FILE - Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear speaks to a joint session of the state Legislature to deliver his State of the Commonwealth address in the House chambers of the state Capitol, Wednesday, Jan. 3, 2024, in Frankfort, Ky. Beshear vetoed a GOP-backed criminal justice bill that would impose harsher sentences for a range of crimes, saying it would saddle the state with sharply higher incarceration costs.
The bill, which spurred some of the most contentious debates of the session, would make a multitude of changes to the state’s criminal code, enhancing many current penalties and creating new offenses. Beshear, a former state attorney general, focused on the financial implications in his veto message, saying it would lead to significantly higher incarceration costs without any additional appropriations.
Beshear noted that he liked parts of the measure, including provisions requiring the destruction of firearms used in murders, making carjacking a standalone crime, and allowing the state parole board to require parolees to participate in an “evidence-based program” designed to reduce violence. Those provisions should have placed in separate bills, the governor said.
Opponents said the measure failed to delve into the root causes of crime and would put more strain on overcrowded jails.