The 2026 Kentucky General Assembly might be around six months away, but for lawmakers, the work continues during the interim. Senator Craig Richardson reflected on last year’s legislative session and shared his plans for the upcoming session at Thursday’s Hopkinsville Kiwanis Club meeting.
Richardson represents Christian, Caldwell and Muhlenberg counties and was elected in 2024. In the Senate, Richardson is the vice chair of the Health Services Committee and the co-chair of the Budget Review Subcommittee on Health and Family Services. Richardson is also a member of the Agriculture; Appropriations and Revenue; Veterans, Military Affairs and Public Protection and Enrollment Committees.
The 2025 short session was Richardson’s first session, and he describes it as an eye-opening experience. As the session progressed, he says the pace of their work exponentially increased toward the end. He says the Senate filed around 300 bills, and the House filed around 700 bills, but hardly even a fraction of them passed into law.
During the session, Richardson says he focused on legislation concerning health care, Medicare and Medicaid. Richardson says Medicare and Medicaid are among the biggest expenses in Kentucky’s budget.
Richardson is also a part of the Medicaid Oversight and Advisory Board that was created under House Bill 695. The board will examine Medicaid spending and efficiency. Richardson says the establishment of the board comes at a time when Medicaid costs are going up but fewer people are using the program to cover their medical costs.
Along with focusing on healthcare, Richardson says education will be another one of the main focuses heading into the upcoming session. Richardson expects discussions to occur concerning an increase in funding for public education after many school systems had their ESSER Funds taken back by the federal government.
The 2026 session will be 60 days long and lawmakers are tasked with crafting a two-year budget. Richardson invites constituents to contact him about their concerns at craig.richardson@kylegislature.gov.