Kentucky

What bills has Beshear vetoed? Conversion therapy, DEI measures make the list

Published

9 months ago

March 24, 2025

What bills has Beshear vetoed? Conversion therapy, DEI measures make the list

The 2025 Kentucky legislative session is its final stretch — with more than 100 bills sent to Gov. Andy Beshear for approval.

The session entered a veto period on March 15, during which Beshear can sign bills into law, veto them or let them become law without his signature.

Wednesday marks the last day for Beshear to make his decisions. Lawmakers will return to the Capitol on Thursday and Friday for the final two days of the session.

The General Assembly is dominated by Republicans, and state legislators will likely override Beshear’s vetoes — putting their bills into law with or without an OK from the Democratic governor.

Here’s are the bills Beshear has vetoed so far.

House Bill 495: Overturning conversion therapy ban

In a social media post late Saturday, Beshear said he vetoed a measure that would nullify an executive order on conversion therapy that he issued last year.

“Conversion therapy is torture, and that’s why I signed an executive order banning it in Kentucky,” Beshear said in the post on X, formerly Twitter. “Legislators seek to overturn those protections with HB 495, which I vetoed at the Fairness Dinner.”

House Bill 495 was amended just before it received final approval to also prohibit transgender Kentuckians from receiving gender-affirming care through Medicaid.

The bill passed both chambers with widespread support from Republicans and strong opposition from Democrats.

According to HB 495, sponsored by Republican Rep. David Hale, Medicaid funds can not be expended on:

“Cross-sex hormones in amounts greater than would normally be produced endogenously in a healthy person of the same age and sex.”
“Gender reassignment surgery to alter or remove physical or anatomical characteristics or features that are typical for and characteristics of a person’s biological sex.”

House Bill 4: DEI ban at colleges and universities

Last week, Beshear vetoed a measure that bans diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives at Kentucky public colleges and universities.

He said in a social media post that the bill “isn’t about love” but instead “is about hate.”

HB 4, sponsored by Republican Rep. Jennifer Decker, prohibits Kentucky colleges and universities from spending money on DEI programs. The measure also requires schools to eliminate all DEI offices and positions and prohibits them from requiring students or staff to attend DEI training sessions, among other things.

The bill has some exceptions, including for Americans with Disabilities Act and Title IX requirements. It defines DEI initiatives as policies, practices or procedures “designed or implemented to promote or provide differential treatment or benefits to individuals on the basis of religion, race, sex, color, or national origin.”

Beshear has defended DEI measures in the past and said Kentucky “should be embracing diversity, not banning it” when he announced his veto.

House Bill 216: Department of Agriculture grants

House Bill 216, sponsored by Republican Rep. Myron Dossett, would let Department of Agriculture employees apply for and receive grants and loans run by the department through the Kentucky Office of Agricultural Policy’s Agricultural Development Board or Kentucky Agricultural Finance Corporation.

In Beshear’s veto message, he said the measure allows conduct that “always has been unethical and unlawful under the Executive Branch’s Ethics Code.”

He cited two advisory opinions issued to the Kentucky Department of Agriculture, where the Executive Branch Ethics Commission confirmed the state’s laws prohibit executive branch employees from accepting grants from programs “run by the agency they work for.”

“As written, House Bill 216 would even allow employees who work directly on the grant and loan programs to select themselves,” Beshear said. “This puts farmers who are not department employees at an unfair disadvantage when competing with department employees for grants and loans.”

Senate Bill 245: Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources Commission

Under Senate Bill 245, members who are reappointed to the Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources Commission would not be able to serve unless they receive Senate confirmation.

According to the bill’s language, “a member whose reappointment is not confirmed by the Senate while it is in session shall vacate his or her seat upon the date of sine die adjournment of the session in which the confirmation was declined.”

SB 245 was sponsored by Republican Sen. Brandon Smith.

Under current law, only new appointments from Beshear are subject to Senate confirmation. In his veto message, Beshear said the Senate has “refused to confirm seven members whom the sportsmen and sportswomen have nominated” the past four legislative sessions. He also pointed out the Senate still has to confirm the reappointment of the “first ever Black member of the commission.”

“The bill and the Senate’s refusal to confirm creates a scenario where there could be multiple vacancies on the Commission at one time, while the part-time General Assembly is out of session (most of the year), threatening the Commission’s ability to fill its quorum,” Beshear said in his veto message.

