Senate moves on bill that would end governor’s state of emergency in days
Republicans in the Kentucky state Senate easily passed a joint resolution that would end the statewide COVID-related emergency orders on March 7.
Senate Joint Resolution 150 would have the effect of law if passed, and 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.
Sen. Donald Douglas, R-Nicholasville, a freshman senator who is also a physician, sponsored the measure and criticized Gov. Andy Beshear’s handling of the state of emergency during his floor speech on the legislation.
He scolded Beshear by saying that the governor had “terrified our citizens” with his frequent presentations during the pandemic.
“An approach of ‘cover up, masks on, isolate, limit available information, and criticize those who don’t agree with you’ took hold,” Douglas said.
Douglas indicated that reporting mostly on cases and deaths was not the right approach, adding that at times the emergency seemed to be more about “emotion and feeling” as opposed to “and a lot less about “objectivity and facts.”
“Yeah, there were deaths… and, as I’ve said before, any death is a tragedy,” Douglas said. “But, you know, there were many more recoveries without issue. We had citizens return to their pre-infection health without any issues.”
13,755 Kentuckians have died due to the virus according to the New York Times, and close to 1.3 million cases have been recorded in the state.
Douglas referenced a review performed by three economists, two of whom work for conservative think tanks, as evidence that “lockdowns” did not work in responding to the spread of COVID-19. That review showed that lockdowns only reduced COVID deaths by 0.2%.
The review is not a peer-reviewed study, and a report from fact-checking website Snopes indicates that only one of the papers analyzed in the review’s meta-analysis is an epidemiological study and that the review has received serious criticism from other experts.
However, Douglas also emphasized the social, economic and physical toll that he said the pandemic has taken on Kentuckians’ livelihoods.
Douglas indicated that politics played an outsized role in Beshear’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, but have nothing to do with SJR 150.
“This is not political. This is about the people of the Commonwealth,” Douglas said. “… This is about letting our people of the Commonwealth return to a life they know so they can raise their kids.”
The joint resolution is the latest chapter in an ongoing tug-of-war between Beshear and Republicans over the governor’s executive authority. 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.
Douglas said the March 7 date gives Beshear enough time to communicate with the legislature about any concerns he might have and allows the General Assembly time to make any necessary changes while they’re in session.
All 8 Democrats in the Senate voted against the bill, with Sen. Karen Berg, D-Louisville, rising to point out the continued case rate in Kentucky and the fact that only 60% of Kentucky residents have received a single dose of the vaccine thus far.
Puzzled by the need for this resolution, Sen. Morgan McGarvey, D-Louisville, pointed out that there aren’t any state-mandated restrictions in place in Kentucky.
Sen. David Yates, D-Louisville, said he wants to be behind such an effort, but that ending the state of emergency could cost the state some federal funds.
“The resolution, I absolutely cannot wait to join in support of it, but what is the rush,” Yates asked.
Sen. Stephen West, R-Paris, said that if Beshear thinks the resolution will prevent any federal funding, he’s free to let the legislature know and put forth any administrative regulations.
A spokesperson for the governor pointed out last week after SJR 150 received a first reading that the state still had 300 National Guard members assisting overwhelmed hospitals and reported 700 COVID-related deaths in January.
