Nonpartisan group calls for an end to filing ‘shell bills’ that can turn into sweeping legislation
FILE - The Kentucky Capitol is seen on Jan. 14, 2020, in Frankfort, Ky. (AP Photo/Timothy D. Easley, File)
A nonpartisan group offered recommendations Wednesday to bolster public scrutiny of Kentucky’s legislature, taking aim at “shell bills” that seem innocuous but can be transformed into sweeping policy measures in the hectic final days legislative sessions.
The League of Women Voters of Kentucky pointed to a sharp increase in shell bills, saying 140 of them were introduced during Kentucky’s 2024 legislative session, compared to 15 in 2010.
“These bills frequently serve as last-minute distractions, overwhelming both legislators and the public,” Jennifer Jackson, the group’s president, said at a news conference in Frankfort.
The group urged lawmakers to stop using shell bills, one of several proposed changes it suggested to how lawmakers conduct their business. The goal is to make the legislative process more transparent and increase public participation, Jackson said.
Kentucky lawmakers will reconvene in January to start a 30-day session that wraps up in late March.
In late 2023, the league spoke out against fast-track maneuvers sometimes used by lawmakers to pass bills, which the group says can give Kentuckians little or no time to offer input. It urged lawmakers to slow down and give constituents more time to weigh in on legislation.
A year later, the fast tracking of bills remains an issue, Jackson said Wednesday. Those tactics are used most frequently at the end of legislative sessions, when lawmakers are running out of time.
“We know that these practices are often aimed at efficiency, but they unintentionally exclude the voices of everyday Kentuckians,” she said. “The cost of efficiency becomes the erosion of public participation and transparency.”
In its latest report, the league urged lawmakers to stick to regularly scheduled committee meetings, with ample advance notice to the public, and to provide details of draft bills before the legislative session starts. Some of its most pointed criticism, however, revolved around the use of shell bills.
Such bills start with little or no content, Jackson said. Once the period to file bills has ended, such shell bells are sometimes amended into major pieces of legislation, typically late in a session, she said.
To make its point, the league highlighted a measure that dealt with gambling. At first, it proposed changes in parimutuel betting statutes to make it gender neutral. Near the end of the session, it turned into a 282-page measure making sweeping changes to how gambling is regulated in Kentucky.
“This left no time for thorough review, not even a CliffsNotes version,” Jackson said. “When bills of such magnitude are rushed through without proper scrutiny, we have to ask: Is this really what’s best for the people of Kentucky?”
The league’s report of legislative practices isn’t about taking sides or questioning legislative decisions, Jackson said. It’s about offering practical steps to make the process transparent and to ensure that citizens have an opportunity to speak out about legislation that affects their lives, she said.