Kentucky lawmakers overrode Gov. Andy Beshear’s veto of House Bill 490, expanding public college and university boards’ ability to terminate tenured faculty for “bona fide financial reasons.” The bill includes examples such as low enrollment in a major and “misalignment of revenue and costs” at the department or program level, and requires 30 days’ notice before termination. Beshear argued the standard is too “ambiguous and vague,” raising concerns it could be used to target faculty or research linked to unpopular subjects or politics. National faculty and union leadership—including the American Association of University Professors and the AFT—warned the law could be invoked to shut down programs and silence faculty speech. After the veto override, boards will need to adopt termination policies and justify decisions under the new statutory framework, raising the stakes for faculty governance and institutional planning in Kentucky’s public sector.