This entry contains some of the best political reporting produced in 2019 by Becca Schimmel.
Included are some great examples of enterprise and continuing coverage reporting, as Becca followed the story surrounding an executive order issued by the governor that limited access to the state capitol building. Also included are stories with interviews featuring U.S. Sen. Rand Paul and U.S. Rep. Brett Guthrie.
Thank you for considering this entry in the radio category of Political Coverage.
AG Beshear Reviewing Gov. Bevin’s Emergency Regulation Concerning Public Access to State Buildings
Jan 10, 2019
Attorney General Andy Beshear’s office is reviewing a new emergency regulation recently enacted by Governor Matt Bevin impacting public access to state buildings and facilities. The new rules require those wanting to assemble at a state building to submit an application ten days in advance of the event.
“And that could be potentially problematic because if you take an example of last year when there were more or less spontaneous reaction to and demonstration against the pension reform measure that seemingly wouldn’t pass muster under the new administrative regulation,” said Michael Abate, a Louisville based attorney with experience in media and constitutional law.
In the last legislative session, Kentucky public school teachers spontaneously showed up at the Capitol to protest a controversial pension law.
“One could read these rules as an attempt to prohibit that from occurring again because for example somebody might be denied entry into the building for that kind of an event on the grounds that it wasn’t permitted in advance ten days before,” Abade told WKU Public Radio.
Abate said the legality of the regulation depends on how it’s enforced. He said it’s not clear to him why the new rules were implemented, other than to control access to legislative buildings during the General Assembly.
Abate said the government is allowed to have certain restrictions concerning state buildings and facilities, as long as they’re clearly-stated and enforced on a neutral basis. Otherwise, Abate said the rules could raise First Amendment concerns.
“It remains to be seen how all this is going to play out. And while governments and government agencies do have the right to enact neutral what we call time, place, and manner restrictions," he said. "Courts are somewhat skeptical of those to make sure they’re not just a pretext in order to favor of disfavor a particular viewpoint.”
He said the new rules raise questions under Kentucky’s Open Meetings Law, which say a meeting has to be open and available to the public anytime a public agency is conducting business. The new regulation also says any group approved for use of the Capitol building has to reimburse the state for the cost of all staff services including security, setup, janitorial and maintenance. Gov. Bevin’s office did not return multiple requests for comment.
Beshear Issues Opinion Saying Bevin’s Emergency Regulation is Invalid
Feb 7,2019
Kentucky Attorney General Andy Beshearissued an opinion Thursday that said an emergency regulation put in place by Governor Matt Bevin’s administration earlier this year violates the law.
The regulation restricted access to all state-owned facilities and grounds, including the state capitol building in Frankfort. One provision in the regulation said that any group wanting to protest at the capitol would have to make such a request at least ten days in advance.
The AG’s office said the Finance and Administration Cabinet violatedtwo Kentuckystatutes in issuing the regulation. The opinion also said language used in the regulation might violate the Kentucky Open Meetings Act and is vulnerable to constitutional challenges.
Attorney General Andy Beshear said any attempt to change who gets into the capitol and when would need to go through an open and transparent process that the public could participate in.
“Here they did it through what is basically a secretive process. They did it at the last moment and they did it in a way where no one could object,” Beshear told WKU Public Radio.
The AG’s analysis said no conditions existed that necessitated the emergency administrative regulations. Beshear's opinion said the regulation didn’t meet statutory requirements, didn’t contain the required statement explaining the nature of the emergency, and didn't explain why an ordinary administrative regulation wasn’t sufficient.
“We found that the emergency regulation is invalid because an emergency regulation has to have an actual emergency,” Beshear said.
Last year, members of the Poor People’s Campaign were refused entry into the state capitol building because of a new policy that only allowed two members in at a time. The Attorney General’s office issued an opinion finding that the Finance and Administration Cabinet and the Kentucky State Police violated the law by implementing and enforcing policies regarding entry to the Capitol building that were not contained in properly adopted administrative regulations. The new policy restrictions were lifted.
