Kentucky lawmakers pass bill naming portion of state road to honor Charlie Kirk

Christopher Leach, Lexington Herald-Leader on Apr 2, 2026

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LEXINGTON, Ky. — A bill that would name portions of Kentucky highways after public figures, including one for Charlie Kirk, passed both chambers of the General Assembly Wednesday night .

The bill, Senate Joint Resolution 139, passed 32-2 in the Senate and 86-4 in the House of Representatives. The resolution honors dozens of Kentucky public figures, including veterans, fallen soldiers, notable politicians, celebrities and others, by naming certain sections of road after them.

The resolution has now been sent to Gov. Andy Beshear’s desk, who can choose to sign the resolution into effect. Beshear can also veto the resolution, but the legislature has the power to override him.

One of the highway designations was for Charlie Kirk, the host of the Charlie Kirk Show Podcast and founder of Turning Point USA, a nonprofit student organization that advocates for conservative principles on high school and college campuses. In September 2025, Kirk was fatally shot at an event on Utah Valley State’s campus.

The resolution said the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet will designate Kentucky Route 18 from mile point 0 to mile point 11.776 in Boone County as the “Charlie Kirk Memorial Highway.” The transportation cabinet would have 30 days from the effective date of the resolution to post signage about the designation.

The resolution was sponsored by Sen. Julie Adams, R-Louisville, and Sen. Brandon Smith, R-Hazard.

Rep. Matthew Lehman, D-Newport, proposed an amendment to remove Kirk from the resolution before the vote, saying Kirk was not a Kentucky resident and that the designation should be reserved for only Kentuckians.

He said he could only find three instances where a non-Kentucky resident was honored with a road name: the John F. Kennedy Bridge in Louisville, the Ronald Reagan Expressway in Northern Kentucky and the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Highway in Louisville, Adair County and Logan County.

“None of us condone any type of violence, especially any type of political violence,” Lehman said. “But the simple fact is Mr. Kirk is not a Kentuckian.”

Lawmakers voted against Lehman’s amendment 18-73. Before votes were cast, Rep. TJ Roberts, R-Burlington, who has shown support for legislation honoring Kirk previously, said Kirk did have Kentucky connections before his death.

“One of the last times he was in Kentucky, he was at his aunt’s funeral,” Roberts said. “Charlie Kirk was 31 years old, he was a father of two small children and he was assassinated for doing what we’re doing right here, right now, and that’s having a debate. That’s having discussion. That is for putting differences aside and for deciding that the conversation is worth preserving.”

Other designations in the resolution

There were two highway designations in Fayette County included in the resolution. One plans to honor a retired farmer by naming a four-mile section of Kentucky Route 353 James ‘Jim’ Mahan Memorial Highway.

Mahan “played in active role in Kentucky’s agricultural community,” according to his obituary. During his career, he served as president of the Thoroughbred Farm Manager’s Club, Fayette County Farm Bureau and UK’s College of Agriculture Alumni Association.

Mahan died August 29, 2025, according to his obituary. He was 81 years old.

The other Fayette County highway designation honors John Stempel, a former U.S. Foreign Service Officer and director of the Patterson School of Diplomacy and International Commerce at the University of Kentucky. He died Jan. 8, 2025 at 86 years old, according to his obituary.

Stempel served as a Foreign Service Officer for 23 years, and was critical in expanding the Patterson School at UK. Considered an expert on politics in the Middle East, Stempel was a senior official in both Democratic and Republican administrations, working in the State and Defense departments. For two years, he worked as director of the State Department’s Crisis Center.

The resolution designed a three-mile section of Kentucky Route 1973 to be named Dr. John Dallas Stempel Memorial Highway.

Other notable designations include naming an almost two-mile section of Kentucky Route 222 in Hardin County after Sgt. Benjamin Pennington, of Glendale. Pennington died earlier this year from injuries sustained in Operation Epic Fury in the Middle East.

Another fallen soldier, Air Force Tech. Sgt. Ashley B. Pruitt, was honored with plans to name a section Kentucky Route 523 in Nelson County as the Technical Sergeant Ashley R. Young Pruitt Memorial Highway. Pruitt was one of six soldiers to die in a plane crash as part of Operation Epic Fury.