CAMPBELL COUNTY, Ky. — In the final days of the 2025 legislative session, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear's flurry of vetoes was met with a rush of overrides from the General Assembly.
The GOP supermajority voted to override more than 20 vetoes with ease on Thursday. Here's a roundup of some of the new laws that will soon be enacted in the commonwealth.
House Bill 4
The legislation, HB 4, orders the cancellation of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives at public colleges and universities in Kentucky.
The sweeping ban impacts DEI offices within public colleges and universities, training programs and any university policy that promotes "differential treatment."
"I think that we're just taking away safety and protection from people who need it," Northern Kentucky University student Fiona Moody said. "We're just further marginalizing (marginalized groups) and making our campus more polarized than it already is."
The Family Foundation applauded the move, calling DEI programs, which generally work to reduce discrimination, "harmful and discriminatory."
"DEI policies and programs at our public universities are leading to viewpoint discrimination and are undermining free speech," David Walls, Family Foundation executive director, wrote in a statement.
WATCH: What are Kentuckians saying about some of the laws to come out of the 2025 legislative session?
House Bill 90
House Bill 90 looks to shore up language within the commonwealth's near-total abortion ban statute, allowing medical providers more autonomy to provide proper maternal care, including termination of pregnancies, without fear of criminal liability.
Under the current state statute, abortion is only legal in Kentucky if the "life of the mother" is in danger.
HB 90 creates several more medical exceptions to the current ban, including instances of miscarriage management and ectopic pregnancies.
House Bill 495
House Bill 495 includes a measure that would overturn a previous executive order banning conversion therapy in Kentucky.
Beshear previously called conversion therapy "torture."
"The Republican-led legislature just overrode my veto on House Bill 495, which will allow conversion therapy in Kentucky," Beshear said on X.
The Kentucky Senate Majority said on X the Senate had voted to override House Bill 495, saying the bill "prohibits discrimination against mental health care professionals, institutions, and ordained ministries for providing protected counseling services."
Additionally, they said the bill "prohibits Medicaid payment (taxpayer funds) for hormone or other gender-affirming care."
Senate Bill 19
Senate Bill 19 directs all Kentucky public school students to take a "moment of silence or reflection" at the start of the school day.
SB 19 stipulates that the moment of silence would enable "each pupil to, in the exercise of his or her individual choice, meditate, pray, or engage in any other silent activity."
It also allows for public school students to excuse themselves from the classroom for one hour during the school week for "moral instruction" approved by the school district.
"They want prayer in the schools. That's my perspective," Louisville Rep. Tina Bojanowski previously told our sister station in Lexington. “They don’t say that, but that’s why it’s happening across the nation.”
Supporters, however, argue that the bill is intended to provide a moral foundation for students.
