Kentucky Senate President Robert Stivers (R) has been chosen as one of Governing magazine's Public Officials of the Year.

Stivers, who is a member of NCSL's Executive Committee, won praise for his ability to find consensus in a divided legislature.

Governing's Mike Maciag wrote:

"Like many states with split-party legislatures, Kentucky had grown accustomed in recent years to partisan gridlock that ground most lawmaking to a halt. But since Robert Stivers took over as Senate president in 2013, he’s played a key role in guiding the legislature to multiple productive sessions, addressing a range of issues important to Kentuckians.

"Brokering agreements has meant working both with Democrats controlling the House and members of his own party in the Senate, who often have vastly different priorities mirroring their suburban or rural constituencies. Stivers says he’s established a dialogue by being inclusive and working to educate his members on the policy implications of legislation. 'You have to open the communications line,' he says, 'and have an ability to have frank discussions that don’t play out in the paper.' "

Stivers has been president of the Kentucky Senate since 2013.

Congratulations to Stivers from NCSL.