Citing authority granted in Kentucky’s Constitution, House Speaker Greg Stumbo announced Wednesday that he has formed a five-member legislative panel to investigate potentially illegal actions by Gov. Matt Bevin and others within his administration.
“The House Investigatory Committee on Executive Actions will begin its work by focusing on delays in the planned East Brannon Road Project in Jessamine County,” Stumbo said. “This is a serious charge and needs to be reviewed. Some of the laws potentially broken include Official Misconduct in the First Degree; Abuse of Public Trust; and Public Servant Prohibited from Certain Conduct.”
Stumbo said the investigatory committee will have the authority to review other allegations of any actions that may stem from that or other cases.
“We want to make sure this committee has the authority it needs to review and investigate all issues arising from the Governor’s actions and those acting at his direction,” Stumbo said. “I am authorizing the committee to hire outside counsel so that it can conduct its investigation with as much independence as possible. The members I have selected to serve on this committee have the utmost integrity, and I have no doubt they will do a thorough job.”
The appointed members are: Rep. Jim Wayne, D-Louisville, who will chair the committee; Rep. David Floyd, R-Bardstown; Rep. Joni Jenkins, D-Shively; Rep. Arnold Simpson, D-Covington; and Rep. Jimmy Stewart III, R-Flat Lick.
During a news conference in the House chamber, Stumbo discussed Bevin’s decision to cancel an $11 million extension on Brannon Road in Jessamine County near the Fayette County line. The project had been approved in the final days of Gov. Steve Beshear’s administration, but was canceled by the Bevin administration, which said all property rights for the roadway had yet to be obtained.
A spokesman for the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet told the NKyTribune that the project in question has not been cancelled. It has been delayed due to “difficulties in securing the right war required for the start of utility relocation and construction.”
State Rep. Russ Meyer, D-Nicholasville, said he was approached shortly before Christmas and asked to switch parties. The project was halted after he declined, he said.
According to Stumbo, the landowners of the disputed property were seeking $434,000 while the state had appraised it for $225,000.
Stumbo said if the state had matched the asking price, it would have saved over the $625,000 penalty subsequently paid to the project contractor for the cancellation.
House Minority Leader Jeff Hoover, R-Jamestown, issued a statement saying Stumbo’s announcement was intended to refocus attention from scandals in the Democratic Party.
“Kentucky Democrats are crumbling from within,” Hoover said. “As they turn against one another in the midst of federal indictments and plea bargains, we are just seeing more of the same from party bosses like Greg Stumbo.”
Stumbo also criticized Bevin for awarding a $500,000 contract to an Indianapolis law firm investigate possible corruption in the Beshear administration. Beshear has denied any illegal actions.
Bevin spokeswoman Amanda Stamper issued the following statement in response to Stumbo’s news conference:
“(Speaker) Stumbo has hit the peak of desperation with his political charade in an attempt to draw attention away from the corruption being exposed in Kentucky’s Democratic Party and his support of Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama’s job-killing agenda.
“Speaker Stumbo’s threats to impeach Gov. Bevin over a delayed road project in Jessamine County are ridiculous. The Courier-Journal previously reported on problems with the project.”
The governor’s office also released two memos by “career lawyers at the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet (KYTC) that show that the delay was both legally and appropriately handled,” Stamper said.
Bevin’s office released a voice mail from Stumbo to Floyd, asking him to serve on the investigative committee. In it, he suggested the possibility of Bevin being impeached. Listen here:
Staff report