In the opinion issued Thursday, the AG’s office said the Finance and Administration Cabinet didn’t take any immediate action or begin the regulatory process for the policy restricting people from entering more than two people at a time. Then, less than two business days before the start of the General Assembly’s 2019 regular session, the cabinet enacted the emergency regulation.
Democratic State Representative Patti Minter of Bowling Green requested the AG’s opinion on the emergency regulation’s validity. The new rules went into effect when it was filed, without the public comment period and hearing that precedes an ordinary administrative regulation.
A statement from the Governor’s Communications office said Bevin would continue to issue orders that protect the safety of state employees and the general public, and accused Beshear of issuing opinions to further his political aspirations. Beshear is running for Governor this year.
As Final Day of General Assembly Nears, Emergency Rule Prevents Last-Minute Protests at Capitol
Mar 27, 2019
Thursday is the last day of the Kentucky General Assembly, with decisions still looming on several high-profile bills. But if you wanted to show up at the Kentucky State Capitol and protest, you’ll be turned away.
According to an emergency regulation put in place by the Bevin administration in January, any person or group wanting to protest at the capitol needs to submit an application ten days in advance.
But the rules regarding capitol access are different for lobbyists.
The emergency regulation puts tighter restrictions on access to all state-owned facilities and grounds, including the state capitol building in Frankfort. Those restrictions apply to visitors, but lobbyists are paid to be at the Capitol year-round.
Attorney General Andy Beshear issued an opinion last month that said the emergency regulation is invalid because it doesn’t state the nature of the emergency. Beshear pointed out the new rule was instituted on the eve of the 2019 General Assembly session.
“What this administration tried to do is prevent it from being challenged until after the session was over,” he told WKU Public Radio.
Beshear’s opinion also said language used in the regulation might violate the Kentucky Open Meetings Act and is vulnerable to constitutional challenges. A statement from the Governor’s Communications office said Bevin would continue to issue orders that protect the safety of state employees and the general public, and accused Beshear of issuing opinions to further his run for governor this year.
John Schaaf, Executive Director of the Kentucky Legislative Ethics Commission, said because lobbyists are at the capitol year-round, they can give information to lawmakers at a moment’s notice to strengthen their clients’ position.
“That’s a big advantage that a lobbyist, that a paid lobbyist has over the average citizen who has a job back home in Bowling Green or Pikeville and they can’t come to Frankfort like a lobbyist can on a daily basis,” he said.
Schaaf said groups that employ lobbyists have to pay a registration fee. They also have to report what their lobbying activity will be, bill numbers they’re interested in, or describe the legislative action they’re lobbying on.
Schaaf said lobbying groups also have to report if they’ve spent any money, how much they paid their lobbyists, and any events they invited legislators to. He said last year more than $23 million was spent on lobbying in the Commonwealth.
“So, lobbying is a pretty big business in Kentucky as it is in most states,” he said. “Because many businesses and organizations have decided that it’s very important to have somebody on the scene tracking legislation.”
Opponents of the emergency regulation worry it could eliminate the ability of groups to quickly mobilize and go to the state capitol to protest controversial legislation. Bevin’s emergency regulation came after large groups of public educators showed up on short notice at the capitol to protest proposed changes to their pension plan in the last legislative session.
Congressman Brett Guthrie Talks Immigration and Tensions with Iran
Jul 21, 2019
Republican Congressman Brett Guthrie spoke about immigration, diversity and military relations with Iran while in Bowling Green on Friday. He said the negative rhetoric about immigration needs to stop on both sides of the aisle. The Congressman sees it as an impediment to diversifying the Republican party.
Guthrie’s district includes Bowling Green, which is one of the largest refugee resettlement areas in the nation. He said that’s been a big advantage for the community.
The Congressman pointed out that the Democratic party is a lot more diverse than the GOP, and the rhetoric around immigration isn’t helping his party attract people of color.
