Governor Beshear calls Kentucky General Assembly into special session - WBKO

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BOWLING GREEN, Ky. (WBKO) - Gov. Beshear is calling the Kentucky General Assembly into a special session as cases of COVID-19 continue to surge across the Commonwealth, and hospitalization rates continue to rise.

“The delta variant is spreading at a rate never seen before, impacting businesses, shuttering schools and worse causing severe illness and death,” Beshear said. “We need as many tools as possible to fight this deadly surge in order to save lives, keep our children in school and keep our economy churning,” he added.

The governor made the announcement Saturday afternoon during a virtual press conference and said the session will begin Tuesday at 10:00 a.m. in Frankfort.

The return of lawmakers to the state Capitol marks a significant power shift in coronavirus-related policymaking in Kentucky following a court ruling. Since the pandemic hit Kentucky, the governor mostly acted unilaterally in setting statewide virus policies, but the state Supreme Court shifted those decisions to the legislature.

“Now, that burden will fall in large part on the General Assembly,” Beshear said. “It will have to carry much of that weight to confront unpopular choices and to make decisions that balance many things, including the lives and the possible deaths of our citizens.”

Gov. Beshear says he and his staff have discussed this with legislative leaders after the aftermath of the state supreme court decision involving the governor’s executive powers. He says lawmakers have been open to conversations. Beshear had sole authority to call a special session and set the agenda. At a news conference Saturday, he outlined pandemic issues he wants lawmakers to consider, including policies on mask-wearing and school schedules amid growing school closures due to virus outbreaks. But GOP House and Senate supermajorities will decide what measures ultimately pass.

In his briefing, the governor said he is asking for Kentucky lawmakers to extend a state of emergency until Jan. 15, 2022. He also hopes to tackle issues that include mask mandates, federal relief funds, and executive and cabinet orders.

Several various emergency measures issued by Beshear are set to expire as a result of the court decision issued two weeks ago. Lawmakers will decide whether to extend, alter or discontinue each emergency order, while putting their own stamp on the state’s response to COVID-19.

The goal is to come to that consensus in about five days, as the session will cost taxpayers around $65,000 per day.

“There’s a lot of issues being debated in the upcoming special session, so it is likely there will be some back and forth and discourse. How quickly can they work through that and get something done and get out of town?”

The governor said Thursday there should be flexibility for individual schools when it comes to NTI.

“If they won’t consider providing that authority in general, my hope is that they will consider a threshold to where they will provide me that authority,” Beshear said.

More than 7,840 Kentuckians have died from COVID-19 during the last 18 months, and 69 in the last two days.

Hospitals across the state are at capacity levels not seen before. More than 2,300 Kentuckians are in the hospital with COVID-19, 662 are in intensive care, and 425 are on ventilators.

Copyright 2021 WBKO. All rights reserved.

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