s.1512 dead, but there’s more than one way to skin a cat

S. 1512 is a bill I introduced to rectify the inequity of nearly 200 candidates being removed from the ballots on last week’s Supreme Court Ruling. Even though s.1512 was amendment and passed out of the Judiciary Committee it received a minority report by Sen. Jake Knotts of Lexington. A minority report in essence kills the bill unless the Senate puts the bill on special order. Senate rules dictate that a motion for special order cannot be made until the bill is on the calendar for 6 days. That means s.1512 could not be taken up until May 23, far too late for any effect.

However, there are more than one way to skin a cat. Today, the Senate put h.3392, which is a bill that deals with election law and can be amended with s.1512’s Judiciary Amendment. H. 3392 is on third reading, so it is possible to amend it and pass it out of the Senate Wednesday afternoon. If the House votes to concur, it would avoid a conference committee and go straight downstairs for the signature of the Governor.