FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) - Kentucky’s highest court will hear oral arguments next month in the legal showdown over Gov. Andy Beshear’s COVID-19 emergency orders.
The state Supreme Court on Friday scheduled arguments for Sept. 17 in the case pitting the Democratic governor against the Republican attorney general, Daniel Cameron. Cameron contends the governor overstepped his constitutional authority with the orders.
Last month, the Supreme Court stepped into the dispute by halting attempts to block Beshear’s executive actions pending its own review.
On Thursday, the governor extended his mandate that most Kentuckians wear masks in public for another 30 days. That order and others by Beshear are being challenged by Cameron.
Beshear says his orders are crucial to protect lives, fuel an economic recovery and resume in-person classes by containing the virus. Without the actions, Kentucky risks turning into a “Wild West” without needed rules to combat the health crisis, he said recently.
Cameron has said that halting the governor’s restrictions would not “hamper the ability of public health officials to ensure the safety and well-being of Kentuckians.”
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