My party people, what is poppin’!
Welcome to the inaugural issue of The Gallery Pass, the twice-weekly newsletter that I’ve dubbed “a hot girl’s guide to Kentucky politics.” (You do not need to identify as a hot girl to be here, fret not.)
For those of you who don’t know me, I’m Olivia Krauth. I’m an award-winning journalist with a background in political, education and data reporting. The Gallery Pass is my (latest) attempt to make Kentucky politics, Frankfort and political journalism as a whole more approachable, accessible and, frankly, fun.
Since this is the first issue and the first Sunday issue AND the last issue before the 2024 legislative session starts Tuesday, we have a lot to discuss.
Let’s begin with a few notes/rules/warnings
First, let me reiterate that this is a newsletter written by a 28-year-old woman who starts professional emails with “Hey, y’all” and hard launches political newsletters without warning at midnight on random weeknights and tries to make hot girl energy a thing in Frankfort. This is also a newsletter edited, produced, published and marketed by the aforementioned individual.
If you are looking for a very ~serious~, prim and proper approach to political news, you are in the wrong place. You can stay if you’d like, that’s fine, I love having as many subscribers as possible, but just know you may not be happy here. If you fear you may fall into the hater camp, have no fear, I am more than happy to give you the names of some outlets that may be more suitable to your, uh, needs.
Second, yes, snark will be present, but y’all can definitely expect the journalistic excellence I’m known for to be here too. This will not be a gossip column (yet). But I will be tweaking a few journalistic rules that I’ve never agreed with as I see fit. Top of mind: there will be cussing when the news cycle demands it.
Third, all of this is new. I don’t even know if I know how to actually send out the newsletter, and it just took me about 15 minutes to figure out how to type out the body of the email. Prepare to extend me grace. But the good news is that this allows me to be responsive to what works and what doesn’t. Things may shift over the next few weeks and months. See something that could be better? Don’t be afraid to reach out — I’m at olivia.krauth@gmail.com.
OK, so logistics
The Gallery Pass comes out twice a week: Sunday evenings and Thursday mornings.
I picked those times after a lot of thinking about what would be most helpful for those watching Frankfort. During even-numbered years, Kentucky’s legislature meets M-F and has the bulk of its committee meetings from T-R.
Sunday’s newsletter will be more about the week to come: when big bills could get votes, when key committees are meeting, what to watch out for, stuff like that. I opted for Sunday evenings over Monday mornings because I’d rather give you more time to fill out your planner and mentally prepare — especially if something big is happening Monday.
And then Thursday will be a more traditional newsletter: what has happened thus far that week, which trendlines are worth watching, etc. I picked Thursday because it felt like a decent amount of time from Sunday evening and, in my experience, it is a great time to do a temperature check.
As of right now, all subscribers — free and paid — will get both newsletters.
Where can you find my work this session?
Glad you asked:
The Gallery Pass, obvs.
Twitter will be my go-to spot for live updates.
TikTok will be home for my daily recaps + bill explainers + outfit posts.
Instagram will also be running anything I can make fit into my aesthetic.
LEO Weekly will be home for all of my full-length, original reporting.
Now, for the week ahead
The 2024 session runs from Jan. 2 to April 15. You can track each day’s legislative calendar through the LRC website, and here’s a link to the standing committee schedule.
Monday:
Mentally preparing for a long legislative session.
Selecting my perfect first day of session ‘fit.
Tuesday:
Kentucky’s legislature starts the 2024 session on Tuesday at noon Eastern.
Tuesday typically has 10 committee meetings, but none are currently on the calendar. Don’t be surprised if one randomly pops up, but don’t expect it.
Since it is the first day, don’t expect much legislative action but do expect an onslaught of news about freshly filed bills. Lawmakers can no longer prefile bills ahead of the session, which gave journalists and the public valuable time to see what was going through lawmakers’ minds ahead of time. The new process is a bit more chaotic, so just be aware.
Wednesday:
Committee meetings are a question mark — 14 committees will typically have their meetings on Wednesday, but with little legislation to consider passing, it is unclear how many will actually meet.
Gov. Andy Beshear’s State of the Commonwealth address is slated for 7 p.m. You’ll be able to watch on KET.
Thursday
Re: Wednesday’s note on committee meetings — 13 committees are scheduled to typically meet on Thursday.
Friday
Anyone interested in running for a political office that requires a primary (think state House and Senate seats) must file by 4 p.m. with the Secretary of State.
Several prominent lawmakers have already said they’re not running again, but there are a few question marks still out there. I’ll talk more about this on Thursday/next Sunday.
What to expect this session
I’ll dive into these topics in future newsletters, but here’s a quick rundown of what topics I think will play a major role in the 2024 session:
Education: I mean, when is education not a key topic in Frankfort?
Expect school choice to be a marquee battle (yes, again). Republicans are interested in passing legislation to put a constitutional amendment on the 2024 ballot that, if the public approves of it, would allow public dollars to go to non-public schools. That would open the door to charter schools and school voucher programs in Kentucky.
Also keep an eye out for teacher shortage mitigation measures. A few smaller options passed during the 2023 session, with some lawmakers and policy advocates hopeful that the 2024 budget year would allow for some larger changes to keep teachers.
Of course, there was that push from a few months ago to consider splitting JCPS into multiple districts — something that is currently not possible.
The budget: Um, yeah, so Kentucky decides its budget during even-numbered years, so … here we are.
Crime and guns: After a session semi-focused on juvenile justice issues, expect some more criminal justice and gun-related bills this year.
A group of Louisville Republicans are pushing an omnibus crime bill that touches on a range of issues, including expanding the death penalty, regulating bail fund organizations and cracking down on homeless encampments.
Sen. Whitney Westerfield, a Republican, is backing a bill that would temporarily keep guns from those at risk of hurting themselves or others.
A closing note
First, thank you for sticking with me until the end there. I’ll try not to make every newsletter so lengthy.
Second, thank you for simply being here. I’ve been and remained completely shocked and overwhelmed by the support and interest in The Gallery Pass since its launch a few days ago. Please encourage other folks to subscribe.
Finally, it wouldn’t be an Olivia Krauth newsletter without asking folks to fill out a survey. Take a second and tell me what political issues you want me to watch in 2024.
ok, byeeee!