Gov. Andy Beshear vetoes 5 bills, including 3 that limit his COVID-19 emergency powers

Joe Sonka
Louisville Courier Journal

Gov. Andy Beshear has vetoed five bills passed by the Kentucky General Assembly during the first week of the 2021 session, all of which were high-priority legislation for the expanded Republican supermajorities in both chambers.

Three of the bills involved scale back his emergency powers to address the pandemic

Speaking during his Tuesday COVID-19 press conference, Beshear said they would "hamper what have been comparatively successful steps we've taken in Kentucky."

"We've done a better job than all of our neighboring states at keeping our people alive," Beshear said. "Let's not backtrack on that, especially now that we are vaccinating people — in fact, vaccinating them at a rate higher than the supply we're getting."

In addition to citing Kentucky's COVID-19 per capita death rate trailing surrounding states, Beshear pointed to polling to suggest his restrictions are popular in the state.

Related: With GOP lawmakers ready to limit Beshear's pandemic powers, what happens next?

As Republicans promised before the session began, the top priority bill in each chamber took on the governor's COVID-19 restrictions on businesses and public gatherings, which they viewed as an arbitrary abuse of power.

  • House Bill 1 would allow businesses, schools, nonprofits and churches to stay open if they meet the COVID-19 guidelines set by either the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention or Kentucky's executive branch, whichever is least restrictive.
  • Senate Bill 1 would limit the governor's ability to issue executive orders during a state of emergency to 30 days unless extended by the General Assembly, in addition to requiring the attorney general's permission to suspend a statute under an emergency.
  • Senate Bill 1 would also strip the ability of the governor and the secretary of state to change the manner of an election during an emergency, which they did in the primary and general election last year to allow unprecedented access to early and mail-in voting options.
  • Senate Bill 2 would give legislative committees more oversight and control over emergency administrative regulations the governor imposes. 

Beshear on Tuesday repeated criticism of HB 1, saying CDC guidelines are intended as recommendations and not to usurp state and local regulations, as they are voluminous and complicated.

The governor also cited the Kentucky Supreme Court's unanimous decision from November upholding several of his emergency COVID-19 orders to suggest HB 1 is unconstitutional, saying that "this is the executive branch's job."

Beshear also said SB 1 would be costly to taxpayers, requiring the governor to call a special session whenever the 30-day period expired on executive orders under the emergency statute.

The five bills vetoed by Beshear passed both chambers with a large and nearly party-line majority. Republicans would need only a majority vote in each chamber to override the vetoes when they come back from their break on Feb. 2.

If those vetoes are overridden, the bills would immediately go into effect, unless halted by litigation.

House Speaker David Osborne, R-Prospect, issued a statement saying Beshear's vetoes were not unexpected but "nevertheless disappointing," adding that House Republicans "stand ready to override these vetoes if necessary."

"House Majority Leadership will reserve comment until we determine whether the Governor is sincere in his desire to work with us," Osborne stated. "After all, ten months of unilateral decision-making and unchecked spending has provided evidence otherwise."

A spokesman for Republican leadership in the Senate did not immediately reply to a request for comment on the governor's vetoes.

Beshear also vetoed one anti-abortion bill containing near identical language to a bill he vetoed shortly after last year's session of the legislature.

House Bill 2 would give Republican Attorney General Daniel Cameron the authority to independently regulate and enforce violations on abortion clinics in Kentucky, who currently can only do so with clearance from the governor's administration.

Beshear also vetoed House Bill 5, which would prohibit a governor from temporarily reorganizing state boards and commissions to replace its members. He added Tuesday that HB 5 would also prevent the executive branch from reorganizing its own cabinets and offices, requiring him "to go to the General Assembly every time we want to combine two general council offices to save a little bit of money."

The governor has until Thursday to sign or veto Senate Bill 9, which would require doctors to give life-saving measures to any infant "born alive" during a "failed abortion" or premature birth. Beshear vetoed a bill from last year's session with similar language.

Beshear also has until Monday to sign or veto House Bill 3, the only other bill given final passage by the General Assembly last week before it took a three-week break. The legislation would direct litigation against state agencies or regarding constitutional matters to be heard in the county where it is filed, instead of in Franklin Circuit Court.

The governor said he hoped to communicate with Republican legislators in the coming days to "see if there is common ground that doesn't violate the Constitution, that gives the flexibility we need for what appears to be a mutating virus."
