Beshear Vetoes Payments Limiting Presumption Order; Override Looms| Staff Compensation Information

Monday, January 25, 2021 | 59 | 0 | 33 min read

Kentucky governor Andy Beshear has vetoed two bills that would restrict a far-reaching order to compensate COVID-19 workers. However, Republican lawmakers are expected to attempt to override the move when they return to session next month.

Governor Andy Beshear

The Democratic governor’s veto was awaited after lawmakers approved several measures to curb his executive powers. At the start of the pandemic, the governor issued a series of orders restricting business hours and public gatherings, speculating that key workers suffering from COVID-19 had contracted at work.

The state’s Supreme Court upheld the orders’ constitutionality, but lawmakers tried to curtail the governor’s authority. SB 1 and SB 2, approved by the Kentucky General Assembly on January 9, would have limited the duration of emergency governors’ orders to 30 days.

Beshear said this week that the bills would hurt efforts to contain the virus’ spread.

“We have done better than any of our neighboring states to keep our people alive,” Beshear said, according to the Louisville newspaper. “Let’s not trace that back, especially now that we are vaccinating people – in fact, vaccinating them at a rate higher than what we are getting.”

Legislature returns on February 2nd. Republicans have a majority in both houses, and some have already proposed that the General Assembly vote in favor of an override.

Beshear said he hopes to see “if there is something in common that isn’t against the constitution, it gives the flexibility we need for what appears to be a mutating virus,” the newspaper said.