FRANKFORT, Ky. — Republican lawmakers cast votes that will “kick struggling Kentuckians while they are down” when they passed bills affecting jobless benefits and food assistance, Gov. Andy Beshear said Tuesday.
The Democratic governor responded on social media a day after the GOP-dominated legislature voted to override his vetoes of the two measures. Both proposals now become state law.
One bill revamps rules for Kentucky’s laid-off workers to receive unemployment benefits. It ties the length of time recipients get benefits to the unemployment rate. That could cut the number of benefit weeks by more than half in times of low jobless rates.
The other ends Kentucky’s COVID-19 state of emergency a few weeks earlier than previously planned. Beshear warns it would cut off extra federal food assistance to struggling Kentuckians — many of them elderly or children — at a time of rising food prices.
“Our faith and values should compel us to be compassionate and fair, but yesterday's veto overrides by the General Assembly were cruel and will kick struggling Kentuckians while they are down,” the governor said in a social media post.
Supporters of the unemployment-related measure call it an important step toward improving the state’s workforce shortages as businesses struggle to fill jobs as COVID-19 cases recede.
Beshear said it positions Kentucky to be “one of the least helpful states” for workers who lose their jobs through no fault of their own.
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