Senate Majority Leader Damon Thayer said he wants to “rein in” judges after the Kentucky Supreme Court unanimously struck down a public pension law Thursday that was backed by Republican Gov. Matt Bevin and the GOP-led legislature.

“My regards for the judiciary in Kentucky is at a low point. Too many are liberal activists,” said Thayer, a Republican from Georgetown who was instrumental in passing this year’s pension law, which was deemed unconstitutional by the Supreme Court and a Franklin Circuit Court judge.

Thayer, president of a communications and consulting business, said during a telephone interview that he will be “looking at judicial reform in this state.”

He said that might include how judges are elected and the budget for the judicial branch of state government.

Asked if he is seeking retribution for the court’s ruling, Thayer said “both courts poked their fingers in the eyes of our legislative body. It’s a blow to the legislative branch. They need to be reined in.”

Thayer called the high court’s ruling “a terrible one for public retirees and employees and taxpayers.”