Reach reporter Hannah Pinski at hpinski@courier-journal.com or follow her on X, formerly known as Twitter, at @hannahpinski.

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Kentucky

The Indiana game is a must-win for Kentucky, even in December

Published

7 hours ago

December 13, 2025

Press Room

The Indiana game is a must-win for Kentucky, even in December

One week ago, I wrote that Kentucky needed to show us something against Gonzaga. Unfortunately, it did, in a bad way. The Cats’ 35-point loss to the Bulldogs was their fourth to a ranked team this year. It was a performance so abysmal that the team got booed off the floor at halftime. Ever since, BBN has been in a tailspin, uncertainty about the program’s short-and long-term future hanging over the Bluegrass like a thick fog.

Kentucky has already gotten back in the win column, beating NC Central by 36 on Tuesday night; however, the true test of whether or not the Cats have reached rock bottom is Saturday vs. Indiana. The Hoosiers are 8-2, losing to Minnesota and Louisville last week. They rebounded from the 87-78 loss to the No. 6 Cards by routing Penn State 113-72 on Tuesday, thanks in large part to 44 points from Lamar Wilkerson, who picked Indiana over Kentucky out of the transfer portal this past April.

Both Kentucky and Indiana fell out of the AP and Coaches Polls this week, hovering near each other in the group of “others receiving votes.” KenPom ranks Kentucky No. 20 and Indiana No. 21. It gives the Cats a 4-point edge in Saturday’s game, while BetMGM goes a half-point higher at 4.5.

Thank goodness this one’s at Rupp because it’s a must-win, in more ways than one.

Resume

Let’s start with the most basic: the schedule. It may feel premature to start worrying about the NCAA Tournament, but we’re 10 games in, one-third of the way through the regular season, and Kentucky still doesn’t have a good win, going 0-4 in said opportunities. The highest-ranked team the Cats have beaten so far is Valparaiso, which ranks No. 191 in the NET rankings. All of Kentucky’s wins are in Quad 4, all of its losses in Quad 1. Quad 1 losses don’t hurt you a ton, but at some point, you have to pick up some meaningful wins to offset them.

The Cats have two more chances to pick up a Quad 1 win before SEC play begins: vs. Indiana and St. John’s. Over half of Kentucky’s conference games are in Quad 1; before starting that gauntlet, we need to see that the Cats are capable of winning one. Of the two coming up, beating Indiana in Rupp feels more manageable than Mark Pope taking down his old coach, Rick Pitino, and St. John’s next weekend in Atlanta.

Lamar Wilkerson

Much has been said about Kentucky’s struggles with recruiting this week. Most of that conversation has centered around high school recruiting, not the transfer portal, but Lamar Wilkerson is one of the biggest portal targets Mark Pope missed on this past offseason. Kentucky felt so good about landing him that Mark Pope took him to the winner’s circle at Keeneland. Instead, Wilkerson went to Indiana, the Hoosiers sweetening the pot at the last minute.

On Tuesday, Wilkerson set an Indiana record with 10 three-pointers in the win over Penn State. He is averaging 18.8 points and 3.5 made threes per game this season. There were other whiffs for Pope and his staff during the offseason, but Wilkerson will take center stage at Rupp tomorrow night, at a time when Kentucky’s $22 million team is the laughing stock of college basketball.

Please don’t let him get hot.

Lock in for the 2025 Kentucky Basketball season with KSR Plus! We’re giving you behind-the-scenes intel you won’t find anywhere else. Join the most passionate online community in the BBN during Mark Pope’s second season.

Fan fatigue

You don’t need me to tell you BBN is unhappy. The boos in Nashville were ugly proof of the unrest in the fanbase now. Concerns about recruiting and the school’s partnership with JMI, as outlined by Jacob Polacheck and Jack Pilgrim earlier this week, aren’t helping. Mark Pope struck a different tone on Tuesday night, using his bench to send messages to Kam Williams, Jaland Lowe, and Brandon Garrison, and biting back anger afterward as he talked about how his team continues to fall short of the standard. On the player side, Otega Oweh seemed to step up as a leader, scoring a season-high 21 points and insisting all is well in the locker room during interviews, one of which took place with his teammates surrounding him.

