In Kentucky, Judge Shephard Says Legislature Can't Turn Off Clock To Beat Deadline. Most Of Us Knew That!

Read more from Tom Loftus, or excerpts below, and then hear Bob Marley tell us (as a reminder) that "none of us can stop the time"!

Enjoy.

Judge says legislature can't 'stop the clock'
By Tom Loftus

FRANKFORT, Ky. — The General Assembly cannot “stop the clock” and act on legislation after its constitutional deadline to adjourn, a Franklin circuit judge ruled this morning.

And a 2008 bill that included the legislature’s road construction plan is invalid because the final steps taken to enact it occurred after midnight on the final day of the 2008 legislative session, Circuit Judge Phillip Shepherd ruled.

The ruling came in a lawsuit brought by Senate President David Williams in May 2008 against Gov. Steve Beshear.

Williams claimed the legislature had properly adopted its own road plan in House Bill 79, that Beshear’s veto of that bill was invalid and that the governor’s decision to follow his own plan was “an unconstitutional usurpation of power.”

But Shepherd ruled today that the legislature’s road plan within HB 79 was invalid because final action on the bill took place after the last moment for lawmakers to act during the 2008 session — midnight on April 15.

“HB 79 was not signed by the presiding officers of each house, nor was it properly enrolled, nor was it delivered to the governor, prior to midnight on April 15, 2008,” Shepherd said in his opinion.

He rejected what he called “Williams’ self-serving assertion” that courts could not consider clear evidence that final actions took place after midnight on the bill and must consider only legislative journals, which showed action on the bill was taken before midnight.

“He argues that if the legislature violates its constitutional duty, but then covers its tracks with a journal entry, no one can question its action,” Shepherd stated.

The judge said that this argument undermines separation-of-powers provisions of the Kentucky Constitution.

“But more importantly, it shows a complete lack of respect for the institutional integrity of both the courts and the legislative process required by the Constitution,” Shepherd wrote. “Such lack of respect can only undermine public confidence in government.”

Under Shepherd’s ruling, the Beshear administration must follow the road construction plan that it submitted to the General Assembly during the 2008 session.