KY Supreme Court taking up 2 cases that will decide fate of governor's COVID-19 orders
The Kentucky Supreme Court is taking up two cases that could decide whether Gov. Andy Beshear's COVID-19 executive orders stay in place.
This comes after the governor filed a lawsuit in February after the General Assembly overrode his veto on a number of bills that would have removed some of his current executive powers and limited his ability to issue new ones.
A judge blocked parts of those laws from going into effect, meaning that the mandates issued by Beshear still remain in effect.
Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron appealed the judge's ruling, saying the governor didn't have standing to bring the lawsuit so it should be tossed out.
Over the past year, Beshear has credited the executive orders with helping the state from experiencing significant COVID-19 surges that have been reported in other states. While Kentucky has seen its share of spikes, Beshear said the current measures have helped offset the worse of the pandemic and brought stability after surges.
Some of those orders have brought forth the mask mandate and restrictions on businesses.
The second case before the state Supreme Court comes after the governor appealed a Scott County judge's decision, blocking Beshear from enforcing his pandemic restrictions on three specific businesses, including two in Louisville.
Oral arguments are set for June in the two cases.
Related: KY Supreme Court rules governor has power to issue emergency COVID-19 orders
The latest review by the state Supreme Court comes months after the judges ruled that Beshear acted within his power when making sweeping orders related to the pandemic.
In November, the state Supreme Court unanimously ruled in favor of Gov. Andy Beshear, saying the executive orders he has issued in the past several months were lawful under Kentucky's constitution.
Cameron, at the time, also sought to challenge the constitutionality of the orders.
Beshear, for his part, said he was grateful for the ruling and sought to use that decision as basis for new lawsuits that have emerged this year.