LIST: Gov. Andy Beshear signs bills targeting education and economic growth

FRANKFORT, Ky. (WBKO) - Gov. Andy Beshear has signed three bills that support education and economic growth. He has vetoed nine additional bills and returned three more bills without a signature.

“I’m proud to support two bills that will help our students get the very best education,” Gov. Beshear said in a release. “And I am excited to see Kentucky’s film industry grow and bring new jobs and opportunities to families across the commonwealth.”

SIGNED BILLS:

Gov. Beshear signed the following bills, which will become law on their effective dates:

House Bill 208 limits cellphone use in schools during instructional time, which aims to increase student well-being and decrease bullying.
House Bill 298 helps low-performing schools seek assistance to improve outcomes for students.
Senate Bill 1 creates the Kentucky Film Office and promotes the growth of the Kentucky film industry.

LIST: Gov. Beshear signs 20 bills, vetoes 12

VETOED BILLS:

Gov. Beshear vetoed the following bills, to “protect public education, safeguard taxpayer dollars and more”:

According to Beshear, House Bill 240 does not solve the issue of children not being prepared for kindergarten or first grade, and the Governor urged lawmakers to fund the real solution, which is universal pre-K. The Governor wrote in his veto message, “In the current biennial budget I recommended $172 million be appropriated to begin funding universal preschool for Kentucky’s 4-year-olds. The legislature did not act. House Bill 240 is not the answer. We should prepare, not punish, our youngest learners. Further – as an unintended consequence – the bill will keep some students from being eligible to play sports in their senior year.” Read the veto message.
House Bill 346 allows at least one entity to side-step the majority of emission fees they owe to the commonwealth. Read the veto message.
House Bill 552 violates the Kentucky Constitution by creating a legislative board to carry out an executive function of advancing bilateral trade and investment between Kentucky and Ireland. The Governor wrote in his veto message, “However, I am willing to create such a board through an executive order and am more than willing to meet with the bill’s sponsor to ensure its goals are met.” Read the veto message.
House Bill 695 will create barriers and delays for more than 1,600,000 Kentucky adults and children who access health care through Medicaid and the Kentucky Children’s Health Insurance Program, or KCHIP. Another section of the bill, if approved, would result in Kentuckians losing their health care. Read the veto message.
House Joint Resolution 46 received line-item vetoes to correct the names of roads. Read the veto message.
Senate Bill 19 would be violated when kindergarteners cannot stay silent in their seats and do not allow students whose religion practices standing prayer to do so. A second part of the bill would cause students to miss out on important instructional time. Read the veto message.
Senate Bill 25 received line-item vetoes because the bill contradicts what lawmakers said last year when they moved to make the Office of the Ombudsman independent. The Governor wrote in his veto message, “This bill makes the Ombudsman’s office less independent than ever, and in one place even defines the Ombudsman as the Auditor. Moving the Office of the Ombudsman to operate at the will of the Auditor removes any independence of that office.” Read the veto message.
Senate Bill 183 prevents the Kentucky Public Pensions Authority from having discretion over how they monitor the companies that Kentucky invest millions of dollars in. Read the veto message.
Senate Bill 207 would diminish the quality of public education throughout the commonwealth by creating unequal educational standards between local school districts. Read the veto message.

RETURNED BILLS:

The bills that were returned without the Governor’s signature:

House Bill 520 – The Governor supports transparency but understands the need to protect ongoing criminal investigations.
House Bill 775 is a “bait-and-switch” bill where at the beginning of the session, lawmakers told committee members that the guardrails for income tax reductions would stay in place, and many pushed for and voted for a tax reduction (House Bill 1) based on that information. Later in the session, lawmakers passed this bill and violated their own statements and testimony.
Senate Bill 2 – The Governor said he does not believe that the state should pay for gender reassignment surgeries for convicted felons, as this would mean those in prison would receive better access to medical care than a law-abiding citizen. However, courts have ruled that federal law may require some nonsurgical care.

Today is the final veto day before the General Assembly convenes for the last two days of the 2025 regular session, which concludes on Friday, March 28.