2017 Kentucky General Assembly

2017 session of the Kentucky General Assembly
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The Kentucky State Capitol in 2016
Overview
Legislative body	Kentucky General Assembly
Jurisdiction	Kentucky
Term	January 3, 2017 – March 30, 2017
Senate
Members	38
President	Robert Stivers (R–25th) Jan. 8, 2013 - present
Majority leader	Damon Thayer (R–17th) Jan. 8, 2013 - Jan. 1, 2025
Minority Leader	Ray Jones II (D–19th) Jan. 6, 2015 - Jan. 7, 2019
Party control	Republican
House of Representatives
Members	100
Speaker	Jeff Hoover (R–83rd) Jan. 3, 2017 - January 8, 2018
Minority Leader	Rocky Adkins (D–99th) Jan. 3, 2017 - Dec. 10, 2019
Party control	Republican

The 2017 Kentucky General Assembly was a meeting of the Kentucky General Assembly, composed of the Kentucky Senate and the Kentucky House of Representatives. It convened in Frankfort on January 3, 2017, and adjourned sine die on March 30, 2017. It was the second regular session of the legislature during the tenure of governor Matt Bevin.

Republicans maintained their majority following the 2016 election for the senate, while flipping control of the house from the Democratic Party for the first time since the 1919 election. This was the first session with a Republican majority in the house of representatives since the 1920 session.

Party summary

Senate

Overview of Senate membership by party

	Party (shading shows control)		Total	Vacant
	Democratic	Republican
End of previous session	11	27	38	0
Begin (January 3, 2017)	11	27	38	0
Final voting share	28.9%	71.1%
Beginning of the next session	11	27	38	0

House of Representatives

Overview of House membership by party

	Party (shading shows control)		Total	Vacant
	Democratic	Republican
End of previous session	53	47	100	0
Begin (January 3, 2017)	36	64	100	0
Final voting share	36.0%	64.0%
Beginning of the next session	36	62	98	2

Leadership

Senate

Presiding

• President: Robert Stivers (R)
• President pro tempore: David P. Givens (R)

Majority (Republican)

• Majority Leader: Damon Thayer
• Majority Whip: Jimmy Higdon
• Majority Caucus Chair: Dan Seum

Minority (Democratic)

• Minority Leader: Ray Jones II
• Minority Whip: Julian Carroll
• Minority Caucus Chair: Dorsey Ridley

House of Representatives

Presiding

• Speaker: Jeff Hoover (R)
• Speaker pro tempore: David W. Osborne (R)

Majority (Republican)

• Majority Leader: Jonathan Shell
• Majority Whip: Kevin Bratcher
• Majority Caucus Chair: David Meade

Minority (Democratic)

• Minority Leader: Rocky Adkins
• Minority Whip: Wilson Stone
• Minority Caucus Chair: Dennis Keene

Members

Senate

Senators in odd-numbered districts were elected in 2016, while senators in even-numbered districts were elected in 2014.

▌1. Stanley H. Humphries (R) ▌2. Danny Carroll (R) ▌3. Whitney Westerfield (R) ▌4. Dorsey Ridley (D) ▌5. Stephen Meredith (R) ▌6. C. B. Embry (R) ▌7. Julian Carroll (D) ▌8. Joseph R. Bowen (R) ▌9. David P. Givens (R) ▌10. Dennis Parrett (D) ▌11. John Schickel (R) ▌12. Alice Forgy Kerr (R) ▌13. Reggie Thomas (D) ▌14. Jimmy Higdon (R) ▌15. Rick Girdler (R) ▌16. Max Wise (R) ▌17. Damon Thayer (R) ▌18. Robin L. Webb (D) ▌19. Morgan McGarvey (D)

▌20. Paul Hornback (R) ▌21. Albert Robinson (R) ▌22. Tom Buford (R) ▌23. Christian McDaniel (R) ▌24. Wil Schroder (R) ▌25. Robert Stivers (R) ▌26. Ernie Harris (R) ▌27. Steve West (R) ▌28. Ralph Alvarado (R) ▌29. Johnny Ray Turner (D) ▌30. Brandon Smith (R) ▌31. Ray Jones II (D) ▌32. Mike Wilson (R) ▌33. Gerald Neal (D) ▌34. Jared Carpenter (R) ▌35. Denise Harper Angel (D) ▌36. Julie Raque Adams (R) ▌37. Perry B. Clark (D) ▌38. Dan Seum (R)

Senate composition by district   Held by Democrats   Held by Republicans

House of Representatives

All 100 house districts were last up for election in 2016.

▌1. Steven Rudy (R) ▌2. Richard Heath (R) ▌3. Gerald Watkins (D) ▌4. Lynn Bechler (R) ▌5. Kenny Imes (R) ▌6. Will Coursey (D) ▌7. Suzanne Miles (R) ▌8. Walker Thomas (R) ▌9. Myron Dossett (R) ▌10. Dean Schamore (D) ▌11. Robby Mills (R) ▌12. Jim Gooch (R) ▌13. DJ Johnson (R) ▌14. Matt Castlen (R) ▌15. Melinda Gibbons Prunty (R) ▌16. Jason Petrie (R) ▌17. Jim DeCesare (R) ▌18. Tim Moore (R) ▌19. Michael Meredith (R) ▌20. Jody Richards (D) ▌21. Bart Rowland (R) ▌22. Wilson Stone (D) ▌23. Steve Riley (R) ▌24. Brandon Reed (R) ▌25. Jim DuPlessis (R) ▌26. Russell Webber (R) ▌27. Jeff Greer (D) ▌28. Charles Miller (D) ▌29. Kevin Bratcher (R) ▌30. Tom Burch (D) ▌31. Steve Riggs (D) ▌32. Phil Moffett (R) ▌33. Jason Nemes (R) ▌34. Mary Lou Marzian (D) ▌35. Jim Wayne (D) ▌36. Jerry T. Miller (R) ▌37. Jeffery Donohue (D) ▌38. McKenzie Cantrell (D) ▌39. Russ Meyer (D) ▌40. Dennis Horlander (D) ▌41. Attica Scott (D) ▌42. Reginald Meeks (D) ▌43. Darryl Owens (D) ▌44. Joni Jenkins (D) ▌45. Stan Lee (R) ▌46. Al Gentry (D) ▌47. Rick Rand (D) ▌48. Ken Fleming (R) ▌49. Dan Johnson (R) ▌50. Chad McCoy (R)

