Judge temporarily blocks bill that would limit Beshear’s ability to challenge laws
Among a series of bills passed by the Republican-dominated General Assembly this year limiting the governor’s powers was one that barred him from using public funds to challenge the constitutionality of any bill the legislature passes.
Gov. Andy Beshear challenged the constitutionality of that bill, House Bill 248, one day after the General Assembly’s session ended last week. Now it’s temporarily blocked.
Franklin Circuit Judge Thomas Wingate granted Beshear’s motion for a temporary injunction and restraining order on enforcing House Bills 248 and 388 on Monday.
“Plaintiffs have more than sufficiently demonstrated that their rights are being or will be violated by Defendants and that Plaintiffs will suffer immediate and irreparable injury, loss, or damage,” Wingate wrote in his order. “Of particular concern to the Court is that Plaintiffs have alleged that under HB 248 their access to the courts has essentially been blocked.”
The bill blocks any state constitutional officer, not just the governor, with the exception of the attorney general from spending state funds on challenging a legislative act.
Beshear vetoed both of those bills earlier this month, citing many of the same arguments forwarded in his suit against them in his veto messages. Still, both vetoes were easily overridden by dominant GOP majorities in both chambers on a near-strict party line vote in the waning days of the General Assembly.
The Beshear administration says House Bill 388 gives the government contract review committee (GCRC) an unconstitutional “legislative veto” on contracts that should be solely acted on by the executive branch, specifically the governor. Currently, that committee’s role is primarily advisory.
In roughly the last two years, that committee has reviewed around $18 billion worth of government contracts.
House Bill 388 also gives more power to the state treasurer, a post occupied by Republican Allison Ball, over state contracts. Ball and her Republican counterparts in the legislature argue that the bill provides needed oversight of government contracts.
When Beshear vetoed the bill, Ball wrote that Beshear made it clear that he “opposes careful oversight of the expenditure of taxpayer dollars.”
Beshear, in his challenge to the bills, said both bills violate the balance of powers between branches set forth in the Kentucky Constitution. He called House Bill 248 “grossly unconstitutional” and an “absolute and arbitrary exercise of power by the General Assembly” in a 42-page complaint against both bills.
The lawsuit also points out the 8-member GCRC, which meets monthly even when the legislature is not in session, would overstep its “advisory” role because the treasurer has the authority to determine what contracts the governor may enter into if the finance secretary and GCRC disagree.
Currently, when the GCRC disagrees with a state contract the finance secretary, a governor-appointed position currently held by Holly Johnson, can overrule them and execute the contract. A spokesperson for the Finance and Administration Cabinet said that the GCRC had disapproved of 70 contracts since the beginning of the Beshear administration, but did not have numbers on hand regarding how many of those disapprovals have been overruled by Johnson.
Another wrinkle: the governor’s office argues that the bill prohibits Beshear from moving forward on currently pending lawsuits against legislative actions from 2021. Two bills are now pending in the Court of Appeals, one from last session similar to House Bill 388 and another that proposed shifting power over State Fair Board appointments from the governor to the Commissioner of Agriculture, an office currently held by Republican Ryan Quarles.
Beshear named GCRC co-chairs Sen, Steven Meredith, R-Leitchfield, and Rep. Matthew Koch, R-Paris, along with the Legislative Research Commission, Attorney General Daniel Cameron and Ball.
A spokesperson for Beshear’s office deflected when asked whether or not the suit was filed using state funds, bringing up the fact that lawmakers voted to essentially give themselves raises this session.
“The Governor has a duty to ensure our laws are faithfully executed, which at times requires that he challenge unconstitutional laws in court. By attempting to cut off the Governor’s access to a court of law, the General Assembly is seeking to avoid the very checks and balances that preserve our most basic rights as Americans,” Beshear spokeswoman Crystal Staley wrote.
Attorneys listed on the complaint work for both Beshear and Johnson. Since House Bill 248 had an emergency clause, it took effect and became law immediately on April 13, two days before Beshear’s office filed suit.
On the legal challenge, Cameron issued the following statement: “It is our job to defend the laws as they are passed by the General Assembly, and we will continue to defend HB 248 and HB 388 from the legal challenge brought by the governor.”
Currently, the Franklin Circuit Court restraining order on enforcement of the bills is only temporary. Oral arguments on the case are set for the end of May.
This story was originally published April 18, 2022 at 1:26 PM.
