers and other state workers.

And a wave of retirements from the statehouse has sparked hotly contested primaries, with both of Kentucky’s major political parties hoping to flip districts in their favor.

Two Businessmen and a Retired Air Force Veteran Seeking GOP Nomination for Richards' House Seat

By • May 16, 2018

Three Warren County Republicans are running for the southern Kentucky House seat held by Democrat Jody Richards since 1976.  Ben Lawson, Troy Brooks, and Todd Alcott are seeking the GOP nomination for the 20th District House seat, which covers part of Warren County including Bowling Green.

WKU Public Radio is introducing you to all the candidates on the ballot in next week’s primary election.  We previously reported on the five Democrats in the race, including Patti Minter, Slim Nash, Ashlea Shepherd Porter, Rick DuBose, and Eldon Renuad. 

A Former Mayor, Businessman, and Lawyer Among Five Democrats Eyeing Richards' Seat

By Lisa Autry • May 15, 2018

A coveted seat in the Kentucky House will soon have a new representative for the first time since 1976.  Former House Speaker Jody Richards announced earlier this year he would not seek re-election. 

Ahead of the May 22 primary, WKU Public Radio is airing a series of reports introducing you to each of the five Democrats and three Republicans seeking to replace Richards.  Democrats Brian Slim Nash and Patti Minter were profiled in a previous story.  The remaining three Democrats in the race, Ashlea Shepherd Porter, Rick DuBose, and Eldon Renaud, are heard in this report.


Professor, City Commissioner Among Eight Candidates Vying for Richards' House Seat

By • May 14, 2018

When veteran State Representative Jody Richards announced earlier this year that he wouldn’t seek re-election, several political newcomers were waiting in the wings. 

Eight candidates are running for the Kentucky House in the 20th District, a seat that hasn’t been vacant in more than four decades. 

In the days leading up to the May 22 primary election, WKU Public Radio is profiling each of the candidates.

Kentucky House GOP Caucus Chief of Staff Resigns

By Associated Press • Jan 26, 2018
J. Tyler Franklin, WFPL

The chief of staff for the Kentucky House Republican Caucus has resigned amid fallout from a sexual harassment scandal involving four Republican lawmakers.

The Herald-Leader reports Ginger Wills resigned Friday. House Majority Leader Jonathan Shell confirmed her resignation but offered no details.

Wills was chief of staff under former House Speaker Jeff Hoover. Hoover stepped down as speaker earlier this month after acknowledging he was one of four Republican lawmakers to sign a secret sexual harassment settlement with a woman who once worked for the caucus. Wills was also named in the settlement, accused of creating a hostile work environment.

Ex-Kentucky House Speaker Running for Re-election

By • Jan 19, 2018
Ryland Barton

The former Kentucky House speaker who stepped down after signing a secret sexual harassment settlement is running for re-election.

The Secretary of State's website shows that Jeff Hoover filed paperwork Thursday to seek re-election. Hoover resigned as speaker earlier this month after acknowledging he and three other GOP lawmakers signed a secret sexual harassment settlement involving a woman who once worked for the House Republican caucus. Hoover did not resign his seat in the legislature.

In Wake Of GOP Sexual Harassment Allegations, Bevin Calls For Resignations

By • Nov 5, 2017
J. Tyler Franklin

Gov. Matt Bevin is calling for the immediate resignation of all elected officials and staff who have been involved in settling or hiding sexual harassment allegations.

The announcement came in a quickly-organized news conference Saturday afternoon amid allegations that House Speaker Jeff Hoover and several Republican leaders in the chamber had secretly settled sexual harassment claims.

Bevin called for the immediate resignation of  “every individual who has settled a sexual harassment case” and state employees “party to trying to hide this type of behavior.”

Kentucky General Assembly Convenes Under New Republican Control

By • Jan 3, 2017
Ryland Barton

Republicans are officially the majority party in the state House of Representatives for the first time since 1921, putting the party in control of the legislature and the governorship for the first time in state history.

As expected, Jeff Hoover, a Republican from Jamestown, was elected House Speaker after serving as the leader of the minority party for 15 years.

On Tuesday, the first day of the legislative session, Hoover called for unity.

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