Latest news with #RobertStivers
Yahoo
01-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Beshear appointee bumped from Public Service Commission after Senate takes no action to confirm him
From left, Senate President Robert Stivers, R-Manchester; Sen. Chris McDaniel, R-Ryland Heights,and Senate Majority Floor Leader Max Wise, R-Campbellsville; confer on the Senate floor as proceedings headed into the evening on March 14, the last day before the 10-day veto recess began. (LRC Public Information) FRANKFORT — A former Democratic state lawmaker is no longer sitting on a powerful commission regulating utilities in Kentucky after the GOP-controlled Kentucky Senate took no action to confirm him before the 2025 regular session ended Friday. Democratic Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear in September appointed John Will Stacy of West Liberty, a state representative from 1993 to 2015 who later served as the Morgan County judge-executive, to the three-member Kentucky Public Service Commission (PSC). Stacy sat on the commission and heard requests from utilities in the months after his appointment but needed confirmation by the Kentucky Senate to continue serving through the end of his term in 2028. No resolution to confirm Stacy had been introduced, confirmation hearing scheduled or vote taken on his appointment by the time lawmakers adjourned Friday. Kentucky Senate President Robert Stivers, R-Mancester, told reporters Friday the reasons for not confirming Stacy included that the former lawmaker was drawing a pension from his previous time in government on top of a six-figure salary PSC commissioners make. Stivers also said he knew of Stacy's business interests and local and government experience, but he considered Stacy to be unqualified for the role given the complexity of topics dealt with by the PSC. 'What is his background in energy?' Stivers said. 'This is a highly technical field.' The Republican Senate leader said he hoped Beshear would appoint a new PSC member who has experience in a range of utilities from electricity to drinking water given the technical nature of overseeing the 'delivery of cheap, dispatchable energy to the consumer.' But the Senate is making it harder to recruit PSC candidates, Beshear spokesperson Crystal Staley told the Lantern on Monday. 'This is now the third Public Service Commissioner that the General Assembly has not confirmed. Each has been qualified, and the failure to confirm them has drastically reduced interest in the positions. The Senate continues to create new structures or take actions to pressure the commission on the outcome of or the reopening of cases.' The PSC regulates the rates and services of more than 1,100 utilities, from large investor-owned electric providers such as Louisville Gas and Electric and Kentucky Utilities to small water districts providing drinking water to rural communities. The legislature last year created an 18-member commission, separate from the PSC, charged with examining and making recommendations on requests from utilities to retire fossil fuel-fired power plants. In 2023, the legislature passed a law making it harder for utilities to retire coal-fired power plants. Stacy's removal leaves two commissioners on the three-member board, PSC chair Angie Hatton and Mary Pat Regan. Stivers had introduced a bill in this year's regular session to expand the membership of the PSC from three commissioners to five but ultimately tabled the legislation.
Yahoo
28-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
KY Republicans override Beshear vetoes, show ‘who makes the laws' around here
Senate Republican Floor Leader Max Wise of Campbellsville and Senate President Robert Stivers of Manchester confer on the next to last day of the 2025 legislative session. (Kentucky Lantern photo by Liam Niemeyer) FRANKFORT — With most of Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear's vetoes overridden Republican lawmakers in the General Assembly have shown the power they wield over policy in Kentucky. Legislators returned to Frankfort Thursday, the second to last day of the 2025 legislative session. Within hours, both the House and Senate overrode nearly all of Beshear's 20-some vetoes, save for a few line items. In his weekly press conference, Beshear highlighted his futile vetoes, as well as some of the bills he signed or let become law without his signature. Beshear also aired grievances shared by some of his fellow Democrats in the General Assembly regarding what they see as a lack of transparency in the legislative process. He criticized Republicans for using 'shell bills' or lengthy committee substitutes to quickly move legislation, particularly in the final days of the session. The governor said it is 'designed to limit public review' of policy. 'We know that ain't right,' Beshear said. 'We know that we are always better with the sunshine, with the transparency, and I hope that this practice will be reduced or eliminated in the future.' Last week, Republican leadership rebuked Democrats' complaints about legislation being changed and moved with little notice, saying time is limited in a 30-day session. Before Thursday, Beshear issued more than 20 vetoes and five line item vetoes to legislation. To override the governor, lawmakers must give final passage to vetoed bills by the end of Friday. During floor debate on the veto override of House Bill 552, Republican Senate President Robert Stivers chided Beshear for not working with lawmakers on a trade commission between Kentucky and Ireland that was proposed in the bill. 'By constitution, it is this body and the one down the hall who makes the laws,' Stivers said, referring to the House of Representatives. The Republican closed by pointing to the Republican supermajority in the legislature. The GOP has 31 of 38 Senate seats and 80 of the 100 House seats. 