- Associated Press - Wednesday, January 29, 2014

FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) - Senate Republicans on Wednesday started pushing one of their top priorities: a proposal to put restrictions on the governor’s power to issue regulations deemed out of step with lawmakers’ wishes.

But the proposed constitutional amendment ran into resistance from Democrats, diminishing its prospects of getting through the General Assembly and onto the November ballot for voters to decide.

Senate President Robert Stivers, R-Manchester, said the issue is a timely one “in a day and age that we constantly hear of overreach of government through regulations.”

The proposal seeks to amend the state’s Constitution to enable lawmakers to block an executive branch regulation from taking effect by declaring it deficient.

It would go on the November ballot if it clears the General Assembly.

But the proposal drew a tough response from Democratic Gov. Steve Beshear’s administration. His spokeswoman said it would “seriously impede” the governor’s responsibility to run state government.

“The legislature already has the power to overturn any regulation issued by the executive branch by passing legislation while they are in session,” Beshear spokeswoman Kerri Richardson said in a statement.

“The last thing the people of this state want is for a small group of legislators elected by a small number of voters to have the authority to meddle in the day-to-day operations of government,” she added.

The governor cannot veto proposed constitutional amendments. But Richardson’s comments mirrored concerns by some Democratic senators, who worried the measure would empower a small group of lawmakers to decide the fate of administrative regulations.

The proposed constitutional amendment cleared the Senate State and Local Government Committee on a 7-4 party-line vote Wednesday. The committee’s Democratic members voted against the measure.

Stivers later said the proposed ballot measure wouldn’t set the process for lawmakers to block administrative regulations. Lawmakers would do that with follow-up legislation, if Kentucky voters agreed to attach the proposal to the Constitution.

Across the Capitol, House Speaker Greg Stumbo, D-Prestonsburg, said he’s open to discussing possible changes to how lawmakers review administrative regulations. But he questioned the use of a constitutional amendment to deal with the issue. He said lawmakers could resolve concerns by changing state law.

“I do believe that the legislature has a legitimate role in seeing that agencies don’t overstep their boundaries,” Stumbo said.

The issue reflects occasional tensions between the legislative and executive branches of government.

Stivers said legislators are the policy makers, while the executive branch implements those policies. When those administrative regulations stray from legislative intent, the General Assembly should have the right to take action, he said.

Senate Minority Floor Leader R.J. Palmer, D-Winchester, said lawmakers have the ability to override regulations with legislation.

Tom FitzGerald, with the consumer advocate group the Kentucky Resources Council, questioned the need for the measure. A legislative committee assigned to review administrative regulations has rarely found any regulations deficient in the past few years, he said.

“Remedies already exist for those rare instances in which an agency is deemed to have acted in a manner contrary to the letter or intent of legislation,” he told the committee.

Senate Majority Leader Damon Thayer, R-Georgetown, said there have been nearly two dozen instances when a regulation deemed deficient by a legislative committee went into effect through the action of the governor.

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The legislation is Senate Bill 1.

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