Kentucky Republicans fast-track several bills to curb powers of Gov. Beshear
Kentucky lawmakers advanced their priority bills at a rapid clip Wednesday as they attempt to wrestle power away from the governor in the opening days of a short legislative session.
On Wednesday, eight of the 10 bills designated as priorities for Republican lawmakers passed through their respective committees, leaving open the possibility they will all be passed within a week.
Under new rules for COVID-19 safety, members of the public have limited access to the Capitol and committee meetings are limited to just one hour.
Rep. Tom “O’Dell” Smith, R-Corbin, who served in the House of Representatives in the 90s, had a long series of questions about House Bill 5 right as the State Government committee was bumping up against its hour deadline. The bill would limit the powers of Gov. Andy Beshear to temporarily reorganize the executive branch of government.
“I’m sorry, Mr. Chairman,” Smith Said. “I’m trying to make sure when I vote, I know what I’m voting on. I don’t want to change the rule unless the rule needs changing.”
The bill, sponsored by Rep. Michael Meredith, R-Oakland, would eliminate the governor’s ability to temporarily reorganize boards, commissions, agencies and cabinets when the legislature is not in session. Meredith said over the past five governors, the organizational structures of the executive branch have been reorganized 446 times.
By eliminating the governor’s ability to temporarily reorganize executive branch boards, agencies, cabinets and commissions, any changes by Beshear would have to be approved by members of the General Assembly when it is in session, slowing down the process.
Rep. Jerry Miller, R-Louisville, said incoming administrations would still be able to reorganize the executive branch as they wished, since the legislature meets shortly after inauguration.
Democrats questioned the urgency of the bill, saying it stripped power from the executive branch for no clear reason.
“This is not something our constituents are talking to us about,” said Rep. Patti Minter, D-Bowling Green.
The legislature is also hoping for more flexibility in its schedule, under a constitutional amendment proposed by House Speaker David Osborne, R-Prospect. House Bill 4 would ask voters to change the constitution to eliminate deadlines to end a legislative session (currently March 30 in odd-numbered years and April 15 in even-numbered years), enabling the legislature to space out the legislative session over the course of the year.
Osborne had originally talked about proposing a bill that would allow the legislature to call itself into special session, but said he backed off because of concerns that it would change the nature of the part-time legislature. Traditionally, only the governor could call the legislature into session.
“We didn’t want to become a full-time legislature,” Osborne said. “That was not the intent of the framers of the constitution and we felt like in today’s world, we felt like it was more appropriate to spread those out for longer distances.”
He said when the constitution was written, it was harder for lawmakers to travel to Frankfort and they often had to stay in the Capitol.
Since it is a constitutional amendment, it must be approved by voters and would not go into effect until 2023. However, it addresses a common complaint among Republicans, that they were sidelined while Beshear attempted to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Another bill approved in committee, House Bill 1, would eliminate the governor’s ability to shut down businesses and schools in response to the pandemic as long as they follow CDC guidelines, effectively handing power over to the federal government.
In the Senate, lawmakers made changes to Senate Bill 1, which would cause executive orders issued during an emergency to expire after 30 days unless extended by the General Assembly.
Instead of applying to all executive orders, the revised bill will only apply to orders that place restrictions on in-person meetings of schools, businesses and religious gatherings and if it imposes mandatory quarantine or isolation requirements.
The new version of the bill is a more direct repudiation of Beshear’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic and allows local executives to issue orders that last longer than 30 days. The bill will be eligible for a vote by the full Senate on Thursday.
This story was originally published January 6, 2021 at 4:21 PM.
