 Sampson's agenda for the 1930 session was lost in the fights over Ben Johnson and Cumberland Falls. His calls for funding the free textbook program, compulsory sterilization of the mentally ill, and restrictions on chain stores were ignored. Instead, the legislature continued eroding his gubernatorial powers, including the power to appoint members of the textbook commission. With nearly all of the governor's powers stripped away and given to a three-person commission, Lieutenant Governor James Breathitt, Jr. became the de facto governor for the remainder of Sampson's term. The General Assembly pursued its own agenda, passing a mandatory driver's license law, a revised election law, and a sales tax on retail stores. They also allocated funding for the purchase of what would become Mammoth Cave National Park. Sampson vetoed 12 bills during the 1930 session, but the legislature overrode 11 of them.