'People who see us — if they want to change the policy in this state, then they will change the makeup of this body,' Stivers said. House Bill 2 allows Kentuckians to sue the governor over taxes paid on gold and silver bullion. In his veto message, Beshear decried the legislation as 'unconstitutional' and said it was 'out of touch with reality' for most Kentuckians who are feeling the strain of inflation at grocery stores and the gas pump. The Senate voted 31-6 to override the veto and allow the legislation to become law. House Bill 4 eliminates diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives at Kentucky's public universities. Republicans have argued this session that such programs cause division on college campuses, while students and professors have testified DEI has made spaces for them in academia. Beshear signed his veto of the bill in front of advocates who opposed the bill and said it was 'about hate.' House Bill 6 limits state agencies in how they can issue administrative regulations and bolsters the authority of Kentucky's legislative branch. Beshear argued in his veto message the bill 'would likely stop and prevent the executive branch from implementing numerous bills passed by the General Assembly.' The House voted 80-20 to override the veto Wednesday afternoon. House Bill 90 adds language to the state's near total abortion ban in an attempt to clarify that doctors can intervene in complex pregnancies without fear of criminal punishment for violating the ban. Doctors have said the language fell short of that goal and confused them more than current law. In vetoing it, Beshear said it 'threatens the life of pregnant women in Kentucky.' House Bill 136 requires the Department of Corrections to include more data about people released from prison or on parole, including information like gang affiliations, time served and education levels. Beshear said in his veto message the bill would breach a contract by requiring a new communications service for inmates. House Bill 216 allows some employees of the Department of Agriculture to apply for or receive funds or awards from the Kentucky Office of Agriculture Policy. No lawmakers voted against the bill in either the House and Senate. Beshear argued in his veto message the legislation would allow 'conduct that has always been unethical and unlawful' under the executive branch's ethics code. House Bill 240, which has had bipartisan support from lawmakers, requires Kentucky kindergarten and first-grade students to take a universal screener before advancing to the next grade. Beshear used his veto message to push an issue he's long preferred for improving learning for young students — universal pre-K programs. 'House Bill 240 is not the answer,' Beshear wrote. 'We should prepare, not punish, our youngest learners.' House Bill 346 will prohibit the Louisville Metro Air Pollution Control District or the Kentucky Energy and Environment Cabinet from considering whether emergency stationary internal combustion engine emissions are subject to fees. Beshear in his veto message said it was 'at least one entity's attempt' to get a refund on emissions fees, fees that the bill would cause to fall on ratepayers. The House and Senate overrode his veto. House Bill 398 will further limit state labor protections to a less-stringent federal standard, a move touted by Republican proponents as a business-friendly move but lambasted by labor unions as an 'attack' on workers. Beshear in his veto message said HB 398 said On Thursday afternoon, the House voted 78-22 to overturn the veto. The Senate then voted 29-9 to overturn the veto, allowing it to become law. Two Republicans, Sen. Stephen West, R-Paris, and Sen. Michael Nemes, R-Sheperdsville, joined the minority of Democrats in voting against overriding the veto. House Bill 399 makes interrupting a legislative proceeding a crime in Kentucky. Beshear argued in his veto message that sufficient laws are already on the books to cover such conduct. House Bill 424 — Kentucky professors have warned this bill would erode academic tenure at the state's public universities and colleges. The legislation would give universities and colleges the ability to remove faculty members and presidents for not meeting 'performance and productivity requirements' set by the institutions' boards. In his veto message Beshear said it 'will limit Kentucky's ability to hire the best people and threatens academic freedom.' House Bill 495 cancels the Beshear administration's restrictions on conversion therapy and prohibits Medicaid from covering transgender-affirming medical care. In his veto message, Beshear called it an 'unconstitutional infringement' that 'promotes a dangerous and discriminatory practice that has led to the deaths of Kentucky children.' Conversion therapy is a discredited practice that attempts to alter gender expression and sexual attraction that diverges from heterosexual normativity 'with the specific aim to promote heterosexuality as a preferable outcome,' according to the The American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.' In 2024, Beshear signed an executive order aimed at ending the practice on Kentucky minors. House Bill 552 changes the makeup of local tourist and convention center commissions to allow a chief executive officer to appoint someone representing local businesses if no formal business association exists and creates the Kentucky-Ireland Trade Commission of the General Assembly. Beshear said in his veto message that the state Constitution gives the executive branch the authority to make such boards, but he would be willing to make a commission through an executive order. House Bill 684 is a lengthy election rules bill that received bipartisan support.. However, Beshear vetoed the bill and