A judge has temporarily blocked the implementation of three bills passed by the Kentucky General Assembly that narrowed the governor’s ability to issue emergency orders and regulations like those enacted to slow the spread of COVID-19.
Franklin Circuit Judge Phillip Shepherd on Wednesday granted Gov. Andy Beshear’s motion for a temporary injunction and partially stayed the effectiveness of House Bill 1, Senate Bill 1, and Senate Bill 2.
After the legislature overrode Beshear’s vetoes on the three bills, he filed a lawsuit claiming the new laws were an unconstitutional infringement upon the governor’s executive powers. Shepherd previously issued a temporary restraining order against House Bill 1 on Feb. 3, a day after the lawsuit was filed.
The injunction is expected to be appealed by the state legislature’s Republican leadership, with the Kentucky Supreme Court making a final decision.
Sen. Matt Castlen, R-Owensboro, sponsored Senate Bill 1 and said he expects the Supreme Court to rule in favor of the legislature.
“This is just one step in the judicial process and it’s only a temporary injunction,” he said. “I’m extremely confident that the Kentucky Supreme Court will ultimately rule that Senate Bills 1 and 2 are constitutional. Senate Bill 1 has already withstood a constitutional challenge in Boone County Circuit Court. As your Senator, I will continue to fight for the people of Kentucky against our overreaching Governor.”
Senate Bill 1 dictates that executive orders such as requiring a mask expire after 30 days unless extended by the General Assembly.
Senate Bill 2 gives the legislature more oversight and control over administrative regulations issued by the governor during an emergency, also requiring those regulations to not last longer than 30 days.
House Bill 1 allows businesses, schools, nonprofits and churches to remain open as long as they meet COVID-19 guidelines set by either the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention or Kentucky’s executive branch, whichever is least restrictive.
In his 23-page ruling, Shepherd wrote that the governor and public “will suffer immediate and irreparable injury in the absence of injunctive relief, and that the public interest and the balance of the equities require the granting of injunctive relief.”
Shepherd wrote that all parties in the case “are acting in good faith to address public policy challenges of the utmost importance.”
However, he wrote that “the Governor has made a strong case that the legislation, in its current form, is likely to undermine or even cripple, the effectiveness of public health measures necessary to protect the lives and health of Kentuckians from the COVID-19 pandemic.”
Shepherd noted the legislature “has a legitimate concern in effective oversight of the Governor’s executive authority,” but even with the injunction they retain “many effective tools apart from the challenged legislation” to restrict the governor’s actions “if the legislature determines there has been overreach of executive authority.”
Shepherd also wrote that he expects the governor to continue to adjust requirements set forth in executive orders and emergency regulations to relax these requirements as conditions warrant and the public health concerns abate, but “those decisions should be made based on medical and scientific evidence, not on arbitrary deadlines imposed by statutes irrespective of the spread of the virus.”
