Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron has filed a motion in Boone Circuit Court hoping to block all of Governor Andy Beshear’s executive orders related to the COVID-19 pandemic—past, present and future.
Appearing on Kentucky Sports Radio Thursday, the governor said he hopes the Kentucky Supreme Court will step in and prevent any lower court rulings from stopping restrictions he believes are necessary to slow the spread of the virus.
He says it’s one thing to challenge specific aspects of an order, but another to assert there should be no restrictions in place to protect public health.
AG Cameron issued his own statement, saying he was “in court to protect the rights of Kentuckians and ensure that the process used by the Governor to issue Executive Orders complies with the law.”
He claims, “This is not about the Governor’s policies, it’s about making sure he follows the law,” and that “Judges at every level have found constitutional problems with his orders.”
Cameron further complains that “Instead of collaborating with our office and the General Assembly to fix these issues, he’s pointing fingers.”
Governor Beshear believes the motions filed by Cameron tell a different story about his motives.
The Courier Journal reports Cameron’s motion seeks a temporary injunction to prohibit the governor from “issuing or enforcing any executive order or other directive” under Kentucky’s state of emergency statute, calling Beshear’s past orders “an arbitrary and unreasonable burden” and a direct violation of citizens’ constitutional rights.
The governor on Wednesday formally asked the state Supreme Court to uphold his public health orders relating to auto racetracks and daycare centers that were struck down by the Boone County judge and another order relating to agri-tourism that received a negative ruling from a judge in Scott County and an appellate judge.
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(2 of 2) With no rules, there is no chance of getting kids back to school, we will lose over $10 billion in our economy and many Kentuckians will die. I hope everyone understands how scary and reckless this is. ^AB
— Governor Andy Beshear (@GovAndyBeshear) July 16, 2020