Freedom Index

A Legislative Scorecard Based on the Principles of the U.S. Constitution

Kentucky Legislative Scorecard  »  Freedom Index  »  KY Scorecard 2023

Legislative Scorecard Based on the U.S. Constitution

The Legislative Scorecard is a nationwide educational program of The John Birch Society. Its purpose is to create an informed electorate on how state legislators are voting. The Scorecard is nonpartisan; it does not promote any candidate or political party. Bills are selected for their constitutional implications and cost to the taxpayers.

Please share this Scorecard in your district to inform people about your legislator's record on key votes.
U.S. Constitution, Amendment I --- 11 C.F.R. §114(4)(c)(4) --- 616 F.2d 45 (2d Cir. 1980)

Legislative Scorecard

Based on the U.S. Constitution

KY Scorecard 2023

The Legislative Scorecard is a nationwide educational program of The John Birch Society. Its purpose is to create an informed electorate on how state legislators are voting. The Scorecard is nonpartisan; it does not promote any candidate or political party. Bills are selected for their constitutional implications and cost to the taxpayers.

Please share this Scorecard in your district to inform people about your legislator's record on key votes.
U.S. Constitution, Amendment I --- 11 C.F.R. §114(4)(c)(4) --- 616 F.2d 45 (2d Cir. 1980)

The following scorecard lists several key votes in the Kentucky General Assembly in 2023 and ranks state representatives and senators based on their fidelity to (U.S.) constitutional and limited-government principles.

This is our second state-level Scorecard; the selected votes may not be reflective of legislators’ overall records. Their cumulative scores will change as we add more votes. Please check regularly for updates.

Senate
House of Representatives

Senate

1. Eliminating the ‘Bourbon Barrel Tax’

Good Vote: Yes

HB5 Eliminating the ‘Bourbon Barrel Tax’ (passed 23 to 14 on 3/30/2023). Phases out state and local property taxes on the production of “distilled spirits stored or aging in barrels” beginning in 2026 and eliminating them by 2043.

2. Parental Rights in Education

Good Vote: Yes
SB150 Parental Rights in Education (passed 29 to 8 on 3/29/2023). Limits the authority of public schools in relation to parental rights, a student’s use of pronouns, medical or mental health services, and instructional content on human sexuality.

3. Prohibiting Enforcement of Federal Firearms Restrictions

Good Vote: Yes
HB153 Prohibiting Enforcement of Federal Firearms Restrictions (passed 27 to 9 on 3/15/2023). Prohibits state and local agencies from enforcing any “federal law, executive order, rule, or regulation that is enacted, adopted, or becomes effective on or after January 1, 2021.”

4. Protecting Children from Lewd or Lascivious Conduct

Good Vote: Yes
SB115 Protecting Children from Lewd or Lascivious Conduct (passed 26 to 6 on 3/10/2023). Would make engaging in a “live sexually explicit performance” on public property or in a location where it could be viewed by a minor child a criminal offense.

5. Saving Kentucky’s Coal Power Plants

Good Vote: Yes

SB4 Saving Kentucky’s Coal Power Plants (passed 25 to 8 on 3/2/2023). Prevents a utility company from shutting down a “fossil fuel-fired electric generating unit” without demonstrating that it would result in reliability and resilience of the electric grid as well as cost savings for customers.

6. “Electronic Money” in the Uniform Commercial Code

Good Vote: No
SB64 “Electronic Money” in the Uniform Commercial Code (passed 34 to 0 on 2/28/2023). Would change Kentucky’s definition of “money” to include “electronic money,” as provided by the Uniform Commercial Code.  
Legislator Scores
[ + ] Pro-liberty Vote[ - ] Anti-liberty Vote[ . ] Did not Vote
Name Party District Score 123456
Julie Raque Adams R SD-036 50% ++..--
Ralph Alvarado R NA ......
Karen Berg D SD-026 20% +---.-
Gary Boswell R SD-008 83% +++++-
Jared Carpenter R SD-034 80% +++.+-
Danny Carroll R SD-002 33% ---++-
Casey Chambers Armstrong D SD-019 20% +----.
Matthew Deneen R SD-010 67% -++++-
Donald Douglas R SD-022 83% +++++-
Shelley Frommeyer R SD-024 67% ++++--
Rick Girdler R SD-015 83% +++++-
David Givens R SD-009 67% ++-++-
Denise Harper Angel D SD-035 20% +----.
Jimmy Higdon R SD-014 67% -++++-
Jason Howell R SD-001 83% +++++-
Amanda Mays Bledsoe R SD-012 67% -++++-
Christian McDaniel R SD-023 50% ++-+--
Stephen Meredith R SD-005 67% -++++-
Robert Mills R SD-004 67% -++++-
Gerald Neal D SD-033 20% +---.-
Mike Nemes R SD-038 67% -++++-
John Schickel R SD-011 67% ++++--
Brandon Smith R SD-030 60% -++.+-
Adrienne Southworth R SD-007 67% -++++-
Robert Stivers R SD-025 83% +++++-
Brandon Storm R SD-021 67% -++++-
Damon Thayer R SD-017 83% +++++-
Reginald Thomas D SD-013 17% +-----
Lindsey Tichenor R SD-006 83% +++++-
Johnnie Turner R SD-029 80% -++++.
Robin Webb D SD-018 40% --+.+-
Steve West R SD-027 80% +++.+-
Whitney Westerfield R SD-003 80% ++++.-
Phillip Wheeler R SD-031 67% -++++-
Gex Williams R SD-020 67% -++++-
Mike Wilson R SD-032 83% +++++-
George Wise R SD-016 80% ++++.-
David Yates D SD-037 17% +-----

Average Constitutional Score by Party

Party Score
Republican 70.9%
Democrat 22%