Kentucky’s 2026 legislative session starts in less than a month, and Queer Kentucky has already been helping Kentuckians prepare for it. 

Queer Kentucky — the state’s only LGBTQ-focused newsroom — held two legislative preview panels in December, one in Newport and the other in Louisville. 

Attendees heard from folks well-versed in all things Frankfort, including the Fairness Campaign’s Chris Hartman, policy experts Cara Stewart and Jackie McGrahanan, lawmakers Rep. Lisa Willner and Sen. Karen Berg, and even me, Queer Kentucky’s lead political reporter. 

Weren’t able to make it to one of the panels? No worries — here’s a rundown of what you missed. 

How does session work? 

Policy expert Cara Stewart speaks to a packed audience at Queer Kentucky’s Queer Politics in the Bluegrass legislative preview panel in Newport, Fairness Campaign Executive Director Chris Hartman and Queer Kentucky political reporter Olivia Krauth beside her inside Roebling Books. Photos by Murphy Meador Communications

Kentucky’s 2026 legislative session starts Jan. 6 and runs until mid-April. Lawmakers will meet nearly every business day during that timeframe, and are expected to file hundreds of bills. 

Since the session lasts so long — 60 total working days — the legislature is typically pretty slow to start in January, but things tend to start to heat up in February and hit a fever pitch in March. 

The upcoming session is a budget session, so lawmakers’ top priority will be deciding what to include — or not — in the state’s next two-year budget. 

What are the top LGBTQ+ bills to watch for?

Covington Resident Logan Richardson and Queer Kentucky Editor-in-Chief Spencer Jenkins listen during Queer Kentucky’s Queer Politics in the Bluegrass legislative preview panel in Newport, seated among community members at the event. Photos by Murphy Meador Communications.

The GOP-dominated legislature did away with prefiling bills — aka making proposed legislation available to the public before session starts — a few years ago, so no one knows exactly what LGBTQ+ legislation could get filed in 2026. 

But Hartman noted a few bills that have been filed in the past that we might see again:

• Measures allowing healthcare workers to refuse to treat or serve someone based on religious or moral beliefs, potentially meaning discrimination against LGBTQ+ people.
• “Jackpot justice” legislation that could make it easier to sue cities or counties with fairness ordinances.
• Anti-drag bills aimed at stifling public drag shows, potentially putting businesses, nonprofits, Pride festivals and performers at risk, depending on how the legislation is worded.

Getting involved is critical

Panelists including State Rep. Lisa Willner, policy experts Jackie McGranahan and Cara Stewart, Sen. Karen Berg, and Fairness Campaign Executive Director Chris Hartman smile and engage during Queer Kentucky’s Queer Politics in the Bluegrass panel event. Photo by Murphy Meador Communications.

From last-second bill changes to critical meetings held during normal working hours, the legislature doesn’t exactly make it easy to make your voice heard, panelists noted. 

And the upcoming session marks the first of at least a few years where the Capitol will be closed for renovations, shutting down a key rally and protest area and limiting the public’s chances to interact directly with lawmakers. 

That’s why it is even more important to show up how you can to support or push back against legislation, panelists said. Although the Capitol will be closed, the Capitol Annex — where all of the committee meetings take place and where bills get their first votes and often see the most change and discussion — will still be open to the public. 

“It really does matter that people show up,” Hartman said at the Newport panel. You can sign up to testify against a bill, too, but “just your physical presence is powerful. Every time we can fill the chamber with bodies, it gives more people pause than you might know.” 

Any day you can show up in-person is worth it, Stewart noted in Newport. And when you’re there, remember only a little bit of facetime with a lawmaker can make a large difference.

“Find a way to be honest,” Stewart said. “Find a way to be, you know, authentic to yourself, your own experience, and share something about you because that’s hard to deny.”

Willner, a Democrat representing part of Louisville, said, “We need to change who’s in the seats, but the people there who are in the seats now, there are times when their hearts and minds have been changed.

“It’s because you show up,” she continued. “It’s because the community turns out; it’s because people are willing to sit down with people who wish you didn’t exist and show them that, in fact, you do.”

Can’t make it to Frankfort? You can still write or call your lawmakers, share information about bills on social media, or encourage others who can get to the Capitol to do so. 

Rally around state and local candidates

Community members fill Roebling Books in Newport for Queer Kentucky’s Queer Politics in the Bluegrass legislative preview panel, with panelists seated at the front discussing Kentucky’s 2026 legislative session. Photo by Murphy Meador Communications.

On top of the legislative session, 2026 also brings several midterm elections ranging from Congressional seats to candidates for Frankfort to local school boards and city councils. 

Republicans hold a supermajority at the state-level in Kentucky, and 119 of the 138 seats in Kentucky’s House and Senate will be on the ballot next year. 

While it is unlikely Democrats could snag a majority in either chamber, there are still several seats that could be flipped or at least considered at play. Berg, for example, said she believes around 11 of the 19 state Senate seats up for election already have strong Democratic candidates who could make it a real contest. 

But candidates need help, and several panelists encouraged attendees to help door knock or otherwise support candidates who support the LGBTQ+ community. That potentially includes some of the more moderate Republicans in Frankfort who have broken ranks with their party to support LGBTQ+ people in past votes and now face primary challengers because of it. 

You can also run for office, particularly local office, yourself. Kentucky’s deadline to file for a seat that has a partisan primary election is Jan. 9. 

Help shape Queer Kentucky’s politics reporting in 2026 by filling out this survey!