ALEC Policy Champions Strengthen Kentucky’s Judicial Branch

ALEC is proud to recognize Kentucky Senators Steve Rawlings, Shelley Funke Frommeyer, Matt Nunn, Aaron Reed, Lindsey Tichenor, and Phillip Wheeler for not only passing but directly enacting judicial deference reform through veto override with SB 84. With the bill passed by a supermajority in both the House and Senate, these senators have helped Kentucky accomplish great success in restoring the interpretive authority of its judiciary and limiting executive agency power.

The new law prohibits Kentucky courts from deferring to state agency interpretations of law, requiring courts review legal issues de novo. This aligns with the ALEC Judicial Deference Reform Act. The passage of this bill is a significant stride to promote fairness in the courts and ensure agency bureaucrats cannot dictate what the law is and how it is applied.

Kentucky’s deference effort is part of a recent wave of state legislature action to reform their deference laws. After the 2024 Loper Bright decision, where the U.S. Supreme Court prohibited judicial deference at the federal level, state legislatures across the country are motivated to codify the landmark ruling in their own jurisdictions. Doing so revokes immense power from unelected agency bureaucrats by returning the exclusive authority of legal interpretation to the judicial branch—a fundamental characteristic of American jurisprudence. Several states have prohibited the deference practice through legislation in recent years, and over 19 anti-deference bills have been moving through state legislatures this 2025 session.

Congratulations to Senators Rawlings, Funke Frommeyer, Nunn, Reed, Tichenor, and Wheeler for their successful effort to minimize executive overreach and protect our vital separation of powers framework.