In a surprise move, Gov. Matt Bevin has announced he is calling the legislature into a special session starting tonight.
Just days after the state’s highest court unanimously invalidatedcontroversial GOP-backed pension reforms on procedural grounds, Bevin is exercising his authority to bring the legislature back into session to address the issue – effective Monday night.
"They will be coming in. The first readings of the things that are going to be discussed will take place and the process will begin. This is not an ideal time for anybody, not for you, not for them, but there is nothing ideal about the situation that has been put upon us," the governor said.
Last week, the head of the Kentucky Education Association promised educators would have their eye on any future attempts to resurrect pension reform. But Monday’s announcement means opponents will have just hours to mount any protest or public response.
Attorney General Andy Beshear reacted on Twitter, saying the call for a special session a week before Christmas is “wrong and cruel.”
The Kentucky Democratic Party issued a statement calling the move an "unbelievable waste of taxpayer resources," a "political stunt," and a "slap in the face to hardworking Kentuckians.”
Bevin argues the state stands at the “threshold of fiscal failure” if the lawmakers do not act.
