FRANKFORT, Ky. (WDRB) -- All signs are pointing to a special session of the Kentucky legislature to deal with the surging COVID-19 crisis as early as next week.
Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron appeared at a legislative hearing Wednesday and assured lawmakers that an August ruling by the state Supreme Court does legalize measures passed earlier this year that limit the governor's emergency powers.
“The Supreme Court's decision is a win for legislative prerogatives and representative government,” Cameron said. “He has no right to exercise emergency powers that have not been given to him by this esteemed body.”
Republican lawmakers had been frustrated that Gov. Andy Beshear was managing the pandemic by executive order. Cameron said the ruling forces the governor and the legislature to now work together to address the COVID-19 crisis.
“I'm hopeful that the governor and the General Assembly can find consensus on what is needed to protect Kentuckians moving forward,” Cameron said.
Senate Majority Floor Leader Damon Thayer told Cameron that in the wake of the ruling, Beshear is now working with legislative leaders on the framework of a special session.
“And we are working toward a special session that I believe the governor is likely to call very soon,” Thayer said.
Beshear told reporters there is progress, but major disagreements remain about the steps needed to combat the COVID-19 surge.
“We need the ability for masking orders in, the very least, the hardest-hit areas,” he said.
Thayer told WDRB News that any statewide mandates are dead on arrival.
“We're not going to be passing mandates," he said. "There aren't going to be mask mandates. There aren't going to be lockdowns and shutdowns."
Thayer said there will likely be measures giving communities more local control.
Beshear said he will call the special session even if he doesn't get everything he wants.
“This isn't a win or loss or to make a point,” he said. “It's life or death.”
The current state of emergency declared by Beshear is set to expire on Sept. 10, so lawmakers are under some pressure to take action by then.
Various committees of the General Assembly are holding hearings this week to gather information for the possible special session.
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