FRANKFORT, Ky. (FOX 56) — Kentucky voters will decide on a proposed constitutional amendment in the November election.
Because it is a constitutional amendment, the measure does not require the Governor’s signature and will go directly to the ballot. Senate Bill 10 passed the House on the final day before the veto recess and seeks to place limits on the Governor’s pardon powers during election periods.
“There are some of you on this committee who have now voted for this bill seven different times,” Sen. Chris McDaniel (R-Ryland Heights) told fellow senators during a committee hearing earlier in the session.
McDaniel has advocated for the proposal for several years. The amendment would prevent the Governor from issuing pardons starting 60 days before an election through the swearing-in of the next officeholder.
“This is not necessarily about the complete elimination of the power of pardon. This is about introducing accountability to that process,” McDaniel told FOX 56 News in January.
According to McDaniel, the measure would ensure that current and future governors remain accountable to voters for pardons and commutations issued during their time in office, rather than making such decisions at the end of their term. Some lawmakers from both parties support the idea.
“I do think that that constitutional amendment is a good idea. I mean, I think that it was during the Bevin administration that last-minute pardons came through that shouldn’t have happened. And I think this is definitely a step in that direction to make sure that those political pardons do not happen,” Rep. Erika Hancock (D-Frankfort) said during the March 29 edition of FOX 56’s “Red, White, and Bluegrass.” Former Gov. Matt Bevin issued 428 pardons in his final days in office.
The proposal received bipartisan support in both chambers, marking the first time it was voted on in the House. It will appear on Kentucky ballots during the November 3 general election.
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