noted in his veto message the legislation reverses a 2020 rule to allow voters to present a debit or credit card as proof of identification at the polls. He drew ire from Republican Secretary of State Michael Adams, who said on X the governor 'just murdered bipartisan election reform.' Public education advocates opposed House Bill 694, which made changes to the Kentucky Teachers' Retirement System, saying it would undermine previous legislation. Beshear wrote in his veto message that he opposed the bill because it 'breaks a promise made to teachers' without their input. House Bill 695 requires the General Assembly's OK for administration changes to Medicaid, will require able bodied adults ages 18-60 without dependents to work in order to get Medicaid health benefits, reinstates 2020-era prior authorizations for behavioral health and more. Beshear, who has supported Medicaid benefit expansions, vetoed it because, he said, it would 'put up barriers to and delay health care for Kentuckians.' Senate Bill 19 mandates a moment of silence at the beginning of school days and allows public schools to let students leave school for an hour a week for 'moral instruction.' Beshear questioned how the bill could be enforced, as kindergarten students who do not stay silent could be violating the law. 'At best, the bill will cause students to miss out on important instructional time,' Beshear wrote in his veto message. 'At worst, it is subject to abuse and threatens the safety of Kentucky children.' Senate Bill 28 will create a new economic development program within the Kentucky Department of Agriculture to promote agribusiness or the development of alternative fuels. Beshear in his veto message said the bill could lead to the secretary of the Cabinet for Economic Development to disclose confidential information on projects, and it was unconstitutional because the governor did not have any appointments to the board overseeing the program. Senate Bill 65 will nullify two executive branch regulations involving Medicaid that were found deficient by a legislative committee last year. Beshear in his veto message called the bill an unconstitutional overreach by the legislature and said it was unnecessary because the regulations were already withdrawn. Senate Bill 84 requires courts to interpret laws without deferring to a state agency's interpretation of them and mirrors last year's U.S. Supreme Court decision to strike down the precedent for the Chevron deference at the federal level. Beshear challenged the constitutionality of the bill, saying in his veto message it 'violates the separation of powers' among Kentucky's branches of government. Senate Bill 89 will significantly roll back the state's ability to regulate water pollution in the state by narrowing the definition of state waters that officials oversee. Republican proponents backing the bill said it would relieve industries from housing construction to coal mining from permitting barriers erected by the Kentucky Energy and Environment groups and Democrats lambasted the bill as opening up the state's water resources to more pollution and potentially threatening Kentuckians' drinking water. Senate Bill 183 requires a proxy adviser contracted by a state retirement plan to complete an economic analysis before voting on or recommending a vote on a shareholder-sponsored proposal that is different from a board of directors' proposal. Beshear wrote in his veto message the legislation undermines the authority of the Kentucky Public Pensions Authority. Senate Bill 207, known as the School Innovation Act, allows public schools to seek exemptions from the Kentucky Board of Education from certain state laws or regulations. It also directs the board to consider if granting such waivers would hinder or improve 'student academic achievement.' Beshear said the legislation would give the board 'unfettered authority' to suspend Kentucky laws in his veto message. Senate Bill 245 will require that pending reappointments to the Kentucky Fish and Wildlife Commission that are not confirmed by the Senate during a legislative session would have to vacate their position on the commission when the legislature adjourns for the year. For this year , it would only impact House Bill 546 sets terms to fund the Local Assistance Road Program. Beshear vetoed part of the bill that would establish tolls for a planned I-69 Ohio River Crossing bridge to Indiana. House Bill 566 makes additional changes to last year's law creating the Kentucky Horse Racing and Gaming Corporation. Beshear had vetoed a few sections of the bill and said in his veto message he had concerns about a possible 'significant conflict of interest' in how the corporation worked on the drafting of the bill. Senate Bill 25 began as a shell bill, but later became a bill with multiple pieces of legislation in it toward the end of session. While the General Assembly overrode most of Beshear's line item vetoes, some were sustained. That included a provision about how lawmakers will deliver legislation to the governor while they convene in a temporary structure while the Capitol is renovated in future sessions. House Joint Resolution 30 would release funds for specific projects submitted by drinking water and wastewater utilities through a program created by the legislature and managed by the Kentucky Infrastructure Authority. Beshear vetoed parts of the bill to give two specific projects 'flexibility' in being completed in more efficient ways proposed by the Kentucky Energy and Environment Cabinet. House Joint Resolution 46 — This resolution sets up a list of priority projects for county roads. Beshear issued some line item vetoes to correct the names of some listed roads, but the House overrode the veto 80-20. Lawmakers created the resolution based on a list previously provided by the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
