Still under a state of emergency.Day one of the Kentucky special session and a big item is already decided.Lawmakers voted to extend the state of emergency into January of next year.The resolution will now go to Gov. Andy Beshear's desk while lawmakers continue debate on other bills.Beshear called back Kentucky legislators to clarify his executive powers. "Now we find ourselves having to reevaluate those executive orders and if you'll notice, on these executive orders extending them until Jan. 15, 2022. That is to give us time should there be a need to come back in when we come in January for regular session," said KY Speaker of the House Rep. David Osborne.That first order of business did not see much resistance.The topic of schools was much different. "Every county in Kentucky, as of today, is in the red. More importantly, in our schools right now we have 32 school districts who are closed," said Sen. Reginald Thomas, (D) Lexington.A proposed Senate bill would eliminate the mask mandate handed down by the Kentucky Board of Education. "To say now that we are not going to require masks in our public schools, where our children are going to school, is completely irresponsible of us and it's bad policy," said Thomas. "If a local school district wants to come up with their own policy and procedure moving forward that's up to local control," Sen. Max Wise, (R) Campbellsville.Beshear does not currently have the power to mandate masks.But he said in a news conference Monday afternoon that is the difference between in-person and virtual classrooms this year. "I think universal masking is absolutely necessary if we want our kids in school," he said.The House is scheduled to reconvene Tuesday at 10 a.m.

Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear announced Saturday that he's calling the Republican-led legislature into a special session to shape pandemic policies as Kentucky struggles with a record surge of COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations.The return of lawmakers to the state Capitol, starting Tuesday, will mark a dramatic power shift in coronavirus-related policymaking following a recent court ruling.Key GOP lawmakers have signaled their preference for policies favoring local decision-making over statewide mandates in response to the virus escalation fueled by the fast-spreading delta variant.Beshear wielded sole authority to call lawmakers into a special session and to set the agenda. But GOP supermajorities in both chambers will decide what measures ultimately pass.Various emergency measures issued by Beshear are set to expire as a result of the landmark court decision. Lawmakers will decide whether to extend, alter or discontinue each emergency order, and they are expected to put their own stamp on the state's response to COVID-19.Throughout the pandemic, Republican lawmakers watched from the sidelines as Beshear waged an aggressive response that included statewide mask mandates and strict limits on gatherings. Republicans criticized the governor for what they viewed as overly broad and stringent restrictions on Kentuckians. The governor lifted most of his virus-related restrictions in June.The state Supreme Court recently shifted those virus-related decisions to the legislature. The court cleared the way for new laws to limit the governor’s emergency powers, which he used to impose virus restrictions. The justices said a lower court wrongly blocked the GOP-backed measures.Since the ruling, Beshear has been negotiating with lawmakers in anticipation of calling them into special session.