LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) – A bill that stripped Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear of certain appointments to the state fair board is unconstitutional, a judge ruled Wednesday.
Jefferson Circuit Judge Mary Shaw found that House Bill 518 erred in giving Agriculture Commissioner Ryan Quarles a majority of the board appointments and barring Beshear from naming members this year.
"While the legislature can transfer appointment powers between constitutional executive officers, at some point such transfer becomes unconstitutional when it infringes upon the Governor's power as chief magistrate. HB 518 does just that," Shaw wrote.
The bill, according to Shaw, also “relegates the Governor's power as secondary to the Commissioner of Agriculture, and, to this end, inhibits his ability to ensure that the laws relating to the KSFB are faithfully executed.”
By Thursday afternoon, House Speaker David Osborne and Senate President Robert Stivers had joined Fair Board chair Dr. Mark Lynn in asking Shaw to keep her order from taking effect, arguing that the ruling "will send the Kentucky State Fair Board and its membership into a chaotic spiral."
They claim disrupting the board now could harm work on next year's strategic plan, recruit events and plan for the National Farm Machinery Show scheduled for February. And they warn that, without time for further deliberation in an appeals court, other similarly composed boards are "equally in peril."
Their motion is scheduled to be heard Monday.
Meanwhile, Beshear told reporters in Frankfort that Shaw's ruling was the "right decision."
"Could you imagine, if that was not the case, the political yo-yo that could occur in any state where if one party takes over the legislature and somebody in any constitutional office is not of their party, they just strip everything from that office and put it in another one?" he said.
Approved earlier this year by the Republican-controlled General Assembly, HB 518 removed the Democratic governor's ability to name a fair board chair and gave that authority to the board itself. It also shifted the appointing power from Beshear to Quarles, a Republican who serves on the board.
The bill let Beshear name five of the fair board's 14 voting members, with nine at Quarles’ discretion. The House and Senate also got one board seat, but those don’t have voting power.
Shaw found other parts of the bill constitutional, such as letting the board choose its own chair and vice-chair and acting as an independent agency that gets administrative support from the state Tourism, Arts and Heritage Cabinet.
Quarles said in a statement that he was “deeply disappointed” by Shaw’s decision and promised to appeal the ruling to the Kentucky Supreme Court.
"The court’s ruling significantly limits the General Assembly’s ability to enact public policy as it sees fit,” Quarles said. “If this ruling is upheld, it will allow this Governor – and future ones – to override the legislature’s allocation of powers to the executive branch.”
“Taken to its logical conclusion, this decision means the Governor will control all levels of executive functions, including those of separate, independent constitutional offices. That level of constitutional disorder should give every Kentuckian pause,” he said.
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