Governor Matthew Griswold Bevin took to the airwaves of KET Monday night to (surprise) blame the legislature for the recent failed special session. Bevin told KET’s Renee Shaw it was “the prerogative of the Governor to do what should be done for the people of Kentucky” and that was his reason for exercising his executive authority to call the legislature in session on just four hours notice. On Monday, December 17th, Bevin issued an Executive Order at 4:00 p.m., calling the legislature to Frankfort at 8:00 p.m. that same evening. (Never mind the fact that Bevin’s order violated Kentucky’s Open Meetings law which requires all public bodies, including the legislature, to give minimum 24 hour notice before any special meeting.)
It may have been Bevin’s prerogative to call the special session, but it was also his duty and responsibility to properly plan, prepare, and inform the legislature prior to issuing the call. He did none of those. He not only violated the open meetings law, he miserably failed in his duty to lay the groundwork for a successful session. It was chaos before the gavel dropped to convene the House and Senate. Bevin’s draft of a proposed pension bill wasn’t even ready until later that evening. But that is not all.
Inside the Connector has learned from numerous sources that Bevin assured legislative leaders, even as late as 12 noon on Monday, December 17th, his proposed bill draft would be “very similar, almost identical” to SB 151 from the 2018 session. When legislative leaders received the bill draft after 8pm that evening, they quickly noticed the bill draft from Bevin was radically different than what Bevin had promised just a few hours earlier. When that fact was exposed the next day, Bevin responded that he “had not actually read the entire bill”.
Based on the embarrassing lack of planning and preparation on the part of Matthew Griswold Bevin, and his outright misrepresentations to legislative leaders about what was in the bill, there was very little, if any, sentiment among the legislature to do anything but adjourn.
Bevin can (and will) continue to blame the legislature for his failings, and ITC notes that there is plenty for which to blame the legislature. But the failed special session, the dismal lack of preparation and planning, the misrepresentations, and the unnecessary cost to taxpayers are all on the hands of Matthew Griswold Bevin.
Inside The Connector 