Lawsuits Challenge Governor's Vetoes and Reorganization of Workers' Comp Board

Thursday, June 30, 2016 | 0

The same Kentucky judge who is presiding over a dispute about Republican Gov. Matt Bevin's purge of the Workers' Compensation Nominating Commission has delayed ruling on a Democratic lawmaker’s request to exclude evidence from his separate lawsuit against the governor.

House Speaker Greg Stumbo is suing Bevin over his vetoes of the state’s two-year, $68 billion operational budget, the Associated Press reported Wednesday.

The vetoes were filed with House Clerk Jean Burgin, whom Bevin said had promised to deliver them to the secretary of state’s office but did not after “House leadership” told her to lock the vetoes in her office.

Stumbo attorney Matt Stephens says anything Burgin did is irrelevant and should not be presented as evidence.

The governor also faces a lawsuit from unions and injured workers over his reorganization of the state’s Workers’ Compensation Nominating Commission, which recommends the names of administrative law judges to preside over claims.

The same state judge in the Stumbo case, Phillip Shepherd, already has ruled that Bevin’s reorganization was unconstitutional and granted a temporary restraining order that halts any actions by the commission. Shepherd is expected to issue a final ruling soon.