User:Acdixon/Government of Kentucky

The government of the Commonwealth of Kentucky is...

General
Kentucky is one of fifty states that compose the United States of America. In the preamble to the Kentucky Constitution, the state is designated a Commonwealth. Kentucky is one of four states that adopted this designation, the others being Virginia, Massachusetts, and Pennsylvania. There is no difference in status between the commonwealths and the other forty-six states; it is strictly a matter of nomenclature.

Frankfort has been the state capitol and seat of government since Kentucky achieved statehood in 1792. The current capitol building – the state's fourth – houses both legislative chambers, the offices of the governor, attorney general, and secretary of state, and the courtroom of the Kentucky Supreme Court.

Kentucky Constitution
The structures of the government of Kentucky are defined and empowered by the Kentucky Constitution. The constitution divides the state government into legislative, executive, and judicial branches and provides for separation of powers between the three branches as well as checks and balances for each branch upon the other two. The state's first constitution was adopted in 1792, and new constitutions were adopted in 1799, 1850, and 1891. The 1891 constitution still governs the state today, although several attempts have been made since its adoption to call a constitutional convention. Such calls were defeated by the state's voters in 1931, 1947, 1959, and 1964.

The 1891 constitution was the first to provide a process for amending the constitution. In order to be ratified, amendments to the state constitution must receive a favorable three-fifths majority vote in both houses of the state legislature, then be approved by a simple majority of the state's voters at the next even-year election. Each amendment must deal with only a single subject, and no more than four amendments may be considered in a single election.

The code of laws governing citizens of the state is called the Kentucky Revised Statutes.

Legislative
As with all U.S. states, the number of members in the U.S. House of Representatives to which Kentucky is entitled is based on the state's population. Although it has been divided into as many as 13 congressional districts in the past, as of the 2010 Census, Kentucky has six congressional districts. Two of these districts – the 3rd and 6th – are represented by Democrats John Yarmuth and Ben Chandler, respectively. The remaining districts are represented by Republicans – Ed Whitfield (1st), Brett Guthrie (2nd), Geoff Davis (4th), and Hal Rogers (5th). Both of Kentucky's U.S. Senators – Mitch McConnell and Rand Paul – are Republicans. McConnell currently serves as the Republican floor leader in the Senate.

Kentucky General Assembly
At the state level, Kentucky has a bicameral legislature called the Kentucky General Assembly. The Kentucky Senate is the upper house, and the Kentucky House of Representatives is the lower house.

The General Assembly convenes for a sixty-day session in even-numbered years and a thirty-day session in odd-numbered years. Each sixty-day session is required to adjourn before April 16, and each thirty-day session is required to adjourn before April 1. Further, bills raising revenue or appropriating funds must be passed by a three-fifths majority during thirty-day sessions. The governor can call the legislature into special session "on extraordinary occasions" to consider legislation. There are no restrictions on the length of a special session, but the governor is required to specify the subject or subjects to be considered during the session, and no other legislation may be considered during the session.

Kentucky Senate
Under the 1792 Kentucky Constitution, members of the Kentucky Senate were elected by an electoral college, but since the 1799 constitution, they have been popularly elected. The state is divided into 38 senate districts which are apportioned by population and are redrawn every ten years. One senator is elected from each district and serves a term of four years. Senate elections are held in even-numbered years and are staggered such that half of the senators are elected every two years. Candidates for the Kentucky Senate must be at least 30 years old, be a citizen of Kentucky, and must have resided in the state at least six years and the district at least one year prior to election. Members of the Kentucky Senate are not term-limited.

The presiding officer in the Senate is the President of the Kentucky Senate. The president is chosen from among the body's membership by a vote of the senators. In the absence or inability of the president to preside over the body, the President Pro Tempore of the Kentucky Senate becomes the presiding officer. Prior to 1992, the lieutenant governor presided over the Kentucky Senate, with the President Pro Tempore presiding in his or her absence. Both political parties also elect floor leadership, including a party floor leader, whip, and caucus chair.

The Senate maintains __ standing committees: ___. The chamber also maintains three procedural committees: the Rules Committee, the Enrollment Committee, and the Committee on Committees. The Rules Committee determines when and how legislation will reach the floor for debate. The Enrollment Committee prepares approved bills for delivery to the governor. The Committee on Committees assigns members and chairpersons to standing committees, refers bills to standing committees, and supervises legislative employees. The Senate can also form special committees for specific purposes, including conference committees to resolve differences between bills passed in the House and Senate, and can resolve itself into a committee of the whole.

Kentucky House of Representatives
Kentucky is divided into 100 house districts which are apportioned by population and are redrawn every ten years. One representative is elected from each district and serves a term of two years. The elections are held in even-numbered years, and the entire house is elected each time. Candidates for the Kentucky House of Representatives must be at least 24 years old, be a citizen of Kentucky, and must have resided in the state at least two years and the district at least one year prior to election. Members of the Kentucky House of Representatives are not term limited.

The presiding officer in the House of Representatives is the Speaker of the Kentucky House of Representatives. The speaker is chosen from among the body's membership by a vote of the representatives. In the absence or inability of the speaker to preside over the body, the Speaker Pro Tempore of the Kentucky House of Representatives becomes the presiding officer. Both political parties also elect floor leadership, including a party floor leader, whip, and caucus chair.

