Senate Republicans push to end Kentucky’s COVID state of emergency by early March
%20(02-11-22).jpg "Sen. Donald Douglas")
Senate Republicans are done with Kentucky’s COVID-19-related state of emergency.
So much so that much of the Senate Republican caucus joined Sen. Donald Douglas in sponsoring a joint resolution to end the state of emergency, which began nearly two years ago on March 6.
Douglas launched the effort at the end of the Senate’s session on Friday with a speech saying that the state of emergency has “caused great harm” to Kentuckians.
“Some will say that this emergency certainly saved lives. Well, others will say that the changes that were forced by this emergency caused great harm not only to our economy, but also to our workforce, and to our supply chain,” Douglas said.
Beshear declared a state of emergency in March 2020, shortly after COVID was first identified in the United States. Among other things, Beshear’s order cleared the way for state agencies to receive federal funds to deal with the pandemic, to coordinate actions between themselves and local governments and to authorize the National Guard to assist as necessary with a pandemic response.
Douglas, who is a physician, said that he spoke from “a position of knowledge and authority” in support of Senate Joint Resolution 150.
The joint resolution is the latest chapter in an ongoing tug-of-war between Beshear and Republicans over the governor’s executive authority in such matters. Some of Beshear’s mandates have been struck down in court while others have been upheld – the legislature has also taken away certain emergency-related powers from the governor.
If passed by both the joint resolution would have the effect of law. It comes just over a month after the Republican-dominated Senate and House passed a bill that moved the end date of the emergency order to April 15.
Douglas said that he proposed the end date of March 7 because Kentuckians want the state of emergency to be over soon, but that the date gives Beshear enough time to communicate with the legislature about it and allows the General Assembly to make any necessary changes while they’re in session.
Crystal Staley, a spokeswoman for Beshear, drew attention to the fact that Kentucky still has 300 National Guard members assisting overwhelmed hospitals and reported 700 COVID-related deaths last month.
“Despite these facts, the Senate today filed a joint resolution undoing their own extension of the state of emergency. The state of emergency helps Kentucky receive federal dollars to fight the pandemic and provide relief.” Staley wrote.
She also emphasized that Kentucky remains “open for business,” and that schools have also been open.
The criticism comes at a time when Beshear’s approval rating in the state continues to remain high. 60% of Kentuckians approve of the governor’s job performance while only 32% disapprove.
General shots at Beshear were included in floor speeches from Republican senators, who also decried the governor’s latest proposal to freeze the motor vehicle tax to 2020 levels and cut the state sales tax by a percentage point. Senate President Robert Stivers, R-Manchester, weighed in on the order, going so far as to call it “unconstitutional” because it would cause the budget to be unbalanced.
Beshear has already pushed back on the notion that there isn’t enough money to pay for his proposal, though some of the one-time spending in his budget would have to be financed instead of being funded through the General Fund.
“The state legislature set the sales tax at 6% and certainly has the ability to lower it to 5%,” Behsear spokesperson Scottie Ellis wrote in an email to the Herald-Leader. “The senate is trying to deflect because they know how wildly popular the Governor’s sales tax cut is with Kentucky families and small businesses.”
Many legislative leaders, including Stivers, have indicated that Republican-led tax reform legislation is likely to move forward this session. Though details on what the reform proposal will include are scant, Republicans have expressed a desire to decrease personal income tax.
The only senator who spoke up against the joint resolution was Sen. Karen Berg, who pointed out that Kentucky’s COVID-19 positivity rate is still about 15% and that legislators should be focusing more on getting more people vaccinated than ending the state of emergency.
Sen. Jimmy Higdon, R-Lebanon, said that it was “time to get back to something called normal,” while also acknowledging that he sees “all over the place” that people have already gone back to business as usual.
“This is what our people want,” Douglas said. “This is what our constituents need. Dare I say; this is what they demand.”