“And I always tell this to my fellow Republicans and I really believe this, if people come here hoping for a better life so they can work hard and invest in their children’s future and we can’t sell our philosophy to them then we need to rethink what we’re doing,” he said.
Guthrie said his party has to reach out to a more diverse group of people, if it wants to be the "party of the future."
“And so I think we are for the future, but if you look at the Congress, if you’re sitting in the speaker’s chair and if you look out…from where the speaker views and you see the Democratic party, it is a lot more diverse than our party.”
According to the Pew Research Center, 90 percent of racial and ethnic nonwhite members in Congress are Democrats.
U.S. vs. Iran
The Bowling Green Republican also praised the Trump administration for its approach to the ongoing tensions with Iran.
Guthrie said the President showed restraint after Iran shot down an American drone last month. Iran claims the drone had entered Iranian airspace, which the United States denied. Guthrie said the Trump administration isn’t going to "coddle" Iran.
“They’re still in Yemen, they’re still in Syria, they’re allied or working with the Russians, so they’re not our friend,” he said. “I think the previous administration thought we could be friendly to them, they’re going to be good world players. That’s not the case.”
Guthrie said the U.S. needs to engage in diplomacy, but also be ready in case Iran strikes militarily. The Trump administration has since placed new economic sanctions on the country.
President Trump said Thursday that the U.S. took down a drone belonging to Iran’s military using electronic measures. Iran disputes this claim, saying all of its drones are accounted for and suggesting the U.S. might have accidentally shot down one of its own unmanned aircraft.
U.S. Sen. Rand Paul Unsure Increasing Transparency for Health Care Costs Will Reduce Prices
Jul 7, 2019
U.S. Senator Rand Paul said he wants to see lower prices and more transparency in the health care industry, but he doesn’t support the methods being used by President Trump.
Trumprecently signed an executive order to increase pricing transparency for patients before they receive healthcare services. The order aims to bring prices down by letting people shop around.
Paul, a Republican from Bowling Green, said that’s not exactly how the health care market works.
“So in our current system if we dictate transparency I don’t know that anything changes. We’ll all know the price of things but still, the consumer won’t care unless the consumer pays for things,” he told WKU Public Radio.
Paul said simply knowing more about health care costs won’t create an environment where prices will go up and down.
“We lack a real marketplace. So what I’ve been saying all along is people who want to mandate transparency, their heart’s in the right place, they haven’t necessarily thought it through though.”
Paul said the country needs a marketplace where prices are competitive and the consumer chooses based on price.
The executive order from Trump doesn’t spell out specific actions to increase the transparency of health care costs, but directs the Department of Health and Human Services to develop a policy.
U.S. Sen. Rand Paul Pushing for Paperwork Reduction in Temporary Worker Program
Jun 26, 2019
Kentucky Senator Rand Paul is sponsoring legislation that would reduce paperwork and streamline worker visa programs used by U.S. farmers. The Bowling Green Republican said the measure would be a major help for the commonwealth’s agriculture industry.
The bill would make it easier for farmers to apply for H-2A and H-2B visas used to employ temporary workers from other countries. Those work permits are often used in the equine, livestock, agriculture, and dairy industries.
Sen. Paul said the bill is needed to prevent crop losses due to a lack of workers.
“We’ve actually met farmers who’ve had wokers each year, the same workers, [and] have them denied and the farmers couldn’t find local people to take care of the crops and the farmer actually lost the entire year,” he told WKU Public Radio.
The bill would allow livestock, equine, aquacultural, forestry and landscaping workers to be eligible to apply for the uncapped H-2A program. Normally those workers have to apply under the H-2B program, which is limited to an annual cap of 66,000 visas.
Paul said the legislation would make it easier for migrant workers who come back to work at the same place every year.
“We’ve told the government they need to tell people that their workers are being denied in a certain window of time. They can’t wait three months, and you’re all of a sudden in July and you’ve been waiting for three months to plant your crops and people are now telling you that you’re denied,” he said.
The measure would also add protections for employers who use a third-party group to file an application for non-immigrant visas for workers.
