FRANKFORT, Ky. — Both chambers of the Kentucky legislature have now passed House Bill 495. In its final form, the bill overturns Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear’s executive order banning the practice of conversion therapy on LGBTQ+ youth. It also bars Medicaid from covering gender transition treatments.
“Mr. President, it is important to note that Medicaid services nor managed care services in Kentucky spend Medicaid funds on these type services now or in the past,” said State Sen. Greg Elkins, R-Winchester.
Beshear banned the widely criticized practice last September.
“It is equivalent of torture, and we should not be allowing it to happen here in the commonwealth,” Beshear said Thursday after the bill's passage.
State Sen. Karen Berg, D-Louisville, whose transgender son died by suicide in 2022, spoke against the bill’s passage.
“This hatred killed my child," Berg said. "He honestly just said, ‘I will not ever find a place to fit in.'"
State Sen. Danny Carroll, R-Paducah, was the only Republican to vote against the measure alongside Democrats.
“I don’t think there’s any question that the governor went too far in his executive order, however, eliminating that executive order without having some parameters in place will put children at risk in this commonwealth,” Carroll said.
Other matters
One of the first measure that will now be on its way to the governor’s desk is House Bill 15. It would lower the age to get a driver's license to 15 years old.
Senate Bill 4 has made its way successfully through both chambers as well. If it becomes law, it will regulate the state’s use of artificial intelligence.
“We want to make sure that as this technology emerges, we have the appropriate guardrails up so that the state can take advantage of the technology because it does have the potential for tremendous efficiencies,” said State Rep. Josh Bray, R-Mount Vernon.
After a long debate in the Senate Wednesday, the House passed House Bill 4 with no discussion Thursday morning. It would shutter diversity, equity and inclusion programs at state-run colleges and universities.
Despite concerns from Democrats, a measure creating a new crime for disrupting or interfering with legislative proceedings has now cleared both chambers. It stems from a situation two years ago where demonstrators were zip-tied and removed from the House gallery as they chanted in opposition to the sweeping anti-trans measure Senate Bill 150.
