— by Olivia Krauth, Queer Kentucky —
My party people, I do fear it is time to return to Frankfort.
Unfortunately, yes, I am serious.
But this time around, the GOP-dominated legislature won’t be able to pass any laws — just chit-chat about them.
Kentucky’s 2025 interim session kicks off the first week of June and runs until around December.
Even though lawmakers won’t be able to pass anything, the interim session is a great way to deepen your knowledge of Frankfort, talk with your elected officials or even dip your toes into the warm sands of civic engagement for the first time.
What is the interim session and why should you care? Allow me to explain.
What is the interim session?
Think of the interim session as Frankfort’s off-season conditioning.
Unlike during the regular legislative session, which runs typically from January until April-ish, lawmakers aren’t in Frankfort every day. But during the interim, lawmakers show up maybe a few times a month to attend committee meetings and discuss topics of some sort of importance.
The House and Senate versions of each committee — like, say, education committees — combine into one for joint meetings. You also typically see a few task forces designed to target specific topics or issues meeting during the interim so they can study a topic and give the legislature ideas about how to fix it ahead of the next legislative session.
They can’t pass any legislation, but often, the stuff they discuss during the interim turns into or at least informs the bills they file in the next legislative session. So it is important to pay attention.
What’s the difference between the interim session and the legislative session?
Simple: Lawmakers can file and pass bills during the legislative session, and they can’t do that during the interim session.
Why should I care?
Listen, I get it. We’ve fought through yet another legislative session in Kentucky, and no one really wants to think about Frankfort again until the next legislative session.
But the interim session is a great way to get civically engaged in whatever way feels best for you. For folks who don’t know much about Frankfort or are intimidated by the whole legislative process, the interim session is a great way to get your foot in the door.
A lot of the conversations are about topics that could potentially turn into bills. This is a time where lawmakers hear directly from experts or key officials, so listening in can help you understand the underlying facts of a situation before everything gets more political.
You also may be able to testify directly to lawmakers without the stringent time restraints that tend to cut off stakeholder voices during session. The interim generally is a low-pressure time where everyone is focused more on learning and understanding an issue, rather than political rhetoric and yelling.
This means your lawmaker might have more time free to talk to you about topics you’re interested in, too. Even if it is just a quick introduction, this is a lower-stress time to lay any advocacy groundwork.
You can learn more about Queer Kentucky’s tips for advocating for yourself and others in Frankfort right here.
What are some things to watch for during the interim?
2026 is a budget year in Kentucky, so expect a lot of chatter about that.
Past that, I’m expecting some talk about how the Trump administration is — or could be — impacting Kentucky, and how the state government should adapt to federal changes.
On the LGBTQ+ front, I would be on the watch for discussions about bathroom policies on the state Capitol grounds. The 2025 legislative session ended with a bang with a GOP state representative accosting a transgender woman outside of a women’s restroom in the Capitol. The rep pretty quickly vowed to propose legislation to enforce some sort of “bathroom ban” in 2026.
When is Kentucky’s interim session?
Kentucky’s interim session starts June 3 and runs for several months. Typically, committees wrap things up in November, but some keep going in December.
Instead of meeting weekly (if not more) during a legislative session, committees tend to meet monthly during the interim. You’re less likely to see multiple committee meetings happening at the same time, too, making it easier to focus on the one you’re in.
You can see the full schedule for interim session meetings on the LRC website.
Where do interim meetings happen?
Generally, meetings happen in the Capitol Annex in Frankfort.
But a fun part of the interim session is that sometimes, they hold meetings elsewhere in Kentucky. For example, several committees opt to meet at the Kentucky State Fair in Louisville in August rather than going to Frankfort.
How can I get involved?
You can show up in-person in Frankfort or you can watch a live-stream. KET tends to be a good pick, but the LRC — the nonpartisan group of workers who make everything work behind-the-scenes — has a YouTube page that has never failed me.
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This article first appeared on Queer Kentucky and is republished here under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
