FRANKFORT, Ky. (KT) – Kentucky House Speaker David Osborne said the appellate court’s decision to uphold Gov. Andy Beshear’s order to shut down privately run religious schools is a setback. But that wasn’t his only disappointment.
He said the governor needs to involve stakeholders and share data, if any exists, in the decisions that are being made during the coronavirus. Republican leadership has felt distanced from the Democrat governor since the start of the pandemic, saying he has made unilateral decisions despite their pleas to be involved in the conversation.
He called Sunday’s ruling by the 6th Circuit Court a “setback for those who believe that the Kentucky and United States Constitutions exist to protect the inalienable rights of people from government overreach.”
In a press release, Osborne, a Republican, said legislators have been asking the governor for data for more than a month in preparation for the 2021 General Assembly session that begins in January.
“To date, we have no evidence they have tested the efficacy of any step taken, and nine days into the latest shutdown order, positive testing numbers are still growing dramatically,” Osborne said in a statement.