![]() ![]() Miss Staley continued to say that the Governor is assessing whether calling the legislature into special session - the Governor has the authority to call our part-time legislature into special session, but the legislature itself does not have the authority to call itself back into session - would do any good, whether the General Assembly would give him anything he wants. “It will further prevent the governor from taking additional steps such as a general mask mandate,” she said.Īnd that, of course, is exactly what Kentucky’s voters were trying to do, what they wanted done, when they gave Republicans such strong majorities in the General Assembly. It either eliminates or puts at risk large amounts of funding, steps we have taken to increase our health care capacity, expanded meals for children and families, measures to fight COVID-19 in long-term care facilities, worker’s compensation for front-line workers who contract COVID-19 as well as the ability to fight price gouging.” It takes only a ‘constitutional majority,’ more than 50% of the full membership of each chamber, to override a gubernatorial veto, not a 2/ 3 supermajority, as people are familiar with when it comes to the federal government, but the GOP has more than a 2/ 3 majority in each chamber.Ī spokeswoman for the governor responded to the decision Saturday afternoon, saying Beshear “has had the courage to make unpopular decisions in order to keep Kentuckians safe - the court has removed much of his ability to do so moving forward.”Ĭrystal Staley said in a statement that “the court’s order will dissolve Kentucky’s entire state of emergency for the COVID-19 pandemic. Republicans hold a 75-25 majority in the House, and 30-8 majority in the Senate. Republican candidates for the General Assembly ran against the Governor’s authoritarian decrees, and the voters of the Commonwealth rewarded the GOP with 14 additional seats in the state House of Representatives, and two more seats, out of 17 up for election, in the state Senate. He said many state lawmakers refuse to wear masks and noted that 26 legislators in Mississippi have tested positive for the virus.Īnd now he has found out that he isn’t a dictator! The Governor’s argument was simple: he just had to have the authority he claimed, because COVID-19 was so serious! Work collaboratively with other officials? On July 10, 2020, Mr Beshear stated that he wouldn’t involve the legislature because he believed that they wouldn’t do his bidding.īeshear was asked at Friday’s news conference on COVID-19 why he has not included the legislature in coming up with his orders. ![]() Cameron argued that the challenged legislation does not prevent Beshear from responding to emergencies and simply requires him to work collaboratively with other officials - including the legislature - in emergencies that last longer than 30 days. VanMeter of Lexington largely agreed with Cameron and lawmakers. The Supreme Court in a decision written by Justice Laurance B. The governor sued the legislature and Attorney General Daniel Cameron. Which is what I have been saying all along!īeshear had sought injunctive relief against the new laws, arguing that the legislation undermined his ability to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic and created a public health crisis that would result in increased disease and death. The challenged legislation was lawfully passed and the governor’s complaint “does not present a substantial legal question that would necessitate staying the effectiveness of the legislation,” the seven-member court ruled. In a 34-page order, the state’s highest court unanimously said Franklin Circuit Court abused its discretion in blocking the new laws from taking effect and sent the case back to the lower court to dissolve the injunction and hear legal arguments about the constitutionality of each law. Andy Beshear, the Kentucky Supreme Court in a rare Saturday decision ruled on the Democratic governor’s challenge of Republican-backed laws that limit his authority to enact emergency orders to help control the coronavirus pandemic. Governor Andy Beshear (D-KY) In a momentous legal defeat for Gov.
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