KENTUCKY — As it stands right now - all members of the Kentucky House of Representatives and Kentucky Senate are on break until they reconvene on February 2nd.

During this In Focus Kentucky segment, Senate President Robert Stivers (R- Manchester) discusses House Bill 3, which would steer cases away from Franklin County Circuit Court. By bypassing that circuit, the bill would dramatically change the way lawsuits involving state government are handled.

Under the bill, cases dealing with the constitutionality of state law, executive orders or administrative regulations would be heard in the plaintiff's home county. Those cases now are traditionally tried in Franklin Circuit Court, in the state capital of Frankfort.

Governor Andy Beshear vetoed House Bill, saying the legislation would create "significant" new costs for state and local governments.

Also featured during this segment is Representative Angie Hatton, who is serving her second session as Minority Whip in the State House.

Rep. Hatton recaps the first part of this year's session and lays out how she has had to adapt to a new way of legislating due to the ongoing pandemic.

"It's definitely unique. This is my seventh, if you include special sessions and this is different in a whole lot of ways. We are socially distant, most of us aren't going to the floor, we are not seeing lobbyists or or crowds in the Capitol. This is the only session where I can remember, I've actually gotten a lunch every day. I think in that way, but ny not having so many people here, we slowed it down, but it's also really hard to make these sorts of decisions without having all of the input that we're used to having from visitors who come in and speak in committees and protest. It's just us legislators and staff up here this year and it's very different. It feels totally different from all the other sessions," explains Hatton