Media Contact: Nicole Burton
502-564-2611
Nicole.Burton@ky.gov
FRANKFORT, Ky. (June 13, 2019) – Today, the Supreme Court ruled unanimously in favor of Gov. Matt Bevin’s clear executive power to reorganize boards and commissions for the benefit of Kentuckians, a power that Kentucky Governors have exercised for decades. Attorney General Andy Beshear has spent much of the last three and a half years pursuing politically motived lawsuits to challenge this otherwise unquestioned power used by his father over 100 times and by AG Beshear’s own office every single year that he has been Attorney General.
Gov. Bevin properly used the reorganization power to advance the efficiency of public education in the Commonwealth, which the Court affirmed was consistent with the Constitution’s mandate of “promot[ing] Kentucky’s system of common schools.” The Supreme Court completely and finally rejected the arguments that AG Beshear has parroted in each of his repeated legal challenges to other reorganizations, including the reorganization of the University of Louisville board and the board of the Kentucky Retirement Systems.
In response to the 7-0 ruling, Gov. Bevin issued the following statement:
“The Supreme Court’s decision reveals what a shameful waste of taxpayer resources the Attorney General’s three and a half years of politically motivated lawsuits have been. The Court forcefully rejected every single one of Andy’s arguments, finding that he ‘ignored’ the constitution and that his positions ‘contradict the plain and explicit text’ of Kentucky law. After such a stinging defeat, the self-proclaimed ‘people’s lawyer’ should, for once, think about actually helping the people of Kentucky instead of suing them.”
To download a copy of today's Supreme Court ruling, click here.