Exactly three months after a January 8, 2013 Capitol Rotunda rally calling for an end to ObamaCare, I have filed a lawsuit in Franklin County Circuit Court to force Governor Steve Beshear to rescind his Executive Order 2012-587 and shut down the Kentucky Health Benefit Exchange.
Governor Beshear cited as his authority for creating the exchange by executive order a statute requiring him to get approval from the General Assembly. KRS 12.028. This statute permits the Governor to create new government entities by proposing them to the General Assembly "for its approval."
He has obtained no such approval.
He also claimed constitutional authority, in the Kentucky Constitution, but didn't specify where that authority could be found.
Assuming no one has been able to locate a "Good and Plenty" clause or something else we don't know about that might make this legal, the only thing I can think of is Section 80, which allows the Governor to call a special session.
He could, of course, call legislators back in solely to approve Kentucky's continued head-first dive into ObamaCare's empty swimming pool of promises. It would make much more sense, though, to admit defeat and shut the whole thing down right now before this mess is supposed to take effect October 1.