26-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
GOP leader Stivers tables bill to remake Kentucky's utility regulator
Kentucky Senate President Robert Stivers, R-Manchester, asked his fellow lawmakers to table a bill to remake the Kentucky Public Service Commission. (Kentucky Lantern photo by Liam Niemeyer). The leader of the GOP-controlled Kentucky Senate says his bill to remake and expand Kentucky's powerful commission that regulates utilities won't advance in the legislature this year, arguing more discussion on how to address the state's long-term energy policy is needed. Senate Bill 8, sponsored by Kentucky Senate President Robert Stivers, R-Manchester, would have expanded the membership of the Kentucky Public Service Commission (PSC) — and potentially remove existing commission members — by giving the state auditor, Republican Allison Ball, the power to appoint two additional members to a board currently appointed by the governor. A spokesperson for Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear panned the bill as 'partisan politics.' The PSC regulates the rates and services of more than 1,100 utilities from large investor-owned electricity providers to small water districts that provide drinking water to rural communities. Stivers previously told the Lantern the bill would advance this legislative session. But in a Wednesday hearing of the Kentucky Senate Natural Resources and Energy Committee, Stivers asked lawmakers not to vote on the bill and only discuss the legislation. 'The state doesn't really have a long-term energy policy, and part of the long-term energy policy, it has to have a discussion of the Public Service Commission,' Stivers said. Stivers has previously co-sponsored or supported bills that became law the past two years that create new barriers and bureaucracy before the PSC can approve requests from utilities to retire fossil fuel-fired power plants. One of those laws created a new commission separate from the PSC that reviews the impacts of utility requests to retire fossil fuel-fired power plants before those requests reach the PSC, something investor-owned utilities strongly opposed. Executives with those utilities are now a part of that separate panel, called the Energy Planning and Inventory Commission (EPIC). Stivers said the discussion over potential legislation dealing with the state's energy policy would continue into next year's legislative session, including how EPIC and another state research authority dealing with nuclear energy fit into long-term energy policy.
Yahoo
21-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
GOP leader Stivers moves to remake Kentucky Public Service Commission
Kentucky Senate President Robert Stivers, R-Manchester, wants to enlarge the Public Service Commission and identify its members by political party. Stivers presides over the Senate, Feb. 20, 2025. (Kentucky Lantern photo by Liam Niemeyer). FRANKFORT — A powerful commission overseeing the regulation and rates of Kentucky utilities would be expanded — and sitting members potentially removed — under a bill sponsored by the leader of the GOP-dominated Kentucky Senate. Senate President Robert Stivers, R-Manchester, told the Lantern he filed Senate Bill 8 because the three-member Kentucky Public Service Commission (PSC) handles complex, technical issues amid rising electricity demand from data centers and that it is 'time for a discussion on what the Public Service Commission is doing and what they should do.' 'It is now with three people, very few to my knowledge having extensive background in the energy area,' Stivers said. 'I think this becomes, from a policy standpoint, a commission that does have a lot of responsibility.' The bill would also put partisan requirements on the now nonpartisan PSC. Clinging to coal: Kentucky utilities could have more hurdles to clear before retiring power plants He said the bill, which was filed on the last day possible in this year's session, would advance through the legislature in the coming weeks. The PSC regulates the rates and services of more than 1,100 utilities, ranging from large investor-owned electricity providers like Louisville Gas and Electric and Kentucky Utilities to small water districts that provide drinking water to rural communities. The regulator also fields complaints from Kentuckians about service and rates and hears requests from utilities to retire or build new power generation. The commission is made up of three members appointed by the governor and confirmed to their positions by the Kentucky Senate. The requirements in state law to be a commissioner include being at least 25 years old and a Kentucky resident for at least three years. The governor also has the power to designate a chair and vice-chair on the commission. SB 8 would expand the makeup of the PSC by adding two members to the commission for a total of five commissioners. The two new members would be appointed by the auditor of public accounts, currently Republican Allison Ball, and confirmed by the Senate. SB 8 would give the power to designate a commission chair and vice chair through a vote among commission members. The bill also adds additional experience requirements and states that current commissioners — all of whom were appointed by Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear and confirmed by the Senate — would have their four-year terms as commissioners 'terminated' if they don't meet the experience requirements set out in Stivers' bill. Beshear would then appoint new commissioners to replace vacated seats under the bill. Crystal Staley, a spokesperson for Beshear, described the move as 'partisan politics.' In a statement she said the legislature never attempted to move gubernatorial appointments to officials of a different party during the administration of former Republican Gov. Matt Bevin. 