A controversial bill to revise Kentucky s open records law and shield records of lawmakers won final passage Friday amid allegations that two women in the House who voted against it received an anonymous threat.
On Thursday, Sen. Adrienne Southworth, a Lawrenceburg Republican, said two women lawmakers, both Republicans, after voting against House Bill 312 found copies on their desks of a House seating chart with photos of their faces faces punched out.
The charts display photos of lawmakers and their seating assignments in each chamber. These two ladies were the only Republican representatives who voted no on House Bill 312, Southworth said in a Senate floor speech just before the Senate approved it on a 22-11 vote. Their reward was a threat.
A new version of a controversial bill to revise the state s open records law shot through a Senate committee in 20 minutes Wednesday, despite unanswered questions from one lawmaker about how it shields records of legislators from disclosure.
Sen. Adrienne Southworth, R-Lawrenceburg, voted no on House Bill 312 after Sen. Robby Mills, chairman of the Senate State and Local Government Committee, cut off discussion, citing a tight schedule. That s really actually upsetting, that we re the legislature and we can t talk about legislative records, Southworth said.
Sen. Chris McDaniel, R-Taylor Mill, voted for the bill but also expressed reservations about the section involving records of lawmakers, commenting: I m a little bit worried about the legislative piece.
Governor s office shuts down suggestion injunction over COVID-19 order laws are limited to one area
and last updated 2021-03-08 18:48:28-05
FRANKFORT, Ky. (LEX 18) â Last week, Franklin Circuit Court Judge Phillip Shepard ordered a temporary injunction blocking three new laws that limit the governor s emergency powers. This decision allowed the governor s COVID-19 orders to remain in effect until the lawsuit over them is resolved. A governor, under the constitution, has and must have emergency powers to battle a pandemic like this, said Gov. Andy Beshear after the order was issued. There s only one Commander-in-Chief and ultimately this has to be an executive-driven response. That doesn t mean we re not willing to talk to legislative leaders - we are.
FRANKFORT, Ky. (KT) – Franklin Circuit Court Judge Phillip Shepherd issued a temporary injunction keeping three bills passed by the General Assembly that limited the governor’s power to deal with