▌51. John Carney (R) ▌52. Ken Upchurch (R) ▌53. James Tipton (R) ▌54. Daniel Elliott (R) ▌55. Kim King (R) ▌56. James Kay (D) ▌57. Derrick Graham (D) ▌58. Rob Rothenburger (R) ▌59. David W. Osborne (R) ▌60. Sal Santoro (R) ▌61. Brian Linder (R) ▌62. Phillip Pratt (R) ▌63. Diane St. Onge (R) ▌64. Kimberly Poore Moser (R) ▌65. Arnold Simpson (D) ▌66. Addia Wuchner (R) ▌67. Dennis Keene (D) ▌68. Joseph Fischer (R) ▌69. Adam Koenig (R) ▌70. John Sims Jr. (D) ▌71. Jonathan Shell (R) ▌72. Sannie Overly (D) ▌73. Donna Mayfield (R) ▌74. David Hale (R) ▌75. Kelly Flood (D) ▌76. Ruth Ann Palumbo (D) ▌77. George Brown Jr. (D) ▌78. Mark Hart (R) ▌79. Susan Westrom (D) ▌80. David Meade (R) ▌81. C. Wesley Morgan (R) ▌82. Regina Bunch (R) ▌83. Jeff Hoover (R) ▌84. Chris Fugate (R) ▌85. Tommy Turner (R) ▌86. Jim Stewart (R) ▌87. Rick Nelson (D) ▌88. Robert Benvenuti (R) ▌89. Marie Rader (R) ▌90. Tim Couch (R) ▌91. Toby Herald (R) ▌92. John Blanton (R) ▌93. Chris Harris (D) ▌94. Angie Hatton (D) ▌95. Larry D. Brown (R) ▌96. Jill York (R) ▌97. Scott Wells (R) ▌98. Danny Bentley (R) ▌99. Rocky Adkins (D) ▌100. Kevin Sinnette (D)

House composition by district   Held by Democrats   Held by Republicans

Changes in membership

Senate changes

There were no changes in Senate membership during this session.

House of Representatives changes

There were no changes in House of Representatives membership during this session.

Committees

Senate committees

Committee	Chair	Vice Chair
Agriculture	Paul Hornback	Stephen West
Appropriations and Revenue	Christian McDaniel	Stanley H. Humphries
Banking and Insurance	Tom Buford	Jared Carpenter
Committee on Committees	Robert Stivers	none
Economic Development, Tourism, and Labor	Alice Forgy Kerr	Rick Girdler
Education	Mike Wilson	Max Wise
Enrollment	Max Wise	none
Health and Welfare	Julie Raque Adams	Ralph Alvarado
Judiciary	Whitney Westerfield	Wil Schroder
Licensing, Occupations, and Administrative Regulations	John Schickel	Paul Hornback
Natural Resources and Energy	Jared Carpenter	Brandon Smith
Rules	Robert Stivers	none
State and Local Government	Joseph Bowen	Stanley H. Humphries
Transportation	Ernie Harris	Brandon Smith
Veterans, Military Affairs, and Public Protection	Albert Robinson	C. B. Embry

House of Representatives committees

Committee	Chair	Vice Chair(s)
Agriculture	Richard Heath	Mark Hart
Appropriations and Revenue	Steven Rudy	Ken Fleming
Banking and Insurance	Bart Rowland	Scott Wells
Committee on Committees	Jeff Hoover	Jonathan Shell
Economic Development and Workforce Investment	Jim DeCesare	Phillip Pratt
Education	John Carney	Steve Riley
Elections, Const. Amendments, and Intergovermental Affairs	Kenny Imes	DJ Johnson
Enrollment	Donna Mayfield	none
Health and Family Services	Addia Wuchner	Melinda Gibbons Prunty
Judiciary	Joseph Fischer	Jason Petrie
Licensing, Occupations, and Administrative Regulations	Adam Koenig	Chad McCoy
Local Government	Michael Meredith	Rob Rothenburger
Natural Resources and Energy	Jim Gooch Jr.	Chris Fugate
Rules	Jeff Hoover	Jonathan Shell
Small Business and Information Technology	Diane St. Onge	Larry D. Brown
State Government	Jerry T. Miller	Kenny Imes
Tourism and Outdoor Recreation	Tommy Turner	David Hale
Transportation	Marie Rader	Robby Mills and Walker Thomas
Veterans, Military Affairs, and Public Protection	Tim Moore	Donna Mayfield

See also

• 2016 Kentucky elections (elections leading to this session)
  • 2016 Kentucky Senate election
  • 2016 Kentucky House of Representatives election
• List of Kentucky General Assemblies

References

• "Kentucky General Assembly 2017 Directory" (PDF). Kentucky Legislative Research Commission. 2017. Retrieved September 29, 2025.