The Kentucky General Assembly ended the COVID State of Emergency last night, amid much debate in both the House and Senate chambers. The legislature had to override the veto of Senate Joint Resolution 150 by Governor Andy Beshear in order to end the emergency.
Beshear vetoed the resolution last month and said it would cost the Commonwealth $50 million in SNAP Benefits. Ahead of the veto, Beshear called SJR150 “politics at its worst” and said it would take food off the table of Kentuckians. His comments were pretty similar on the override of the bill.
“Legislators voted to take food off the tables of hungry children and seniors at a time when groceries cost too much,” Beshear said on Twitter. “They also positioned Kentucky to be one of the least helpful states for Kentucky workers who lose a job or a career at no fault of their own.”
Beshear, along with opponents of the bill, said it will cost the state nearly $50 million in SNAP Benefits, as federal funds have been pouring into the state via the CARES Act and ARPA Funds. In order for the state to receive those extra funds, a state of emergency must be declared. Beshear also noted that Commonwealth doesn’t have any current restrictions in place.
“Senate Joint Resolution 150 is politics at its worst,” Beshear said. “It will take food off the tables of more than a half-million Kentuckians, most of them struggling seniors and struggling children.”
In the Senate floor debate over the resolution, Sen. Donald Douglas (R-Nicholasville) said he had not told legislators the resolution would affect federal funding. However, after the committee meeting last month, he said his team had consulted the legal experts and that it wouldn’t affect federal funding.
“We’ve consulted the legal people,” Douglas said. “They don’t feel like this would have any effect whatsoever on Kentucky being able to obtain federal funding.”
The General Assembly extended the state of emergency last month under Senate Bill 25.
“The original emergency was declared by our governor on March 6, 2020,” said Sen. Donald Douglas (R-Nicholasville), who introduced the resolution. “…there have been many, many changes that have gone on since that time, and I’m not going into all of those, but they have been getting positive and positive direction.”