The House maintains __ standing committees: ___. The chamber also maintains the same three procedural committees as the Senate (Rules, Enrollment, and the Committee on Committees) and they function in a similar manner in the House. The House can form special committees for specific purposes, including conference committees, and can resolve itself into a committee of the whole.

Executive
8 presidential electors

All executive officers in the Kentucky state government are limited to serving, at most, two consecutive four-year terms.

Governor
As head of the executive branch, the governor serves as commander-in-chief of the state's military forces and is empowered to enforce all the laws of the state. He or she also has the power to remit fines and grant pardons. The power to pardon is not applicable to cases of impeachment, and in cases of treason, a gubernatorial pardon is only effective until the end of the next session of the General Assembly, which can grant a full pardon for treason. The governor is given broad statutory authority to make appointments to the various cabinets and departments of the executive branch. Because the governor controls so many appointments to commissions, the office has been historically considered one of the most powerful state executive positions in the United States. Additionally, the governor's influence has been augmented by wide discretion in awarding state contracts and significant influence over the legislature.

As with state senators, the governor was chosen by an electoral college under the 1792 constitution, but has been popularly elected since the adoption of the 1799 constitution. Kentucky is one of only five U.S. states that hold gubernatorial elections in odd-numbered years, the others being Louisiana, Mississippi, Virginia, and New Jersey. Candidates for the office of governor of Kentucky must be at least thirty years of age and have resided in the state for at least six years preceding the general election.

The governor possesses the power to veto legislation passed by the General Assembly, although the veto can be overridden by an absolute majority of both houses. The governor also possesses a line-item veto, but its use is forbidden on constitutional amendments and laws related to the classification of property for tax purposes. Unlike the U.S. President, the governor does not have the option of a pocket veto. If the governor refuses to sign a bill, it automatically becomes law after ten days. In the event that the legislature adjourns to prevent the return of a bill by veto, the bill becomes law three days after the commencement of the next legislative session unless the governor explicitly vetoes it.

Other executive officers
Attorney General, Secretary of State, treasurer, auditor, commissioner of agriculture

In addition to these constitutional officers, the state constitution provides that "Inferior state officers, not specifically provided for in this Constitution, may be appointed or elected, in such manner as may be prescribed by law,... for a term not exceeding four years, and until their successors are appointed or elected and qualified."

Judicial
2 federal court districts

Local
Kentucky is divided into 120 counties; only the states of Texas (254) and Georgia (159) have more. Originally, the counties were formed such that county residents would be able to travel from their homes to the county seat and back on horseback in a single day. In the 1820s, however, land speculation contributed to a proliferation of counties. Residents who had disputes with county officials routinely petitioned the General Assembly to form a new county around them. Following the Civil War, Kentuckians began to complain that having so many counties compromised government services and led to lawlessness. Consequently, the framers of the 1891 Kentucky Constitution placed stricter limits on county creation, stipulating that a new county:


 * must have a land area of at least 400 sqmi;
 * must have a population of at least 12,000 people;
 * must not by its creation reduce the land area of an existing county to less than 400 sqmi;
 * must not by its creation reduce the population of an existing county to fewer than 12,000 people;
 * must not create a county boundary line that passes within 10 mi of an existing county seat.

These regulations have reined in the proliferation of counties in Kentucky. Since the ratification of the 1891 Constitution, only McCreary County has been created.

judge-executives; fiscal courts

Under section 156 of the 1891 Constitution, cities in Kentucky were classified by population. Six city classifications were created by this section. Cities with 100,000 or more residents were classified as first-class cities, while cities with fewer than 1,000 residents were classified as sixth-class cities. Section 156 of the Kentucky Constitution was repealed in 1975 and was replaced by sections 156a and 156b. Section 156a states that: "[T]he General Assembly shall create such classifications of cities as it deems necessary based on population, tax base, form of government, geography, or any other reasonable basis and enact legislation relating to the classifications." Since the General Assembly has not created a new classification scheme, the classifications put forth in the repealed section 156 remain in effect.

In 1970, the General Assembly enacted legislation that allowed city and county governments to merge into an urban county government provided the county did not contain a first-class city. Holding a referendum on the creation of an urban county government requires a petition signed by five percent of the county's voters and five percent of the voters of each affected municipality. If the petition is successful, the referendum is held during the next general election. If the referendum is affirmed by a majority of the voters, the city and county governments are dissolved and replaced by a new entity&mdash;the urban county government&mdash;which has characteristics of both a city government and a county government. To date, only the residents of Fayette County have exercised this process, forming the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government effective December 31, 1973.

In 1982, the General Assembly created a process for merging the government of a first-class city and the county containing it. Unlike an urban county government, the consolidated city-county government would merge only the governments of the first-class city and the county, leaving the other municipalities in the county unaffected. This process was codified in section 67C of the Kentucky Revised Statutes. Following passage of KRS 67C, a failed attempt was made to consolidate the governments of Louisville and Jefferson County. The question was put on the ballot again in 1983, but it failed again. Parts of KRS 67C were repealed in 1984, and the rest was repealed in 1986. In 2000, the General Assembly again enacted legislation defining a process for merging the government of a first-class city with the county that contains it, again codifying the process in KRS 67C. Under the revised KRS 67C, all counties containing a first-class city were required to put the measure on the ballot in November 2000. Louisville was the only first-class city in Kentucky at the time, and the voters approved the consolidation of the city and county governments. The Louisville/Jefferson County Metro Government began operation January 3, 2003.