Friends, the time is near: Kentucky’s 2026 legislative session has mere days left. 

Lawmakers are scheduled to meet four days over the next week to hammer out the details of the next two-year state budget, along with passing any other bills they think Gov. Andy Beshear could veto, by 11:59 p.m. on April 1. 

They’ll take the next two weeks off for the veto period — a time for Beshear to comb through all of the things they think should be law, and accept or reject them — before coming back to close out the session on April 14 and 15. 

Here’s what y’all need to know. 

When are lawmakers supposed to meet during the Kentucky 2026 legislative session?

Kentucky’s 2026 legislative session is supposed to have 60 legislative days, running from January to mid-April. Legislative days are days where lawmakers meet to vote on bills. 

They’ve burned through most of those days, leaving them with just six total scheduled legislative days:

• March 26
• March 27
• March 31
• April 1
• April 14
• April 15

They did, however, take a snow day in January that they could still make up. It is unclear if they plan on doing that, though.

What is the status of LGBTQ-focused bills? 

Kentucky lawmakers filed about 15 LGBTQ-focused bills during the 2026 legislative session — 10 anti-LGBTQ+ and five pro-LGBTQ+. 

As of March 25, all but two of them are dead. (And those two are on life support.) 

All of the pro-LGBTQ+ bills never went anywhere, and many of the anti-LGBTQ+ bills never went far, either. 

The dead anti-LGBTQ+ bills include ones to restrict drag shows and performers; limit how transgender Kentuckians can access gender-affirming health care, prohibit trans people in public buildings from using the restroom tied to their gender identity, and keep trans teachers out of Kentucky classrooms. 

Wait, how do you know that?

Let me be clear: This is Frankfort, and there are tons of ways to sneak in and rush through legislation at the last second (check out Queer Kentucky’s explainer on some of the key ways). A lot of folks tend to subscribe to the “it ain’t over until it’s over” mentality when it comes to calling time of death for bills.

But bills need at least five, but typically six, legislative days to fully get through the legislative process. We only have four days left before the veto period, so any anti-LGBTQ+ legislation that hasn’t started moving yet literally doesn’t have enough time to do so. 

There are six total legislative days left if you include the two in mid-April after the veto period. Lawmakers could, technically, start moving bills now and fully pass them by the end of session — but Beshear would almost certainly veto them and the GOP-led legislature wouldn’t have a chance to override him. 

Couldn’t they just shove all this stuff in a different bill?

Yes, they could — and that’s a valid concern. That’s why Queer Kentucky will be monitoring Frankfort particularly hard over the next week. 

Could a group of lawmakers squash all of their anti-LGBTQ+ bills into one bill that’s much further along in the legislative process and rush it through? Technically, yes, but lawmakers haven’t shown much appetite for anti-LGBTQ+ bills this year. It doesn’t seem likely this will be a focus of theirs, particularly given the fact the budget is still in the works and other legislative issues like JCPS seem to be taking priority. 

What is the veto period? 

The veto period is a roughly two-week-long time where the legislature isn’t meeting and they’re just letting Beshear go through all of the stuff they’ve passed and decide what he wants to do with it. 

Once a bill lands on his desk, Beshear has 10 days, excluding Sundays, to decide what to do with it. He can sign it into law, veto it, or let it become law without his signature. 

Lawmakers want the vast majority of the bills that are going to be passed, passed before the veto period so they have a chance to override any of Beshear’s vetoes during the final two days of session. They can still pass things during the last two days of session, but they would not have a chance to override Beshear’s veto. 

What bills or trends should I watch? 

When it comes to LGBTQ+ issues, focus on Senate Bill 72 and House Bill 468. 

SB 72 would allow anyone tied to health care to deny service to someone based on their beliefs. It passed out of the Senate weeks ago, but hasn’t moved in the House yet. 

HB 468 initially dealt with how fairness ordinances could be enforced. But it saw some changes before passing out of the House, and now it is less of a threat to LGBTQ+ rights. But we’ll still be monitoring it in the Senate just in case. 

Outside of LGBTQ+ issues, here are a few things lawmakers are focusing on in their final days:

• • The budget: If lawmakers do anything this session, they need to craft the next state budget. This is in a conference committee — basically, when a bunch of lawmakers sit around a table and try to come to an agreement. 
  • JCPS: Between bills to change how many people are elected to school board, to ones shifting power to the superintendent, lawmakers are gearing up for lots of discussion around Kentucky’s largest school district. (Fayette County, you’ll see some action too; everyone else, you’re in the clear.) 
  • Medicaid: Lawmakers are making several changes to Medicaid to bring Kentucky in alignment with federal rules, but some have said the current proposal — HB 2 — goes further than needed. 

How can I follow along?

• Follow Queer Kentucky for up-to-date legislative updates.
• Check out our other civic explainers like How a Bill Becomes a Law in Kentucky: A Step-by-Step Guide to the Legislative Process.
• Sign up for legislative alerts for groups like the Fairness Campaign and ACLU of Kentucky.
• Follow your favorite advocacy groups and journalists on social media for any live updates out of Frankfort.
• Turn on KET or the LRC’s livestreams of committee meetings and House and Senate proceedings to watch as things go down and listen for any changes to bills.