FRANKFORT, Ky. (WDRB) -- With hours remaining in Kentucky's legislative session, time is running out to give Louisville's new Civilian Review and Accountability Board its teeth: the power to compel testimony and evidence.
The board, created with a Metro Council vote in November 2020, will soon consist of 11 civilians and an inspector general who will review Louisville Metro Police disciplinary matters and related policies.
The debate in Frankfort, Kentucky, concerns if and how to give the board subpoena power, which Council President David James said is vital to its success.
"Part of the reason for creating the civilian review board with subpoena power was to help instill trust again with the police department," said James, D-6.
(WDRB file photo)
There are two bills that would give the board that power: a House version by Rep. Jerry Miller, R-Louisville, and a Senate version by Sen. Morgan McGarvey, D-Louisville.
McGarvey’s bill would give the review board direct subpoena power but faces long odds.
Miller’s bill is moving along, but some Louisville Democrats have strong objections to it.
Some of the nominees for the civilian review board. (WDRB Photo)
Although Miller's bill would allow the board to issue subpoenas, it would only allow it to do so with the approval of a Metro Council's Government Oversight and Audit Committee.
Miller’s version would also usher in other unrelated reforms that primarily take power from the mayor and give more of it to Metro Council. It would limit future mayors to two terms, not three; it would ease annexation and allow for the creation of new cities in Jefferson County; it would give Metro Council the authority to approve the city’s legal settlements when they’re greater than a million dollars; and more.
Miller argues the changes are those people in Louisville want after, what he calls, a disastrous third term by Mayor Greg Fischer.
Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer (WDRB file photo)
"We have an extremely strong mayoral system, and unfortunately, we’re reaping what we’ve sown in that regard," Miller said.
But Democrats like James said they want a clean bill that gives the civilian review board direct subpoena power, without all the extras Miller is proposing.
"It’s really, you know, taking advantage of the city of Louisville," James said. "I would rather not have anything than to pretend like we actually have something that we really don’t have."
As a result, Miller on Monday morning struck the subpoena power from his plan.
Now, there’s a stalemate with one legislative day left in Frankfort before the veto period. Both sides said they’re willing to compromise, but time is running out to do so.
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