Beech Tree News Network

FRANKFORT — The Kentucky General Assembly began its 60-day legislative session on Jan. 2, and Kentuckians have many ways to follow along with the action.

Kentuckians can use online resources to:

--See the General Assembly’s daily schedule

--Tune in to live coverage of legislative meetings

--Find information on their legislators

--Contact lawmakers and offer feedback

--Read bills and resolutions

--Receive a notice when a bill advances

--See how lawmakers voted on bills and resolutions

--View materials on committee topics and testimony

--Learn about the legislative process

All that and much more is available on the General Assembly Home Page: https://legislature.ky.gov.

Following the General Assembly’s work often begins with a daily look at the Legislative Calendar: https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/LegislativeCalendar. The calendar shows which committees are meeting and when the Senate and House will convene.

 The full 2024 session calendar and the 2024 schedules for standing committees, which are subject to change, are available on the Schedules and Calendars webpage: https://legislature.ky.gov/Schedules-Calendars/Pages/default.aspx.

Livestreams of legislative action can be viewed through feeds provided by Kentucky Educational Television (KET) and the Legislative Research Commission (LRC).

KET livestreams all chamber proceedings and many committee meetings. LRC provides full coverage of all committee meetings on YouTube. For links to the livestreams, go to https://legislature.ky.gov/Public%20Services/PIO/Pages/Live-Streams.aspx.

 You can find each lawmaker’s contact info, biographical info, committee assignments and sponsored legislation by clicking on the “Legislators” tab near the top of the General Assembly Home Page: https://legislature.ky.gov. You can also look up who represents your district.

The online Legislative Record (https://legislature.ky.gov/Legislation/Pages/default.aspx) has information on every piece of legislation introduced in the Senate and House. You can read summaries, the full text of bills, resolutions, amendments and see exactly how far each piece of legislation has advanced in the process. Bills can be looked up according to bill number, sponsor or topic. If a bill has been voted on in a chamber, you can see how each lawmaker voted by clicking “Vote History” on a bill’s summary page.

Bill Watch, a bill tracking service, provided through a partnership of Kentucky.gov and LRC, sends users email notifications each time a bill they are interested in takes a step forward. To sign up for Bill Watch, go to https://www.kentucky.gov/services/pages/billwatch.aspx

Information about legislative committees is available at https://legislature.ky.gov/Committees/Pages/default.aspx. To view materials such as info sheets, handouts and PowerPoint presentations that are compiled for lawmakers to review at committee meetings, click on the “Meeting Materials” tab on the right side of each committee’s page.

To share feedback on an issue with lawmakers, call the General Assembly’s Message Line at 1-800-372-7181. Kentuckians with hearing loss can use Kentucky Relay by dialing 7-1-1.

A Spanish language line for legislative information will be available throughout the General Assembly’s 2024 session by calling 1-866-840-6574.

To directly reach a lawmaker’s office, call 502-564-8100. An operator will transfer the call to the office of the lawmaker you want to reach.

If you have a question about the lawmaking process or legislative resources, the LRC Public Information Office can be reached by calling 502-564-8100 ext. 59105.