House Bill 490, a bill allowing universities to cut tenured positions for financial reasons, is officially law after Kentucky lawmakers overrode Gov. Andy Beshear’s veto last Tuesday. 

The bill, sponsored by Republican representative Aaron Thompson, passed 80-19 in the Kentucky House and 32-6 in the Kentucky Senate after Beshear vetoed it.

In his veto message, Beshear said the bill is too vague. 

“As written, House Bill 490 may be misused to target people, programs, and research based purely on subject, politics or many other unconstitutional grounds, under the guise of economic reasons.” Beshear wrote. 

This sentiment was shared by advocates against the bill. Organizations like the American Association of University Professors spoke out against the bill’s passage. 

In WKU’s most recent faculty senate meeting, Provost Bud Fischer said this bill will likely change WKU’s faculty handbook, which will be worked out over summer break. There is also a meeting scheduled between Fischer, Faculty Regent Shane Spiller and University General Counsel Andrea Anderson to see what potential changes might look like. 

The bill will officially take effect on July 1, but universities have until Oct.1 to change policies. 

Provost Bud Fischer did not respond to a request for further comment. 

The full text of the bill can be found here.