Scores of bills and resolutions are set to go into law Monday, but some may not actually get implemented, at least, not without a fight.
According to Gov. Andy Beshear’s office, some of the legislation passed this year — including many bipartisan measures — did not receive enough funding, and therefore the legislature can’t expect his administration to make them happen.
“We have consistently said – even if some of these bills represent good public policy – if the legislature does not provide the funding, it does not intend for the executive branch to perform those services,” said spokesperson Crystal Staley in a statement.
The list of 20 bills and two resolutions was sent to lawmakers on April 10, less than a week before the end of the session and the day after Beshear made his line item vetoes on the budget.
The list includes a bill — which passed both chambers unanimously — creating a public statewide reporting system for making reports of child abuse that allows for electronic submissions. It also creates standards requiring an investigation into reports under certain circumstances. There is no publically-available fiscal impact statement on the bill, but Beshear says it would cost the state $43 million.
The bill’s Republican sponsor Rep. Nick Wilson from Williamsburg said he hoped the law would remove barriers to reporting child abuse and ensure credible reports were taken seriously. The massive price tag came as a shock to him, he said.
“We had kids that were dying. Kids were losing lives due to abuse, neglect, and just unreliable [caregivers],” Wilson said. “I don't understand the argument that it's an unfunded mandate because it's not like we're creating something new. The Cabinet for Health and Family Services is funded… This is something that happens every day. They're already doing it.”
Wilson said he did not receive a fiscal impact statement for the bill, nor is one publicly posted. The cabinet did express some concerns to him about costs for hiring more social workers down the line, but he said he didn’t expect a price tag that big.
Wilson is not the only lawmaker surprised to see one of his bill's on Beshear's list. Wilson still hopes to see movement to implement his bill.
“I definitely think that there's something we can do to implement this law,” Wilson said. “And if they're not willing to do it, there's got to be at least portions of it they can do to protect these kids.”
In total, Beshear said he would need an additional $141,201,900 to implement the new laws and resolutions. That's after subtracting out the $11,952,800 price tag for two of the bills initially included on the list, which the administration now says they will be able to implement despite no additional funding.
In a statement, House Speaker David Osborne questioned the accuracy of the administration’s estimated costs since the legislature already provides the executive branch with a $128 billion budget for state agencies and programs.
“Frankly, it is time for him to do his job as Governor of the Commonwealth rather than flirting with national politics and the liberal elite,” Osborne said in a statement. “The policies in question include legislation aimed at protecting children, providing lifesaving medical screenings, and helping crime victims. These are not unfunded mandates and fall within the scope of existing programs administered by the Governor.”
Osborne also questioned the timing of Beshear’s letter, which came nearly at the end of the 60-day session.
Staley, Beshear’s spokesperson, implied the legislature did still have time to amend the budget after they received Beshear’s letter. She pointed to Senate Bill 91, a bill which corrected wording errors in the 280-page budget and added several extra budget items. It passed on the last day of session — five days after Beshear sent the list.
Beshear’s list also includes two of the few Democratic-sponsored bills to pass both chambers this session. Many of the other pieces enjoyed broad bipartisan support — including Beshear’s signature.
Funding Confusion
Staley said the administration communicated consistently with lawmakers about the costs of their bills. At least one lawmaker whose bills wound up on the list says she did communicate with the cabinets that would be in charge of implementing their legislation. And she said she was under the impression that any funding issues had been resolved.
Louisville Republican Sen. Julie Raque Adams previously spoke with Kentucky Public Radio about her bill to give more flexibility to relatives applying for foster care benefits. It’s another of the bills that found its way onto Beshear’s list, with a $19.7 million price tag that Adams said she thought she had already resolved.
“They [are saying] to the kids or the Commonwealth, ‘Oh, well, we don't want to do this now,’” Adams said. “It's the right policy. I went through the normal channels for that legislation. The governor signed it into law. And it's now incumbent upon them to do right by the kids of Kentucky.”
Staley identified only two bills from the list the administration will be capable of administering, despite no additional funding.
Those measures, House Bills 15 and 115, expand health insurance coverage for state employees and people on Medicaid to include certain cancer screenings and breast examinations.
“The coverage requirements outlined in HB 115 and HB 52 are to become effective January 1, 2025, at which point our third-party administrator [Anthem] is obligated to ensure that we are compliant with the mandated coverage,” said Steeley Franco, the spokesperson for the Personnel Cabinet. “The Kentucky Employees' Health Plan Trust Fund is a $2 billion enterprise. We believe these two new benefit improvements can be fiscally accommodated.”
There’s no trust fund for the other pieces of legislation on the list, Beshear’s office said.
Beshear cites a 2005 Supreme Court decision to justify not implementing the legislation — much of which becomes law on Monday. In Fletcher v. Commonwealth, the Kentucky Supreme Court decided the executive branch (aka the governor) does not have the power to create and fund its own budget should the legislature fail to pass one.
In his letter to lawmakers, Beshear pulled this quote from the court’s opinion: “The mere existence of a statute that can be implemented only if funded does not mandate an appropriation.”
Republican leadership has disagreed with this interpretation of Fletcher v. Commonwealth, saying Beshear still has a firm obligation to implement legislation that falls under his purview.
"The Governor's constitutional responsibility is to execute the law,” said Dustin Isaac, a Senate Majority Caucus spokesperson. “The administration's excuse for not implementing bills enacted by the General Assembly during the previous legislative session rests on their flawed interpretation and application of a Supreme Court case dating back to Governor Fletcher's administration."
State government and politics reporting is supported in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