On Saturday, we get to see if those baby steps of progress are enough to avoid a fifth loss. Kentucky has already lost one home game this season, last week vs. North Carolina. Given all that’s happened since, there might be boos if the Cats pick up a second tomorrow night.

Fear of becoming Indiana

Indiana used to be one of Kentucky’s biggest rivals; for fans of a certain age, the Hoosiers may still be. Over the past 20 or so years, Indiana has faded to irrelevance. The Hoosiers haven’t gone to a Final Four since 2002. There’s a reason they put Christian Watford’s buzzer-beater vs. Kentucky in 2011 on a popcorn box; they haven’t had much else to celebrate.

As Kentucky fans, we’ve made our fair share of jokes about Indiana, but it’s not quite as funny now that the Cats haven’t gone to the Final Four in a decade, won an SEC regular-season championship since 2019-20, or an SEC Tournament title since 2017-18. For all our hopes that Mark Pope would be the one to turn it around, Kentucky still hasn’t won a big game this season. As Mark Story outlined in the Herald-Leader, Kentucky could be on the path to becoming the next Indiana, which makes Saturday’s game even bigger. With this being the first game in a four-year series, it could be an annual reminder if things keep trending in this direction.

So, please, Kentucky, win this basketball game. You can make it my early Christmas gift.

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Kentucky

Kentucky lawmaker introduces federal bill to fight pharmacy benefit managers

Published

19 hours ago

December 12, 2025

Press Room

Kentucky lawmaker introduces federal bill to fight pharmacy benefit managers

WASHINGTON, D.C. — A Kentucky lawmaker is taking the fight for pharmacists to Washington.

Representative James Comer introduced the Pharmacists Fight Back Act on Thursday.

Kentucky already has a similar law in place that WKYT Investigates’ Kristen Kennedy has been following as the state works to get the law enforced.

Kentucky pharmacists may now get help on the federal level.

“Rarely does a day go by without hearing from my constituents in Kentucky who are struggling under the weight of soaring prescription drug costs,” Comer said. “The questions I’m consistently asked are, ‘why? Who is benefiting from the system? Why isn’t it patients?’ My response is the same each time. It’s the PBMs.”

Federal bill targets pharmacy benefit managers

Comer says pharmacy benefit managers have outgrown their role in healthcare. State legislators agreed when they passed Senate Bill 188 last year. The law was supposed to increase reimbursement rates for pharmacies and keep PBMs from steering patients to affiliated pharmacies.

The regulations are similar to what Comer wants to do on a federal level.

“Our oversight investigation, which culminated in a report last year with our findings and recommendations, found PBMs have largely operated in the dark,” Comer said. “PBMs have abused their positions as middlemen to line their own pockets by retaining rebates and fees, undermine our community pharmacists and pass along costs to patients at the pharmacy counter. It’s unacceptable, and Congress has a responsibility to act.”

If the act becomes law, it would affect pharmacies across the U.S.

Pharmacists in Kentucky are already seeing some advantages with the regulations placed on pharmacy benefit managers, but their biggest complaint is that the law isn’t being enforced.

That could change if the federal government gets involved. The Kentucky Pharmacists Association thinks Frankfort has a responsibility to act on the PBM law that passed in the state. They’re still asking the governor to make sure the Department of Insurance is enforcing the law in place.

Stay informed on investigations like this by checking out our WKYT Investigates page at wkyt.com/investigates.

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Kentucky

Several people hurt in Western Kentucky Parkway multi-car accident, officials say

Published

1 day ago

December 12, 2025

Press Room

Several people hurt in Western Kentucky Parkway multi-car accident, officials say

MUHLENBERG, Ky. (WFIE) – Kentucky officials says there are multiple people injured in a three-car accident on Western Kentucky Parkway.

According to a post made by the Central City Fire Department, three vehicles were involved in a crash between the 64 and 65 mile markers eastbound of the parkway.

They say both the eastbound and westbound lanes are closed at this time. The closure should last around 3 hours.

Two people were extricated from a vehicle. Four adults and three juveniles are being taken to the hospital. No update has been given on their conditions.

They say a mass casualty incident was declared, and Ohio County Fire and EMS were called to the scene due to the number of patients.

We will update you when we learn more.

Several people hurt in Western Kentucky Parkway multi-car accident, officials say(Central City Fire Department)

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