STATE SEN. AMANDA MAYS BLEDSOE (Legislative Research Commission photo)
The last time the Sun held an extended interview with Kentucky State Sen. Amanda Mays Bledsoe, the Sun broke the news that she had decided not to enter the race to succeed U.S. Rep. Andy Barr, R-6th District. The seat opened when Barr decided to seek the U.S. Senate seat vacated by Mitch McConnell, thus throwing the door wide open to what many view as, if not a safe Republican seat, then one that heavily trends Republican.
But given the age of her children as well as her own growing influence and leadership role in the Kentucky Senate, Mays Bledsoe surprised many by passing on the race. Surprisingly, because Mays Bledsoe served eight years on the nonpartisan Lexington-Fayette Urban County Council and won twice in her Senate district, whose largest county is majority Democrat. (The 12th Senate District comprises part of Fayette, and all of Woodford, Boyle and Mercer.)
Now, with many accomplishments under her belt along with a leadership position on the powerful Senate Appropriations and Revenue Committee and co-chairmanship of the Artificial Intelligence Joint Task Force, which is becoming more visible and relevant, Mays Bledsoe is looking forward to the start of the new session of the Kentucky General Assembly, which begins Tuesday, Jan. 6. This is the biennial budget session in which the legislature will enact the state’s budget for 2026-2028.
Mays Bledsoe outlined three major areas that she will focus on this term.
Housing
Several items from the 2025 session were pushed to this year since “they had budget impacts, and this is the year we enact a new budget.” This means Mays Bledsoe is working to create funding vehicles to “fund front-end costs of development to make the finished homes in the affordable range, which is where there is a real need.”
The goal, she said, is to “cheapen the cost of building on the front end so the consumer is able to buy a cheaper house.”
One of these concepts has found success in Indiana, where the state creates development districts, similar to an urban service boundary, and developers or local governments can pool resources to build affordable housing for workforce development.
“The legislature will put dollars in a fund which can then be used for revolving loans for doing basic infrastructure like water, sewer, roads, sidewalks, things like that,” she said. “This cheapens the ultimate cost passed on to the home buyer.”
Local Woodford County officials have told the Sun that there is a significant need for this type of funding.
Another idea Mays Bledsoe is focusing on is similar to a project enacted in a prior session via a partnership with the Kentucky Bankers Association. Mays Bledsoe explained that the idea is for banks to pool CRA Community Reinvestment Act) credits to generate a bigger impact. Again, the funds would be available for the cost-intensive front-end infrastructure costs.
“Another challenge we have to look at is to make sure we address the reality that the needs are different between Louisville-Northern Kentucky-Lexington and the rest of the state,” she said. “So my goal is to make sure the tools are there (to impact the problem of affordable housing) for not just those areas, but places like Woodford, Boyle, and Mercer.”
Boards of Education
The job of a school board member is another issue high on Mays Bledsoe’s list—not surprisingly given the dysfunction, competing audits and fights involving the Fayette County School Board, which has been playing out in the media for the past several months.
But it is not just Fayette that is generating the legislature’s attention.
“At our caucus retreat, there were many senators who had issues with their school boards based on constituent and board member concerns, and every county seems a little bit different,” said Mays Bledsoe. “Jefferson and Fayette have gotten the most airtime, but there are issues around authority and accessibility all over the state.”
She also observed that there is a real interesting leadership dynamic depending on the county, noting some are primarily board led, others superintendent led, and still others where there is more collaboration.
“The challenge is how much authority do board members have, how much access to information do they have when they need it . . . no member should have to use the Kentucky Open Records Act to access the information they need to do their job they have been elected to,” she said.
Another issue, she said, will be the size of boards, given that many boards have far fewer members than city councils or fiscal courts, while having the significant responsibility of making policy for the education of the children in their community.
“In looking at this issue, we need to improve the effectiveness of school board members,” she said.
Mays Bledsoe also said the chronic issue of school funding remains something the legislature is always looking at, while noting that Woodford County is in a SEEK-deficit due to the high property values here.
“When the question is, are we looking at school funding, the answer is always ‘yes’,” she said. “Because it is hard.”
Mays Bledsoe said the factors involve local, state and federal policy and funding sources, and here, the Kentucky Supreme Court ultimately will weigh in on the constitutionality of any changes or new approaches.
(SEEK stands for Support Education Excellence in Kentucky. It is the acronym for the state school funding formula used to distribute state-controlled monies, in which richer districts like Woodford County receive less state funding, thus placing more of the burden on local property owners. As seen in recent reporting by the Sun about Woodford County Public School’s budget deficit, this is becoming an acute problem here.)
Mays Bledsoe said Kentucky, like most states, is waiting to see how federal school funding and grant-making issues settle to have more insight on the appropriate role for both the state and local school boards.
“We are always trying to figure out how we can increase student achievement and make sure funds are rewarding successful schools that are performing, which means we have to be mindful of the changing dynamics between the federal government and us here in Kentucky,” she said. “We need to see where the federal policy changes land.”
Energy
“Kentucky is an energy- producing state,” she said. “And, we need to capitalize on that. This generates revenue, but not everything can feed from that trough. We need to look at what we can control . . . where data centers can go, how (the emerging) nuclear power plays into this.”
Mays Bledsoe said it is just as important in dealing with energy issues that local governments be respected and have control over their utility rates and land use.
Student pages
Mays Bledsoe was quick to point out her frustration that the current construction and renovation of the Capitol building has placed the Kentucky House of Representative and State Senate in temporary, smaller rooms where only legislators will be allowed. This means, for now, the Page Program, in which high school students work for legislators, is suspended.
“I still want to make myself available to kids who are curious about the legislative process,” Mays Bledsoe excitedly said. “So, if any student wants to spend all or part of the day shadowing me, attending committee meetings with me, or spending time with me in my office, I really welcome that. They should email my assistant Krystal Albers at krystal.albers@kylegislature.gov, and we will make it happen.”