A resolution that would end the COVID-19 declaration of emergency in Kentucky in March received approval Thursday on the Senate floor.
According to the Legislative Research Commission, Senate Joint Resolution 150, would terminate Kentucky’s declaration issued on March 7. The measure’s primary sponsor, Republican State Senator Donald Douglas, of Nicholasville, told lawmakers its time to move past the emergency.
Douglas said there were no doubt a lot of unknowns when the virus was first announced, and the medical community, the scientific community, and even political representatives were caught off guard.
However, Douglas added, instead of proceeding down a purely medical path, politics assumed a major role in decision-making. He said some treatments for COVID-19 were ignored or dismissed, while people lost their jobs and schools were shut down. He noted the emergency seemed more about emotion and feeling and a lot less about objectivity and facts.
He said that Senate Joint Resolution 150 provides the governor and his executive agencies time to determine if any administrative regulations related to the pandemic need to be filed or changed. He called the measure a thoughtful approach that doesn’t aim to interfere with any federal funding.
However, the LRC reports critics argued that Kentucky’s emergency declaration doesn’t include any statewide restrictions, and they cited concerns about unintended consequences, such as the potential loss of federal nutrition assistance.
Kentucky Senator Karen Berg, a Democrat in Louisville, said she voted against the measure because it’s too soon. She noted that Kentucky is still experiencing a 12.3% positivity rate and that 60% of residents have not received a single vaccine so far.
State Senator David Yates, also a Democrat from Louisville, said he couldn’t stand behind the measure.
Senate Joint Resolution 150 passed the Senate 28-8.
