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Top Kentucky GOP Lawmakers Blast Bevin’s Pension Bill Veto

Posted at 3:13 PM, Apr 10, 2019
and last updated 2019-04-10 15:14:28-04

FRANKFORT, Ky. (LEX 18) — Kentucky’s top Republican state legislator slammed Gov. Matt Bevin’s decision to veto a pension bill, describing the move as “perplexing” and against previously state support.

“We are disappointed by the Governor’s decision to veto House Bill 358, a bill which would have provided much needed stability to the Commonwealth’s regional universities and quasi-government agencies,” Senate President Robert Stivers said in a statement released Wednesday afternoon.

On Tuesday, Bevin vetoed the bill, saying it lacked the “moral and legal” obligations required of the state. He later modified his criticism, saying he believed the bill was good but needed work to pass legal muster.

But Stivers and others weren’t swayed.

“The rationale behind this decision is perplexing,” Stivers wrote. “Just weeks ago, during the 2019 Regular Session, the Governor delivered a letter to members of the General Assembly expressing support for the Senate’s version of HB 358, which is consistent with the final bill that arrived on his desk.”

Georgetown Republican Sen. Damon Thayer amplified Stivers’ statement on Twitter, implying it wasn’t critical enough.

 

Bevin has said he plans to call a special session, but Stivers also cautioned the governor on that plan.

“Before the Senate is called into an Extraordinary Session, the Governor should set the parameters for what he is willing to sign,” Stivers said. “We need a bill to address this problem which is actuarially sound, is able to pass both chambers, and can withstand political and legal scrutiny.”