FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) - Republican leaders appear split on the prospects of a proposed overhaul of Kentucky’s criminal codes, signaling the first disagreement among the new majority one month after they united to push through bills restricting labor unions and abortion.
The state House and Senate reconvened Tuesday, the beginning of the second part of a planned 30-day legislative session. Republicans now control both chambers for the first time in memory. Last month, they united to pass seven bills in just five days that banned abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy and outlawed mandatory union dues.
But that cooperative spirit could be challenged by criminal justice reform, an idea embraced by reform-minded Republicans while facing skepticism from the more traditional wing of the party. The goal is to reduce the state’s prison population by making it more difficult for people to be charged with felonies, which often carry stiffer sentences.
For example, it is a felony in Kentucky to steal something valued at $500 or more. An early draft of the legislation proposed increasing that threshold to $2,000, which would put Kentucky more in line with other states.
“I truly believe there will be some significant changes,” Republican Senate President Robert Stivers said. “It’s something that this body, the House and this governor has wanted to see.”
But law enforcement and retail groups have resisted, blurring the measure’s chances of passing in a session scheduled to conclude by the end of March.
“I’ve heard form a lot of different folks who really have concerns about that entire bill,” Republican House Speaker Jeff Hoover said. “It may be that we are better served if we allow that bill to be vetted maybe over the summer and fall in public hearings.”
The bill has still not been filed. Republican Sen. Whitney Westerfield, the likely sponsor, has been meeting with groups this week over their concerns. He said he’s willing to lower the theft level to $1,500 and allow authorities to group several charges together in order to meet the felony threshold, with some restrictions.
“We’re not even close to giving up just yet,” he said. “Even if we had to trim some of the sections that are giving us a little bit more pushback from folks, we’ve got a lot of very good policies that are going to make a big difference in people’s lives and in the justice system.”
Other bills Republican leaders are vetting include allowing charter schools in Kentucky and restructuring the debt for the KFC Yum Center, where the University of Louisville’s men’s basketball team plays home games. The Yum Center’s debt payments are expected to rise over the next few years, and the arena board has warned city officials it won’t be able to cover those costs by 2020.
“We want to get that done. It’s very important not just to the city of Louisville and the university of Louisville, it is very important to the Commonwealth of Kentucky,” Hoover said.
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