Facing a lawsuit, Kentucky fish and wildlife commission tries to hire chief again
For the fourth time in two years, the Kentucky Fish and Wildlife Commission has appointed Rich Storm as its commissioner.
In a special meeting late Tuesday afternoon, the governing board of the department that is responsible for hunting, fishing and boating regulations in the state unanimously voted to terminate on Wednesday the third contract it approved in April for Storm and start on Thursday a new contract for him not to exceed four years with the same pay and benefits.
The unusual action came in the wake of a lawsuit filed June 17 in Franklin Circuit Court, seeking Storm’s removal and voiding his contract.
Karl Clinard, an orthodontist from Somerset who is chairman of the board, said after the meeting that he doubted the commission’s action would stop the lawsuit
The lawsuit was filed by Larry Richards, an Oldham County sportsman. He is asking the court to find that the commission violated the Kentucky Open Meetings Act “in partaking in closed meetings for unauthorized purposes and without sufficient public notice” and fine it $100 for each violation.
Richards’ attorney, James Yoder of Lexington, said Tuesday night that he had talked to Richards about the commission’s fourth attempt to make Storm its chief. “It absolutely will not stop the lawsuit,” he said.
Richards called the vote “a bit of gamesmanship. They simply are trying to make the lawsuit moot and I don’t think that will happen.”
Clinard said said he hopes Richards understands the repercussions of the lawsuit. “It is costing the sportsmen of Kentucky by having to fight what many consider a frivolous lawsuit.,” said Clinard, saying the commission already has spent $5,500 in replying to the lawsuit.
But Richards’ attorney said the commission’s action “jeopardizes funding for the commission, especially from the federal government for its violations of the law.”
The lawsuit, which has been assigned to Judge Phillip Shepherd, notes the recent decision by Attorney General Daniel Cameron that the commission violated the state Open Meetings Act three times this year and last in connection with its controversial reinstatement of Storm as its commissioner.
Cameron said the commission violated the law when it went into closed session without first providing sufficient explanation to close the meetings.
Clinard said department attorneys for the last 2 1/2 years he has been chairman have given him a statement to read to go into closed session and “no one has complained about it until now.”
It was a technical violation with no intent of breaking any law or hiding anything from the public, Clinard said. He noted that Cameron’s decision also referred to it as a technical violation.
Amye Bensenhaver, a retired state assistant attorney general, who for 25 years specialized in Kentucky’s open records and meetings laws and is a co-founder of the Kentucky Open Government Coalition, said there is no such thing as a technical violation of the Open Meetings law.
Richards had complained to Cameron that the commission at its Jan. 31 meeting last year and April 1 and April 14 meetings this year held private sessions to discuss Storm and they violated open meetings law when they failed to adequately explain the purpose for the closed sessions.
Richards also claimed that the commission could not discuss Storm in closed session, but Attorney General Cameron said the commission did not run afoul of the law by discussing personnel matters during the closed meetings
The lawsuit asked for a temporary and permanent injunction removing Storm as commissioner.
Storm first became commissioner in January 2019 during the administration of Republican Gov. Matt Bevin.
Despite objections from Gov. Andy Beshear, the Fish and Wildlife Commission in April gave Storm a new four-year contract to be commissioner for $140,000 a year and jumping to $147,000 in each of the next three years. It included other benefits like sick leave days, health insurance and state payment of FICA, a U.S. federal payroll tax.
Beshear and the commission argued for months over who could appoint the commissioner and set the salary — the executive branch or the commission. The Beshear administration stopped paying Storm’s salary last July.
The Republican-led legislature this year approved a new law over Beshear’s veto that made Storm’s comeback possible. The measure allows the Fish and Wildlife board to appoint its own commissioner and set the salary for the job with the approval of the legislature’s Government Contract Review Committee.
A lawsuit over authority of the commission is pending in the Kentucky Court of Appeals.
Besides voting again on Storm’s contract, the nine-member commission also voted Tuesday to hire Prestonsburg attorney Earl “Mickey” McGuire to represent the board in the lawsuit.
This story was originally published June 30, 2021 at 9:27 AM.
