Pension relief for Kentucky cities stands after Bevin drops court petition, for now

Gov. Matt Bevin backed off his request Wednesday for a judge to clarify the constitutionality of several laws that were passed in this year's legislative session using the same speedy process that prompted the judge to deem Kentucky's controversial public pension law unconstitutional.

The move lets stand a measure backed by the Kentucky League of Cities that gave relief to local governments from a dramatic increase in pension contributions that officials warned would bring financial ruin.

Bevin's general counsel, Steve Pitt, moved to withdraw an amended petition in the pension case that asked Franklin Circuit Judge Phillip Shepherd to rule on whether other laws are endangered by his ruling in the pension lawsuit, which was brought by Attorney General Andy Beshear, the Kentucky Education Association and the State Fraternal Order of Police.

Shepherd ruled June 20 that the pension law is unconstitutional because the General Assembly violated constitutional provisions that are designed to give the public a chance to participate in the legislative process. Bevin has promised to appeal that ruling.

"We continue to grapple with the widespread repercussions of Judge Shepherd’s actions, and we are finding new bills every day that could be invalidated by his indefensible ruling," said Elizabeth Kuhn, Bevin's communications director. "We withdrew our action today to file a more comprehensive petition in Franklin Circuit Court that will address the validity of scores of bills that have been called into question by Andy Beshear’s lawsuit. Kentuckians deserve assurances that the laws they follow are valid, and we are determined to resolve this issue before further chaos is created."

Pitt said Bevin wants "to back out" voluntarily from the amended petition but stressed that the administration still believes other new laws are at risk of legal challenges, including a measure dealing with the state's opioid epidemic that could affect 500 criminal cases and expansion of the state's 6 percent sales tax on various services starting July 1.

Pitt said the governor is "getting a lot of contact by people, counties and cities" about House Bill 362, which provides pension relief to local governments. Many local governments had been facing a 50 percent increase in their pension costs but the bill capped the annual increase at 12 percent for 10 years.

Earlier this week, the Kentucky League of Cities asked the court to allow it to intervene in the pension lawsuit, citing concern about the bill that caps pension contribution increases for local governments.

Shepherd accepted Pitt's motion to withdraw the amended petition.

Beshear told the court that more than 200,000 teachers and public workers deserve finality in the pension case and that he was pleased that Bevin's amended petition was no longer an issue.

He later told reporters that Bevin's contentions about other laws being in danger were "fear tactics."

"The only bill that was challenged and declared unconstitutional was the sewer bill, Senate Bill 151, where a 12-page sewer bill became a 291-page pension bill and was passed without a single public comment in less than six hours," said Beshear.

"Any of the arguments that the sky is falling or that every bill ever passed by the General Assembly is somehow void I think has been disproven today," he said.

J.D. Chaney, deputy executive director of the Kentucky League of Cities, said he was "delighted" with Wednesday's court developments.

"The phase-in bill is essential to the financial well-being of many cities in this state," he said.

This story was originally published June 27, 2018 at 12:32 PM.