Beshear blasts GOP bills limiting COVID-19 restrictions. They advance anyway.

Kentucky Republican lawmakers ignored cries of overreach from their Democratic colleagues Friday and approved in committee two major bills challenging Gov. Andy Beshear’s emergency orders to curb the coronavirus pandemic.

Separately, another committee did not act on a bill that would reshape the state’s courts system after Kentucky Supreme Court Chief Justice John D. Minton Jr. railed against it.

If the bills limiting Beshear had been in place since the pandemic started last March, “so many more of us could be dead or ill,” said Rep. Kelly Flood, D-Lexington. “This is a wholly inappropriate way to move.”

The Senate State and Local Government Committee signed off on House Bill 1, which would allow businesses to stay open during an emergency if they comply with guidelines from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Beshear warned later Friday that HB 1 could have an array of unintended consequences because the CDC’s guidance is often unclear, outdated or contradictory. For example, he said the CDC’s official guidance still suggests that most businesses should be shuttered because of rising cases, “which does not need to happen,” Beshear said. CDC guidance also suggests that businesses must offer paid sick leave for their employees, he noted.

The bill “prevents us from providing clear advice and from having the flexibility we need to address a virus that just mutated,” Beshear warned.

Senate Minority Leader Morgan McGarvey, D-Louisville, questioned why the bill would hand power to a federal bureaucracy.

“What this bill seems to do to me though, is take away some of our local control and replace it with the guidance of the CDC,” McGarvey said. “The CDC guidelines in some instances are stricter than what we currently have in Kentucky.”

When asked a similar question Thursday, House Speaker David Osborne said Beshear could implement looser restrictions than required by the CDC, but that he couldn’t go beyond their recommendations.

“We had to have a benchmark of some kind, acknowledging that there may need to be some restrictions,” Osborne said. “That is the one place that’s relatively consistent, as consistent as they can be.”

Meanwhile, the House State Government Committee approved Senate Bill 1, sponsored by Sen. Matt Castlen, R-Owensboro. It would limit the Democratic governor’s executive orders under a state of emergency to 30 days unless the legislature extended them.

Both bills are expected to receive final approval in the chambers Saturday and be sent to the governor for his consideration. He pledged Friday to veto them, even though Republicans have the votes to override him.

If that happens, Beshear pledged to challenge their legality in court.

In committee Friday, Castlen said SB 1 “is not a partisan bill. It’s an institution bill.”

Under the proposal, an executive order that places restrictions on the functions of schools; colleges; private businesses; non-profits; political, social or religious gatherings; places of worship; or imposes mandatory quarantine or isolation requirements shall expire after 30 days unless it receives legislative approval.

Orders for other emergencies, such as floods and natural disasters, shall expire in 30 days unless an extension is requested by a chief executive officer of the legislative body of a local government.

Also, the bill removes the authority of the governor and secretary of state to change the manner of an election during an emergency. It gives that authority to the General Assembly.

Last year, Beshear and Republican Secretary of State Michael Adams changed the way 2020 elections were conducted in the state during COVID-19. A major change was easier access to mail-in balloting.

Adams’ spokeswoman, Miranda Combs, said of the bill, “The legislature’s prerogative to make our election laws is clear. We are hopeful they will use that authority to enact reforms to our election system that Secretary Adams created and voters across the spectrum embrace.”

Rep. Derrick Graham, D-Frankfort, asked what would happen if a major emergency or catastrophe occurs after the legislature ends a session and before an election. Castlen said current law allows officials to postpone an election up to 35 days and that has not been changed in his bill.

Democrats sharply criticized the bill. “I’m daunted by the amount of red tape you’re putting forward in an emergency,” said Flood.

Graham and Rep. Buddy Wheatley, D-Covington, called it an “overreach” by the legislature.

Rep. Ken Upchurch, R-Monticello, countered, saying there has been “lot of overreach by the executive branch.”

Graham said there is no penalty in the legislation for people who threaten other people’s health by not following safe guidelines. Rep. Patti Minter, D-Bowling Green, said it was “a power grab.”

Two Republicans on the committee — Jennifier Decker of Shelby County and Savannah Maddox of Dry Ridge — did not cast a vote, saying it needs additional work.

The biggest political fireworks Friday were in the Senate Judiciary Committee, where Chief Justice Minton said he woke up at 4 in the morning to drive to Frankfort just so he could speak against House Bill 3 in person before the committee.

The bill would set up randomly selected panels of three judges from across the state to hear legal cases involving state government and the Kentucky Constitution. Such cases are now generally heard in Franklin Circuit Court in Frankfort.

Minton christened the bill the “Rube Goldberg bill,” equating it to the artist’s cartoons that created elaborate contraptions to solve simple problems. He said it would upend the work of judges in all 120 counties.

“The reason I really wanted to crawl out of bed and come here today is to tell you that this is an egregious, an egregious invasion of separation of powers,” Minton said. “This Rube Goldberg bill is an unconstitutional invasion.”

Minton said the bill was solely intended to eliminate the need for the Franklin Circuit Court. “This bill needs to die,” he said.

Sen. Whitney Westerfield, R-Crofton, agreed that the intention of the bill is to remove state government lawsuits from Franklin Circuit Court because it makes the county’s two judicial seats carry outsized impact.

Minton said there should be a circuit court in the state that deals with the matter of state government because it allows for the judges to develop an expertise in the area and warned that the super circuit would be an inefficient way of resolving the cases

“It is a disservice to the taxpayers of the commonwealth to go down this path,” Minton said.

The Senate Judiciary Committee did not vote on the bill Friday morning.

This story was originally published January 8, 2021 at 3:22 PM.