'The general assembly continues to focus on playing partisan politics by attacking the appointment power of the governor,' Staley said. 'The stability of the PSC is important to the stability of our energy providers and ability of our families to pay their power bills. This is just the most recent bill continuously changing the PSC's structure or operation or adding supervisory boards.' Stivers said the legislation is not a 'nefarious plan' to take power away from the governor, arguing the legislature has the right to set policy with the governor executing that policy. 'This is going to raise a lot of discussion and questions about the composition of the PSC, the number of people on the PSC, and the subject matter for which they could consider under the PSC,' Stivers said. Currently, commission members are barred from being a part of a political action committee, conducting business 'inconsistent' with their duties, receiving things of value from utilities and holding stocks and bonds of a utility. No more than two commission members can have the same occupation, and state law directs the governor to consider expertise in utility regulation and the interests of consumers and utility investors when making appointments. Under Stivers' bill, the new experience requirements for the three gubernatorial appointees would include: One commissioner being a licensed attorney who has actively practiced law for at least seven years. The two other commissioners having education or training and five years of 'actual experience' in one or more fields including economics, engineering, accounting, finance, utility regulation, pipeline or utility infrastructure safety, business management and environmental management. Of the two commissioners to be appointed by the state auditor, one would be required to have the same experience as the two non-lawyer gubernatorial appointments, and the second appointment by the state auditor would have five years of 'actual experience' as a consumer advocate. Some of the poorest Kentuckians pay the highest power bills because their houses leak energy Stivers pointed to 'outrageously high' utility bills in Eastern Kentucky as part of the reason for wanting a consumer advocate on the PSC. Investor-owned Kentucky Power in Eastern Kentucky serves among the poorest communities in the state while also having among the highest electricity bills in the state. The bill would also put partisan requirements on the commission, stating no more than three commissioners could be of the same political party. The commission is currently nonpartisan. In some Southern states, utility commissions are elected in partisan races and the commissioners publicly vote on decisions such as whether to approve utility rate increases or plans to build a power plant. In Kentucky, the commission seats are nonpartisan, and the PSC issues decisions through orders that speak as the consensus of the three-member board. Across the country, the majority of state utility commissions are appointed by governors according to nonprofit, online political encyclopedia Ballotpedia. Most states have three-member boards regulating utilities, though others have boards with five or seven members. The Senate president did not offer an opinion on whether any of the three current PSC commissioners, all of whom were appointed by Beshear and confirmed by the Senate, would be removed under SB 8 for not meeting experience requirements that his bill would create. But he did bring up the qualifications of PSC commissioner John Will Stacy, a former Democratic state legislator and county judge-executive. Stivers said he knew of Stacy's experience in local and state government along with some of Stacy's business interests. 'I don't know what that is in the way of qualifications for sitting on the PSC,' Stivers said about Stacy. The Republican Party of Kentucky on X, formerly Twitter, last year questioned Stacy's qualifications to serve on the PSC when he was appointed. Stacy filled a seat that became vacant when former PSC chair Kent Chandler resigned after a lack of communication from the Beshear administration on his reappointment. Stivers said the current chair of the PSC, attorney and former Democratic state Rep. Angie Hatton, was doing 'the best job she can do, and I compliment her on that.' 'But this is a very important commission, and it is the prerogative of the general assembly to set commissions and the statutory framework for which they work in. The governor has no control over that,' Stivers said. It's not clear in the legislation who would determine whether a sitting PSC commissioner has met the designated experience requirements. The legislature in recent years has passed laws, over vetoes from Beshear and strong opposition from investor-owned utilities, that put additional barriers to the PSC approving requests from utilities to retire fossil fuel-fired power plants. Last year, the legislature passed a law co-sponsored by Stivers that created a new commission outside the PSC to review the impacts of requests to retire fossil fuel-fired power plants. The laws passed by the legislature also put new, tighter deadlines on the PSC to make decisions in certain cases including requests to build new power plants. The tighter deadlines come as the regulator is trying to evaluate an influx of renewable energy developers wanting to establish solar farms in the state along with overseeing water utilities confronting aging infrastructure including dilapidated water tanks, pipes and treatment plants. Chandler, the former chair, had said the PSC was dealing with increasing demands while having fewer staff and less financial resources to do its job. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
