The Kentucky Senate has voted to override several vetoes by Governor Beshear. One of those pertains to administrative regulations for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program payments. It would allow for the withholding of payment to non-custodial parents for failure to pay child support.
Bill Co-Sponsor Steve West contends the state agency overseeing SNAP benefits did not adhere to the legislative directive. “It was the intent of the legislature that these deadbeat parents be held accountable and it’s not within the purview of the agency to go against the will of the legislature, which is what they did,” said West.
Louisville Senators Morgan McGarvey and David Yates both said the regulation could punish children and not parents. Yates says there is an existing criminal statute for flagrant non-support. “In the event that SNAP benefits are denied, that parent still has that child for some period. That parent still has child time. They still have visitation with those parents. There is an effect,” noted Yates.
The GOP-controlled Senate also overrode Governor Beshear’s veto of Senate Bill 228. It changes how a vacancy in the U.S. Senate would be carried out. The measure establishes that the governor would choose from a list of three names submitted by the state executive committee of the same political party as the person who vacated the seat.
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