Lawmaker warns legislature is ‘whistling past the graveyard.’ Session continues.
Controversy raged Wednesday over whether the Kentucky General Assembly should still be meeting during the coronavirus pandemic.
In a floor speech, Rep. Chris Harris, D-Forest Hills, said it was “reckless” for the legislature to continue addressing a multitude of bills while government and medical officials have urged people to avoid gatherings of 10 or more.
He said, at best, the legislature should consider only the bill dealing with the state’s next two-year budget and any COVID-19 related measures.
The legislature is “whistling past the graveyard when it should be us setting the bar,” he said.
But Rep. Jim Gooch, R-Providence, strongly disagreed, saying critics of lawmakers’ staying in session were creating “mass hysteria.”
He said legislators owe it to the people to remain in session, just as Americans did not show fear in responding to the terrorists of 9/11.
Cutting the session short, he said, would “be like a captain abandoning his ship.”
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear announced late Wednesday nine new confirmed cases of COVID-19, including an 8-month-old child in Jefferson County, bringing the state’s total to 35 cases.
Beshear said Tuesday that Kentucky lawmakers should pass only a state budget and adjourn, or adjourn now and he will call them back into special session later.
The Kentucky General Assembly resumed meeting Tuesday afternoon after being off since last Thursday because of coronavirus concerns, even as Senate President Robert Stivers said he tested negative for the novel coronavirus after feeling ill Monday.
In a floor speech, Stivers, R-Manchester, said he had a low-grade fever and an upset stomach and was tested Monday for the virus. The results were negative, he said.
Stivers said he thinks the legislature can prioritize bills, move quickly to adopt a two-year state budget, “and shoot to get out of here next week with limited contact.”
After a busy day Wednesday, the Senate Appropriations and Revenue Committee was preparing late in the day to consider its version of the next state budget.
After committee approval, the budget goes to the Senate for its consideration. If the House does not agree with any Senate changes, which is likely, a conference committee would have to be formed to try to iron out differences between the two chambers.
Beshear would have 10 days, excluding Sundays, to consider any line-item vetoes in the budget. That would mean lawmakers would have to return again to the Capitol to consider any vetoes.
Earlier Wednesday, the House approved its version of the budget for the judicial branch. It added to the measure new court houses in Scott and Barren counties and more authority to the chief justice of the Kentucky Supreme Court to handle the state’s court systems during emergencies like the coronavirus.
