FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) - Kentucky’s new Republican governor abolished the Kentucky Horse Park Commission on Tuesday and replaced it with another one, continuing his systematic replacement of Democratic appointments that oversee some of the state’s most influential industries.
His executive order, issued Tuesday afternoon, reduces the number of members on the commission to 15 from 17. Bevin reappointed five members and left two seats vacant. He did not reappoint former first lady Jane Beshear. Former Democratic Gov. Steve Beshear appointed his wife to the unpaid position shortly before leaving office in December. At the time, a Bevin spokeswoman called the appointment an “embarrassment.”
“This is a new direction for the board,” Don Parkinson, secretary of the Cabinet of Tourism, Arts and Heritage, said in a news release announcing the restructuring.
The move comes after state lawmakers failed to pass legislation this year that would have restructured the board assigned to oversee the 1,224-acre equestrian facility in Lexington. And it comes despite an opinion from Democratic Attorney General Andy Beshear saying Bevin does not have the authority to remove commission members until their terms expire.
Bevin has routinely ignored Beshear’s opinions, saying they are merely advisory.
Bevin has used similar tactics with the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission and the Workers Compensation Nominating Commission. The nominating commission makes recommendations to the governor on who he can appoint as administrative law judges, who decide workers compensation cases.
Last week, several labor unions sued Bevin, saying he illegally replaced members of the nominating commission to ensure he could appoint judges that would be more sympathetic to employers, putting “a chilling effect on the efforts of employees to obtain medical care for their injuries.”
A state judge ordered the commission not to make any recommendations to the governor until the lawsuit could be resolved. A hearing has been scheduled for next week.
Bevin says he is not doing anything that previous Democratic governor haven’t also done. Michael T. Alexander, Bevin’s deputy general counsel, wrote in court documents that former Gov. Steve Beshear issued 103 executive orders that reorganized state boards or commissions during his time in office.
The Bevin administration has been attempting to restructure the Horse Park Commission ever since it discovered what it said were more than $500,000 of improper purchases. When Bevin removed the commission’s chairwoman, Democratic House Speaker Greg Stumbo asked the attorney general to weigh in. Attempts to reach Stumbo on Tuesday were unsuccessful.
Senate Republican Floor Leader Damon Thayer praised Bevin for restructuring the board, saying the new appointees “will govern it accordingly, remembering that the park belongs to the people of Kentucky.”
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