Beshear vetoes McConnell-backed Senate vacancy bill; signs bill capping insulin co-pays

[Nevilledog]

Link to tweet

Tweet text:
John FitzGerald
@TheTweetOfJohn
Beshear vetoed Senate Bill 228, which strips the governor of his sole power to appoint a replacement to fill a vacancy to Kentucky's U.S. Senate seat in the event of a death or retirement.

Beshear vetoes McConnell-backed Senate vacancy bill; signs bill capping insulin co-pays
House Bill 95 was among the bills signed by Gov. Andy Beshear, capping insulin co-pays at $30 for state employees and others.
courier-journal.com
4:08 PM · Mar 22, 2021

https://www.courier-journal.com/story/news/politics/ky-general-assembly/2021/03/22/gov-beshear-vetoes-sen-mcconnell-backed-senate-vacancy-bill/4798765001/

[UpInArms]

1. Lol!

Like a Governor is going to sign a bill that strips him of his duties ...

Not!

[Nevilledog]

2. I believe, unfortunately, the legislature will override the veto

[Hekate]

3. Excellent!

I suspect McConnell is planning his retirement, & wants to handpick his successor without the bother of an election.

[iluvtennis]

8. Yes, correct. McConnell was spearheading KY bill 228 behind the scenes.

It Appears Mitch McConnell Has Done All the Dirty Work Of Which He's Capable
His escape plan would guarantee Kentucky’s Democratic governor doesn’t do anything crazy, like act with the full powers of the job.

https://www.esquire.com/news-politics/politics/a35741648/mitch-mcconnell-plan-choose-successor-kentucky-bill-228/

[mucifer]

4. The article doesn't say if the legislature has the votes to override the veto

[Tarc]

6. The KY GOP holds a 30-8 Senate majority, and 75-25 in the House

It is, regrettably, veto-proof.

[spooky3]

5. Hardball is the only game to play with Mitch. Nt

[Deacon Blue]

7. What If Beshear Does Nothing?

My understanding is the bill requires the governor to pick from a list provided by the legislature (happy to be corrected).

BUT is there any deadline for making the appointment? What if he just held the seat open until the next election? Mitch should surely appreciate that approach...

[Progressive Jones]

10. Moscow Mitch just got re-elected. I think he wants out quickly, hence this bill.

4-5 years is a long time to hold that seat open.

How long until a special election would be required? The full term, or some other time period?

[aquamarina]

9. Can Beshear sue?

Seem like the legislature is overstepping their authority. No separation of powers at the state level?

[Progressive Jones]

11. Great point! This bill might be unconstitutional. nt

[qazplm135]

12. Several states withhold

the power to select a Senator from the Governor.

There's nothing inherently wrong with it. If I wanted an ideal rule, it would be that whenever a Senator is replaced, it must be from the same party as the Senator that was replaced, regardless of who is in power. Then a quickly held election (say 90-120 days).

The voters get max decisive power in that scenario.

[aquamarina]

13. The issue I'm having is that it is

a current power held by the Governor and the legislature wants to change the rule bc the current governor is a democratic. I’m sure this would not have been proposed if the gov was a repuke.

[CatWoman]

14. a few years ago North Carolina pulled the same bullshit

and the dem governor took it to court and won

[aquamarina]

18. That's what I recalled. I think something

Similar also happened in Wisconsin but I may be wrong. I would like to see the KY governor fight this.

[qazplm135]

15. probably not

just like our side probably wouldn't either. But it's not illegal or even improper. In fact, it's probably the right answer everywhere.
It is what it is, elections have consequences. We want to change things, we have to start doing better at the state and local level. We lost a lot of ground being too focused on the presidency while the other side won all the little stuff and leveraged that to where they are now.

[liberalmediaaddict]

16. The bill is possibly unconstitutional

Beshear was our Attorney General and knows constitutional law. The Republican supermajority will easily override his veto but the courts will hopefully prevent it from going into effect.

[liberalmediaaddict]

17. More information on the veto

Explaining his veto, Beshear said SB 228 violates the 17th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which sought "to remove the power to select U.S. senators from political party bosses."

"It delegates the power to select a representative to an unelected, unaccountable political committee that only represents a fraction of Kentuckians, when a senator is supposed to represent all of us," Beshear said.

Beshear also said SB 228 violates provisions of Kentucky's constitution that state a governor shall fill appointments or vacancies in the state at large, in addition to creating expensive runoff elections.

The bill passed both chambers of the General Assembly in a party line vote, as Democrats called it a blatant "power grab" by Republicans after the party lost the governor's seat.