With COVID-19 cases on the rise, the state's governor and attorney general are at odds over whether the administration's virus-related restrictions were enacted in accordance with state law. It's a legal battle the governor says will have life and death consequences.
Beshear painted a stark picture of what a ruling against his emergency orders would mean for the commonwealth Thursday. In a briefing, the Democrat said Attorney General Daniel Cameron is asking a Boone County judge for a decision that could roll back all of the administration's coronavirus regulations — from caps on crowd size to the use of hand sanitizer.
"That's terrifying in the middle of a worldwide health pandemic," Beshear responded. "It would mean we would fail, and it means people would die."
Cameron argues the case isn't about policy but process. In a series of tweets, the Republican wrote that Beshear is not collaborating with elected leaders in both parties to create restrictions that "balance public health with the law."
"Judges at every level have found constitutional problems with his orders," the top law enforcement official added. "Instead of collaborating with our office and the General Assembly to fix these issues, he’s pointing fingers."
The governor is appealing adverse decisions dealing with regulations that apply to Florence Speedway and other Kentucky businesses.
