As the General Assembly passed the midpoint of the 2025 session, four legislative leaders appeared on Kentucky Tonight to discuss relief for flood victims, requiring state workers to return to their offices, making up lost school days, and more.
More than 20 Kentuckians have died as a result of recent flooding and bitterly cold weather across the commonwealth. President Donald Trump this week approved an expedited disaster declaration for 10 eastern Kentucky counties, which will provide immediate assistance to individuals and local governments in those communities.
State House Majority Floor Leader Steven Rudy (R-Paducah) says legislative leadership are closely monitoring the situation and have discussions with Gov. Andy Beshear’s office about what assistance the General Assembly might provide.
“It’s still too early to tell exactly what needs to be done,” says Rudy. “We want to make sure they have plenty flexibility but also keeping in mind that we don’t need to be wasting the taxpayer’s money.”
Rudy says about $29 million remains from funds appropriated to help Kentuckians impacted by tornados in 2021 and floods in 2022 that could be directed to current recovery needs. Senate President Pro Tem David Givens (R-Greensburg) says the governor has access to another $50 million in discretionary money that he could apply to disaster relief. He says if more money is needed, it should be appropriated by the legislature either during this regular session or in a special session.
Beshear, a Democrat, has criticized Republicans for limiting his ability to respond in emergencies. Given the recent frequency of natural disasters in the state in recent years, Frankfort Democrats argue that governors should be able to act quickly when Kentuckians are suffering and have the money to do so.
“I’d like to see us rethink that and see if we can get a little bit more flexibility to the governor to act as an executive when he needs to,” says House Minority Caucus Chair Al Gentry (D-Louisville).
Rudy says major spending is the responsibility of the General Assembly and the Republican supermajority is not interested in giving governors a “blank check.”
Ending Telework for State Government Employees
Since the COVID-19 pandemic many state government workers have had the option to work remotely. But under an amendment to Senate Bill 79, most executive, legislative, and judicial branch employees would be required to work in their offices five days a week.
Givens says he understands the appeal of telework, but he says constituents are complaining they can’t get the timely responses they need from state government personnel who continue to work remotely.
“The phones aren’t being answered, the questions aren’t being dealt with, and the transactional nature of where the citizen meets government is not being done efficiently,” says Givens.
Senate Minority Whip David Yates (D-Louisville) calls the proposal “reckless” and a political maneuver meant to mirror actions the Trump administration is taking with federal workers. He contends there are ways to address productivity and accountability concerns without removing flexibility for state government employees, who he says may simply quit if forced to return to the office.
“It would cost us as the State of Kentucky... (a) significant amount of money to do this and I don’t see that we’re going to improve our workforce,” Yates says. “If this amendment passes, this is literally taking just a hammer and destroying the entire workforce.”
SB 79 with the return-to-office amendment attached passed the Senate 25-10 with three Republicans and all Democrats opposing it. The fate of the measure is uncertain in the House, where even Givens says he thinks representatives may remove the amendment.
Gentry agrees that telework has its challenges, but he also says the option helps state government attract and retain employees and save them money on gas and child care costs. He says SB 79 was better without the telework prohibition.
“I thought a good bill was made a bad bill by this amendment,” says Gentry. “We are helping workers save dollars themselves, especially in rural areas where they have long commutes.”
Rudy says his caucus has heard similar frustrations from constituents and agrees that something must be done to address the workforce concerns. But he contends the issue should be addressed by Gov. Beshear rather than by lawmakers.
“It’s not in our best interest to be HR managers, but... if you force us to be, we can be,” says Rudy. “Governor, please get the Personnel Cabinet, whatever, to figure this out to where the functions of state government can continue and wisely use the technology and not just do a blanket everybody can work at home when we need people in the office.”
State Government Spending and Efficiency
With Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency making headlines for budget cuts and layoffs across the federal government, some state House Republicans want to launch a similar effort in the commonwealth. House Concurrent Resolution 50 from Burlington Republican Rep. T.J. Roberts would create a Kentucky Discipline of Government Efficiency Task Force to examine executive branch spending and make recommendations to the legislature by the end of the year.
Rudy says Kentucky has been doing a form of DOGE since 2021 when Rep. Jason Petrie (R-Elkton) became chair of the House Appropriations and Revenue Committee and pursued a strategy of more efficient spending. He says the current state budget requires the Beshear administration to report on how executive branch moneys are spent and new software allows the budget team to track spending down to paper clips used.
Going one step further in next year’s budget, Rudy says Petrie will require several of the Budget Review Subcommittees to take their proposed spending plans to zero and justify every dollar they request. Rudy says that measured approach is better than the strategies Musk and President Trump are using at the federal level.
“That is DOGE Kentucky without taking a chainsaw or anything like that,” says Rudy. “I would submit to you that’s what the taxpayers want, and it’s what the taxpayers expect, and it’s what they deserve.”
Givens agrees that the Republican-controlled legislature has already improved state government efficiency and will continue to do so. But he says it must be done without politicizing the process or creating the kind of “destruction” he says is now unfolding in Washington.
Yates says the pursuit of efficiency must avoid being superficial and political, but he says one of the challenges Kentucky faces is its outdated computer systems. He wants cost-benefit analyses that lead to changes that actually benefit taxpayers, and he says the work should be done in collaboration with state government personnel.
“You do it in a way, though, the department heads know that you’re working with them, not against them,” says Yates.
Options for Schools to Make-Up Missed Days
Following COVID school closures, lawmakers provided public school districts with 10 days they could use for so-called non-traditional instruction where student learning would continue at home. But with the recent winter storms, flooding, and high rates of influenza and other viruses, 64 school districts have used up their NTI allotments, and another 40 districts only have one NTI day remaining.
House Bill 241 would give schools five additional NTI days and would excuse five days missed because of severe weather. It also gives schools the option of making up missed instructional time by extending the length of school days.
The measure passed the House in late February on an 82-7 vote. Rudy says the bill is not perfect and that he expects the Senate to make changes to it. Givens says he hasn’t been satisfied with NTI as it’s been deployed so far. He says senators will work with Kentucky Education Commissioner Robbie Fletcher to find a solution that meets the needs of students, families, and taxpayers.
Yates and Gentry agree that NTI is far from perfect, especially when some students still lack good internet access at home, but they say schools need options to help them fulfill the required number of instructional hours per year.
