Thursday, 31 July 2008
Judge Rules On Road Bill Passed After April 15th
During the last legislative session, legislators in both parties stopped the clock at 11:59 on April 15th so they could pass last minute legislation. A number of bills were finished in the early hours of April 16th. One of them was the 2008-2009 road bill which specified how money should be appropriated for the building and maintenance of roads.
Beshear vetoed the bill on April 26th. 11 days after the session ended and claimed he could do whatever he wanted with the money set aside for roads. By law Beshear is required to veto within 10 days of the session or by April 25th.
Senate Majority Leader Williams, didn't like the games Beshear was playing with the road fund and went to court to see if the veto could be overridden because it was issued 11 days after the session.
Rather that ruling in favor of either party, the judge decided that H.B. 79 was invalid because it was passed after the midnight deadline on the 15th. In the ruling, Franklin Circuit Judge Phillip Shepherd wrote the following.
It makes no difference whether the House and Senate adjourned sine di on April 15, or alternatively, whether the legislature simply ceased to exist by virtue of Section 42 of the Constitution, which requires that the regular session of the General Assembly shall not "continue beyond sixty legislative days nor shall it extend beyond April 15." Either way, the General Assembly had no power to act after midnight on April 15, 2008.
What this means is that since H.B. 79 was passed after midnight on the 15th it is invalid because either the legislature no longer existed at the time or it no longer had powers to make laws. If this ruling stands, it means that any of the laws passed after midnight are null and void.
I don't know how many bills that effects this year, but the more important question is what happens to bills that passed in previous years? This "stopping of the clock" is a practice the general assembly has practiced for some time now. Does that mean any legislation that was enacted during those times are null and void as well? What about legislation that might have amended those invalid pieces of legislation? What happens to people that may have been negatively effected by those bills? Will they be able to seek redress?
For example, let's say the legislature passed a tax increase or fee increase illegally 3 years ago. Would those effected by the tax or fee increase be able to get their money back? Could they sue the government to get a rebate? Questions like this one could potentially be the tip of the ice berg of possibilities. Judge Shepperd's decision could lead to some very unexpected and crazy implications. I am sure it is a ruling that neither Gov Beshear nor Sen Williams expected nor wanted.
Even with the possible side effects, the ruling was a good one. If for no other reason that to stop future legislative session from playing games with the clock. They need to get their act together and not procrastinate til the last possible minute to try and pass a bunch of legislation.
