Power move? Bill would detach Fish & Wildlife from Gov. Beshear, give it to ag commissioner

A GOP-backed Senate bill would take authority of the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources from Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear and put it under Republican Commissioner of Agriculture Jonathan Shell.

Senate Bill 3 sponsored by Sen. Jason Howell, R-Murray, which passed out of committee Tuesday, is a priority bill for Senate Republicans.

It is one of several bills, proposed this session and passed in previous sessions, that would limit the power of the current Democratic governor.

Proponents of the bill say that it would limit political games being played with the commission and create opportunities for “synergy” between farmers and sportsmen and women. Those speaking against the bill characterized it as an unconstitutional power grab that could diminish the interests of hunters and fishers in favor of the farming community.

Many sportsmen showed up to speak up against the bill, some donning bright orange hunters’ jackets. They argued the mission of the Kentucky Department of Agriculture was “diametrically opposed” to that of sportsmen like themselves given that farmers often want to limit wildlife for the benefit of their crops.

“Every national sportsman group is dead against this. There is no other state in this country that has fish and wildlife and (agriculture) mixed because they do not mix – they’re oil and water,” said Larry Richards, a sportsman from Oldham County who once successfully sued the commission over an Open Meetings Act complaint.

The biggest change would be over appointment power to the board that oversees the organization. Currently, licensed hunters and anglers from nine different districts across the state nominate up to five people, one of whom is then appointed by the governor.

After being appointed, those members must be confirmed by the Senate within one year or their seat becomes vacant.

Under Senate Bill 3, the ag commissioner would appoint the members instead of the governor. The bill has an emergency clause, meaning it would take effect immediately upon the governor signing it or the legislature overriding his veto.

During Beshear’s tenure, the Senate has not confirmed six of the governor’s 12 appointments. After the 2020 session, as disputes between the governor and Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources Commissioner Rich Storm began to escalate, the Senate has only approved three of nine.

Storm was hired to be the department’s commissioner when he was serving as a board member.

Three of the nine commissioner seats now stand vacant. Appointments to fill those vacancies have been forwarded by Beshear this session and last year’s session, but none have been confirmed.

Further, two sitting commissioners are serving on expired terms – if not for a bill passed in 2022 allowing such commissioners to serve an extra year after expiration, the commission would not currently have a quorum.

Beyond just disagreements over appointments, the bill is part of a saga of conflict between the governor on one side and the department board and the Republican-led legislature on the other.

Early into Beshear’s term, he stopped paying Storm’s salary over a contract dispute. That precipitated a series of lawsuits and counter-suits between the commission and Beshear, which is still pending in Franklin Circuit Court.

It’s possible that such a shift from the governor to the commissioner of agriculture could run into constitutional issues. Last week, the state Court of Appeals ruled against a bill that shifted the majority of appointments to the State Fair Board from the governor to the commissioner of agriculture.

The majority opinion said it violated the separation of powers set up in the state’s constitution.

Back & forth at committee, with the governor

At Tuesday’s committee meeting, Howell and other Republicans listed several issues they’ve had with Beshear’s handling of the department, as well as that of other governors, as reason for the bill.

Senate Majority Leader Damon Thayer, R-Georgetown, compared Beshear to a bank robber, “mucking around” with the commission in order to gain greater control over its funds.

Unlike most other state agencies, the department is essentially self-sustaining and operates mostly on revenue from fees it collects. The department’s budget slightly exceeds $100 million and is set around $105 million in the most recent version of this year’s House budget proposal.

“If you folks want to know about why this bill is here, look at Gov. Andy Beshear. He’s been mucking around with Commissioner Storm for over four years now, mucking around trying to get access to the tremendous amount of money in this agency,” Thayer said.

Beshear spokesperson James Hatchett said Beshear has “no interest” in moving department funds and he’s followed the law throughout his interactions with the department and commission.

Hatchett added when Beshear came into office, too many Fish and Wildlife Resources Commission members were of the same party and tried to switch parties at the last minute to retain control of the board and “to circumvent the law.”

“The Senate has repeatedly refused to confirm (Beshear’s) appointments, thwarting the legal process and disrespecting the sportsmen and women and their election,” Hatchett said. “These actions have resulted in nearly all the major organizations representing sportsmen and women opposing the current bill and opposing the current leadership of Fish and Wildlife.”

Sen. Robin Webb, D-Grayson, has been deeply involved in the commission throughout her career. Her father, Robert Webb, served on the commission for more than three decades. Webb has not always agreed with Beshear on matters of the department – Beshear has vetoed two of her bills on the matter – but like Beshear, was a strong critic of the bill in committee.

“You can put lipstick on this wild boar, and it’s still a wild boar,” Webb said.

She said the current department is the “envy” of other states, and there’s no reason to change its makeup so drastically.

“Agriculture doesn’t need this. They’ve got plenty to do. I don’t see anybody from Fish and Wildlife here to defend this and that troubles me,” Webb said. “This is going to set our agency back 40 years at a minimum, and we’re going to be the laughing stock of the nation.”

A spokesperson for Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources shared a statement from Storm that stressed the “operational independence” the department has gained over the past two sessions. Storm worked to get a committee substitute to the bill that further affirmed that independence, according to the statement.

Storm’s statement also pointed out the department has “been administratively attached to various cabinets and departments throughout its existence,” and indirectly addressed concerns about the focus of the department attached to the Kentucky Department of Agriculture.

“Conserving, enhancing and protecting the Commonwealth’s abundant fish and wildlife resources for all is deeply ingrained in who we are as an agency, and that important responsibility will continue to drive what we do,” Storm wrote.

Mike Gable, with Kentucky Backcountry Hunters and Anglers, provided a list of almost 20 organizations against the bill to underscore the alleged unanimity of opposition to the bill among outdoor enthusiasts. Those include the Kentuckiana Safari Club, the Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation, the Boone and Crockett Club, Pheasants Forever, Quail Forever, the National Wild Turkey Federation and Trout Unlimited, among others.

Howell, on the other hand, argued that attaching the department to the Kentucky Department of Agriculture, as opposed to its current placement within the Kentucky Tourism, Tourism, Arts & Heritage Cabinet, just makes sense.

He said that he sees opportunities to create “synergies” between the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources and the Kentucky Department of Agriculture.

“It’s such an overlap and such a natural combination for our agriculture and our wildlife communities,” Howell said. “We talk a lot about politics in this arena. But for me, this made really good policy sense.”

No representative from either the Tourism, Arts & Heritage Cabinet or the Kentucky Department of Agriculture spoke at the committee hearing.

However, a spokesperson for the Tourism, Arts & Heritage Cabinet Anita Hatchett, who is married to James Hatchett, said it was an attempt to strip power from the governor “because some lawmakers were not happy with the results of the November election.”

She also said that it was unconstitutional.

“Four days ago, the Kentucky Court of Appeals held that taking away the governor’s appointments to the State Fair Board and giving a majority of them to the commissioner of agriculture violated the Kentucky Constitution. This bill would negatively impact the 700,000 sportsmen/women of Kentucky who had no input into this bill, and it would not benefit the people of Kentucky in moving our state forward,” Hatchett wrote.

“Furthermore, The Department of Agriculture lacks the same level of expertise and resources for wildlife and outdoor recreation, unlike the Tourism, Arts, and Heritage Cabinet that manages Kentucky’s 44 state parks and successfully promotes Kentucky’s $5.9 billion wildlife and outdoor recreation industry.”