LEXINGTON, Ky. — A bill filed by Kentucky Senate President Robert Stivers, a Manchester Republican, would remove Gov. Andy Beshear's ability to fill the vacancy of a U.S. senator who dies or retires from office.
The bill — which has the approval of 78-year-old U.S. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell — would do away with Kentucky's current law, which allows the governor to appoint someone to fill the seat until the next regular election of the U.S. House of Representatives (every two years).
Instead, Senate Bill 228 would require the governor to appoint someone to temporarily fill a vacancy left by a U.S. senator from a list of three names given to him by the executive committee of the political party of the senator who formerly held the seat, adding Kentucky to a list of at least six states that require an appointed senator to be the same party as the person who previously held the office.
That appointment would last no longer than 18 months, though, requiring Kentucky to hold a special election to fill the vacancy for the remainder of the vacated term. Instead of just using the regular election process, the bill sets up a series of potential scenarios for how the next senator would be elected.
Stivers was not available for comment, according to his spokesman, Noah Lucas. The office of U.S. Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., did not respond when asked if he approved of the bill.
It is another in a long line of bills filed in the General Assembly this year to pull powers from Beshear, who condemned the bill and called it "concerning" during a news conference Monday.
"I believe that we've got to believe in the institution of government, in the separation of powers, more than we believe in our party," Beshear said. "Whether or not we change the way that a vacancy is filled, it shouldn't be decided based on who's currently in the office. Once that happens we start breaking the very institutions that keep us moving forward."
Should it pass, Kentucky would join 14 other states that fill vacancies through a special election rather than through a gubernatorial appointment.
Josh Douglas, an election law professor at the University of Kentucky, said the bill seemed politically motivated, given that the governor is a Democrat and the Legislature is controlled by Republicans.
"In terms of overall effects, the bill is perhaps less concerning than it initially appears, given that it calls for a special election after the vacancy occurs," Douglas said. "The requirement to appoint someone of the same party as the prior Senator is temporary. The choice on filling the rest of the term ultimately will rest with the voters."
How long a governor's appointment would last depends on when the seat is vacated.
—If the Senate seat is vacated more than three months before a regular election, candidates would have to file their petitions to run by the fourth week of August. All candidates, regardless of political affiliation, would be put on the ballot. The two candidates who get the most votes on the day of the general election would enter a run-off election held 70 days later. The winner of that would fill the unexpired term.
—If the Senate seat is vacated less than three months before a regular election, and there is a regular election the next year, the next person would be elected using the regular election process the following year.
—If the Senate seat is vacated less than three months before a regular election, and there is not a regular election the next year, the governor would have to call a special election within 30 days to be held after 60 days but no later than 90 days. Candidates would have to file their petitions no later than 49 days before the election. All candidates would be on the same ballot and a candidate would have to get a majority of votes to be elected. If no candidate gets a majority, the top two vote-getters would have a run-off election 49 days after the special election.
—If there's already a Senate election planned for that seat in the year when the office is vacated, the person appointed would fill the seat until the person who wins the election is sworn into office in January.
It's unclear if the bill will have enough support to pass. Legislative staffers are still preparing a fiscal note that says how much the bill would cost taxpayers if it's passed. It likely would cost more than the current system because a special election is possible, if not likely.
The U.S. Senate is the only legislative seat where the governor does not have to call a special election to fill the vacancy and instead appoints someone to serve until the next general election.
A Kentucky U.S. Senate seat has not been vacated since former U.S. Sen. Alben Barkley died in office in 1956. Former U.S. Sen. Robert Humphrey's was appointed to fill the seat and retired when former U.S. Sen. John Sherman Cooper was elected.
