House Democrats push Bevin to provide more information on his use of state plane
Kentucky governors would have to report their use of the state plane for personal or political reasons, release their last three years of tax returns and limit when they could accept contributions to pay off campaign loans under legislation unveiled Monday by three House Democratic members.
Minority Caucus Chairman Derrick Graham of Frankfort, Minority Whip Joni Jenkins of Shively and Angie Hatton of Whitesburg said the legislation is needed because of actions by Gov. Matt Bevin, a Republican.
They said the measures are needed for accountability and transparency and will push for them in Kentucky’s 2020 General Assembly regardless of who wins the Nov. 5 election between Bevin and Democratic nominee Andy Beshear, currently the state’s attorney general.
Bevin’s campaign manager, Davis Paine, called the Democrats’ actions “nothing more than a political stunt three weeks before an election.”
At a news conference in the Capitol Annex, Hatton noted recent news accounts about Bevin’s use of the state plane.
“We must never forget that taxpayers paid for this equipment and are entitled to know how it’s being used especially outside of normal government service,” Hatton said.
“It’s clear from the governor’s recent listing of political and personal trips that current reporting rules are just not enough,” she said. “The information was incomplete, and there is no real enforcement for non-compliance.”
The Herald-Leader reported last week that Bevin did not give a reason for 28 of the 112 trips he took using the state plane in 2016 and 2017. In addition, 18 of those trips were taken for a combination of official and unofficial purposes. All of the personal trips were fully reimbursed by the governor or groups associated with him.
Hatton noted that media reports have said some of Bevin’s unexplained trips were to Maine, where he has a home, and that Bevin has said his use of the state-owned plane is none of taxpayers’ business as long as they aren’t picking up the tab for his flights.
Hatton described her bill as “a work in progress.” She said it will standardize reporting requirements that would be available through the Executive Branch Ethics Commission within 30 days.
Her measure does not yet contain any penalty for non-compliance, she said.
Graham said his bill requiring release of tax returns with Social Security numbers redacted, effective 2023, would allow voters to see whether candidates for all statewide constitutional offices had any potential conflicts of interest.
Bevin refused to release his tax returns when running for governor and after taking office. Beshear has released his returns since 2016.
He noted that for many years it was “a given that candidates of both parties running for governor would make public their tax returns.”
“This wasn’t an invasion of privacy; it was a safeguard for Kentuckians to ensure decisions were made in their interest and not for personal gain,” said Graham.
He said the penalty for non-compliance would be $1,000 for the first three days and then $500 a day afterwards.
Jenkins said her campaign contribution bill mirrors a bill she filed in 2017, when Bevin accepted donations for his multi-million dollar personal loan to his 2015 campaign for governor.
“Candidates like him boast that they’re self-funding their race, when in reality they’re not,” she said.
“At the very least, there needs to be a hard limit on this practice, so that it can’t continue for nearly three years, as it did in Gov. Bevin’s case,” Jenkins said. “What he did may meet the letter of campaign finance laws, but it doesn’t meet their spirit and it certainly does not pass the smell test.”
Her bill would limit donations for the winning governor’s slate to a year after the candidate takes office.
She said there currently is no time limit.
This story was originally published October 14, 2019 at 3:33 PM.
