FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) - The Latest on a bill to restrict some powers of the state attorney general (all times local):
11:55 p.m.
Republican lawmakers failed to strip some powers from Kentucky’s Democratic attorney general on the final day of the legislative session.
Thursday, the state Senate voted 26-12 to make the state’s Republican governor, not the attorney general, the state’s official voice in amicus briefs. The House had until midnight to approve the bill, but Republican leaders did not call it for a vote.
Attorney General Andy Beshear had warned that the bill would violate U.S. Supreme Court rules that automatically accept briefs filed by state attorneys general but not governors. Beshear said that means Kentucky would have been voiceless before the court on some of the most important issues it faces.
The proposal came as a bitter feud plays out across state government between Beshear and Republican Gov. Matt Bevin.
___
5:45 p.m.
The state Senate has approved a bill that would let the governor, not the attorney general, be the voice of the state when filing amicus briefs before the U.S. Supreme Court.
The Senate approved House Bill 281 by a vote of 26-12 on Thursday. Republican Senate President Robert Stivers said the bill was necessary because he said Democratic Attorney General Andy Beshear does not represent the views of the Republican governor and state legislature.
Beshear said the bill would violate the Supreme Court rules that automatically accept briefs filed by state attorneys general but not governors. Beshear said that means Kentucky would be voiceless before the court.
___
10:10 a.m.
Kentucky’s Republican lawmakers are threatening to restrict the powers of its Democratic Attorney General on the last day of the legislative session.
When major issues come before the U.S. Supreme Court - including abortion, energy regulations and affirmative action - Kentucky and other states will often file amicus briefs even though they are not an official part of the lawsuit. The attorney general does that as the state’s supreme law officer.
But in Kentucky, the attorney general, Andy Beshear, is a Democrat while the governor and leaders of both legislative chambers are Republicans. GOP leaders have often disagreed with Beshear’s legal filings. Senate Republicans worked late into the night on Wednesday to advance a bill that would make the governor the official voice of the state when filing amicus briefs.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.