The Kentucky Supreme Court on Saturday issued a ruling paving the way for several bills limiting the coronavirus-related emergency powers of Governor Andy Beshear (D) after informing a circuit court that it should not of having issued a judicial measure against the legislation.
One of the bills aimed at Beshear’s emergency powers would require the Kentucky legislature to vote to extend Governor COVID-19’s regulations and emergency orders or to expire after 30 days, according to reported the Louisville Courier Journal.
Beshear got a court order from Franklin Circuit Court blocking this legislation in March.
However, the state high court said Beshear’s complaint “does not present a substantial legal issue that requires it to maintain the effectiveness of the legislation” and argued that the laws had been legally passed, he said. inform the leader of the Lexington Herald.
As a result, the court told Franklin Circuit Court to dissolve its ban, paving the way for the implementation of the legislation.
In a statement to Herald leader Crystal Staley, a spokesman for Beshear, he said that “the court order will dissolve the entire state of emergency in Kentucky for the COVID-19 pandemic. Either it eliminates or puts at risk large amounts of funding, measures we have taken to increase our capacity for health care, expansion of meals for children and families, measures to combat COVID-19 in long-term care centers term, workers ’compensation for front-line workers. who hire COVID-19, as well as the ability to fight falling prices. “
He noted that the governor “has had the courage to make unpopular decisions to keep the Kentuckians safe; the court has removed much of its ability to do so to move forward.”
The ruling is considered a victory for Attorney General Daniel Cameron (R) and for the Republican-controlled General Assembly.
“For months, we have maintained that the governor must work with the General Assembly during the COVID-19 crisis. Today, the Supreme Court has unanimously accepted our position. This is not a new concept; in fact, it is the basis of our system of government, ”Cameron said in a statement on Saturday.
“We hope the governor will now consult our General Assembly and find consensus on what is needed to protect the Kentuckians,” he added.
My statement on today’s Kentucky Supreme Court opinion: pic.twitter.com/8TSEaysLzT
– Attorney General Daniel Cameron (@kyoag) August 21, 2021
The legal defeat comes after a ruling by a federal judge last week that temporarily blocked the effect of a masked warrant on schools, a ruling that only applies to private schools, according to the Courier Journal .
The Hill has contacted the Beshear office for comment.