Kentucky’s Senate president David L. Williams hopes to move Kentucky’s filing deadline from the end of January (fast approaching) to the end of April:

Introduced by Sen. David L. Williams on January 18, 2008, to move the candidate filing deadline from the last Tuesday in January to the last Tuesday in April and the primary election to the first Monday in August. The bill also eliminates the gubernatorial runoff primary. The bill’s provisions would become effective immediately upon becoming law.

The legislation, piggybacking on the popular idea of eliminating the useless and costly gubernatorial runoff, would force lawmakers to confront substantive issues in the first month of each even-year legislative session. I wrote more than a year ago:

Political journalist Lowell Reese says “it’s almost traditional” for incumbents to tiptoe through the General Assembly until the end of January, closing the window of opportunity for new candidates. After all, a difficult vote cast before the filing deadline might motivate unhappy voters, create an unpredictable electorate and inspire serious challenges from credible opponents.

Lawmakers’ activities during this year’s legislative session should have earned them those kinds of challengers. Legislative leaders ducked out of public view for two weeks during March and April to complete a budget.

What emerged from those private budget parties was a massive, debt-ridden and even constitutionally questionable spending plan. Rank-and-file members were given just a day to judge the merits of the entire bill and were not allowed to make amendments.

After this affront to basic accountability, no challengers could file for office because the deadline fell 74 days before legislators were legally obligated to finish their work.

Delaying the filing deadline until after incumbents complete the legislative session in mid-April would allow voters – and potential challengers – to make informed decisions about whether representatives are properly representing their constituents. To accommodate the printing of ballots, the later filing deadline would probably require moving the state’s primary election – currently held in mid-May – to a later date.

According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, only seven states conduct primary elections earlier than Kentucky. This year, the commonwealth’s primary election was on May 16, while 22 states will hold primaries in August or September.

A new filing date of April 30 in Kentucky would make the deadline a factor during the state’s entire legislative session.

Was someone listening? I can only hope so.

[Hat tip: David Adams]