in exchange for the Assembly's approval of a $600 million bond issue to finance road improvements he had promised during the campaign. The Lexington Herald-Leader called the move "a stunning reversal" and noted that Wilkinson would not comment on why he changed his mind. With the impasse between the legislature and Wilkinson resolved, House Speaker Don Blandford announced that the remainder of the session would focus only on approving the state budget and passing the court-mandated education reforms; any bills still in committees would not be brought to a vote, he said. On April 11, 1990, the Assembly passed the Kentucky Education Reform Act (KERA) to comply with the Supreme Court's decision. Besides increasing funding for schools, it mandated high performance measures and held schools accountable for meeting them. Educators hailed the legislation as being among the nation's best education reform plans. Even after KERA was passed, disagreements between Wilkinson and the legislature continued. The $600 million bond issue for road construction that had been the price for Wilkinson's support of the sales tax was modified to include language that allowed the legislature to determine where the roads were constructed. Wilkinson threatened to veto the measure, claiming he did not need the General Assembly's approval to issue the bonds, but ultimately, he chose to allow it to become law without his signature. Wilkinson vetoed 21 bills passed by the legislature, but 13 of those vetoes were overridden; it was the most gubernatorial vetoes overridden in a single session in modern times. Most of the overridden vetoes were on bills strengthening the legislative branch relative to the executive branch. The General Assembly also voted to send two proposed constitutional amendments that strengthened the legislative branch relative to the executive to voters for ratification. One allowed the legislature to call itself into session – a power constitutionally reserved for the governor – if two-thirds of its members signed a petition to do so. The other allowed a committee of legislators to suspend regulations enacted by the executive branch between legislative sessions until the full legislature re-convened. Through his political action committee, Wilkinson opposed both measures, and both were rejected by the state's voters in the November 1990 elections. The political debates and posturing leading up to the passing of KERA also permanently breached the relationship between Wilkinson and Lieutenant Governor Jones. During a teachers' rally in Frankfort, Jones was sympathetic to their